A year in numbers

The end of my 2nd year of law school has me waxing philosophic. It's gone really quickly, and in just one year, I'll be done and moving on to that place that once seemed so distant: "after law school."

So, since last May, here's what I've done by the numbers

11: exams I've taken

27: pages in my appellate brief I wrote this semester

238: cupcakes, muffins, scones, and other goodies that I made (and that's the ones since Christmas I can remember)

32: days (almost all of them in August, and at Christmastime) where I didn't have to work on something for law school.

42: highlighters I've used up

2: clients in my caseload for our bankruptcy practice this past semester

6: suits I now own

2: average number of times each week I had to wear a suit in the last year.

so, maybe not that exciting, but an overview for all you number crunchers.
Now that I'm on the other side of those numbers, here's what's ahead for the next year:
I will spend the next couple weeks finishing up grading of the write-on competition for Law Review, and inviting the top performers to join our staff. I can't believe it's been a year since I was in their shoes, and I'm excited to bring new energy into our office. Once I finish that aspect, I'll spend most of my staff hours planning the staff social events for next year, including the holiday party, and next year's competition.
I'm also doing research for my employment law professor, and she is a total rockstar. It has been a fun challenge and an incredible honor to work with her.
I will be interning with a Federal bankruptcy judge 3 days a week in the fall semester, and I'm really excited about that! It will be an incredible opportunity to learn from a highly respected judge.
I'll graduate May 12th, 2012, which is now less than a year away! I'm looking forward to finishing even though I'm already realizing how much I'll miss St. Thomas. I'm also looking forward to moving back to Colorado when I'm done with classes to start studying for the CO bar exam next summer.

Pile up

Probably tough to tell, but this adorable kite banner says "sunny days". The joke's on me because it has rained 10 out of the last 12 days. It was sunny on Easter, and yesterday, and poured rain every other day in between. My hair is just loving this (not pictured-it would be too scary, but believe me when I say "Bride of Frankenstein" would give you a good mental image.) So, as usual, things are crazy because tomorrow is MAY (May, people!) and that means the end of another semester, and another year of law school, is coming down the track. This also means that Andy is finishing classes, which spells full blown chaos at the Riley house.

Here's some snapshots of what I've been up to:

My mom visited for Spring break (over a month ago, that's how crazy it's been) and we made the best cards ever. Andy got artsy, but you can see my new "home collection" of miss-you cards. Yes, that's a 3D fireplace, with fire, and armchair in the background.

We had our annual banquet for Law Journal, with these classy folks. I am so lucky to be surrounded by such talented, brilliant, and nice people everyday. I really do love law school. Good thing they are so nice because right after this picture, I was surprised to learn I would be speaking in front of 60 people in about 10 minutes. Ask me how fun that was some time.

So, when I make chicken pot pie, I cheat, a lot. But this particular episode found me calling Andy to ask him to start by making the biscuit dough, and I would do the rest. We were also missing a few of my usual cheating ingredients, like cream of chicken soup, so I knew there would be extra work ahead of me. I came home, and because I told him to follow the directions on the package (what man actually does that?) he was rolling out the dough to cut biscuits. So, I figured, well, why not? We cut heart shaped biscuits to top the pies rather than my lazy drop (or, more likely, plop) method. Delicious and so cute.

This is our Easter pic. I know, we both look like Easter eggs, and you know what? I'm glad. It only comes once a year, and you have to be silly at least once a year. It's a rule somewhere.

And that's a quick gloss on what I've been doing since March. There's more, but, of course, I'm supposed to be studying business associations (gag) so another time.

I hope this finds you enjoying sunny days (just don't tell me about them) and basking in the new, the green, the rebirth, the graduations and warm breezes of spring.

All my love,

Kelli

Marching right along

I've posted some new pics (password to view is: kelliandandy).
At the outset, I never really intended this to be a blog about my domestic endeavors, but those are the only parts of my life that are very interesting :)
As you can see, I've jumped on the cute cupcake bandwagon. I was looking at a craft blog (shocker, I know) and a woman had posted these adorable sheep cupcakes. My classmate looked over my shoulder and saw them, and insisted I make them for our recent potluck. When I told her that we were supposed to bring green food, and sheep aren't green, she said "I don't care-you have to make those."
So, I made a little grassy hill for the sheep to relax on. Don't ask how much green food coloring it takes to make green cupcakes; I lost count somewhere after 40 drops.
Saturday afternoon, after weeks of plotting and planning, Andy and I sat down to whip up 20 or so St. Patrick's Day cards. Andy sends them every year, and I had such a blast with the Valentine's I decided these must be homemade, too. I have to say, I hit my stride about half-way in. Andy's were definately more consistent. Mine got progressively cuter (I had a dud in the middle there-got a little crazy with the stickers.)
As for our less frosted, glitterific, bedazzled real lives (see crafting is more exciting,) things are going really well! Andy was recently inducted to the Honor Society at school. I am so proud of how hard he works, and how well he is doing in school. He will finish his Bachelors degree next spring, but in the mean time will be picking up an Associates Degree this May before transferring to the school where he'll finish.
I have been working all semester at our school's pro bono legal services clinic, and this week I completed all the court documents to help my client file for bankruptcy. It was really wonderful to see it to completion, and it will be a relief to this person to be able to move on with a fresh start. My team has a second client that we are also working with, but it is moving a little more slowly. I will say it has been nice to have 2 different clients so that I can get a well-rounded experience. My first client is mono-lingual in Spanish, so I've been really using my Spanish skills. But, he is really, really easy to work with, so it has made the language challenge very manageable. Our other client is very difficult to meet with because of our schedules, but has a very straight forward legal situation, so it is a nice balance with our other work. All in all, working with these pro bono clients has been a real highlight of my law school career so far.
I was also recently honored to be elected to serve as the Membership Editor for law review for next year. I'll finish out this year with a few more editing projects, then I'll be creating and administering the competition that I had to do last year to get on to law review. Remember, I spent that crazy week finding 13,000 mistakes in a 10-page paper? Well, now I get to bless this year's class with that experience! Then, I'll spend most of May and June grading them. I'm really looking forward to it, actually.
I'm also applying for summer jobs, and Andy and I have already started planning our garden. It seems like summer is just around the corner, but I haven't even had spring break yet! My mama is coming to visit during my spring break, which starts next weekend. My study group girls and I are planning Kelli & Laurie's Spring Break Craft Camp. Stay tuned for updates on what will surely be a marvelous day!
I'm sure I've forgotten some important detail, but for now that's what's happening here in Minnesota. Only 7 more days of Winter, right?
Love always,
Kelli

March, in like a lamb or ...

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Valentines 2011

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Hey all!

as you can see, I've been relieving law school stress by channeling my energy into love notes! This is a spoiler alert for some of you, but they are just too cute not to share (not to toot my own horn).

If you go to the Shutterfly share site, the password is: kelliandandy

Enjoy! Hopefully I'll have more updates soon, but in a nutshell, things are going great here (except for the dreadful weather)!

Kelli

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