Break is halfway over?

WHAT? That is ridiculous. But the first half was filled with wonderful Christmas fun. You can check out all the festivities on the family blog here.

So what will I do with the remainder of my break?

READ:
Now I am enjoying "Game of Thrones" (on my new Kindle Fire--thanks Mom!).

PUZZLE:
We bought a 2,000 piece puzzle and started on Christmas. It will probably not be done until next Christmas.

TRAVEL:
Next weekend Libby and I are heading to Dayton to visit one of my very best friends, Erin! It should be a really wonderful girls weekend before the LAST semester of Law School begins.

I want to start on some knitting projects too. But I think my hands need a break for a couple days.  I must say, the break has been wonderful so far. Next post will probably involve some goals for 2012. Hard to believe it is almost that time again!

Christmas is *almost* here...

And it snuck up on my for sure.

I don't like to be rushed-hurriedly trying to get things done stresses me out. But Christmas came out of nowhere this year. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I have yet to wrap a present. But this morning I was reminded that Christmas is not about presents. Or rather it is. It is all about one very special gift.

I was reading Romans 6, and the last verse says "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (v23). God's gift to us-his Son.

Christmas is so wonderful because of all the magic surrounding it. The trees light up, the presents appear, all the anticipation and wonder. And the amazing mystery of the birth of a Savior. God's great gift to the world. I am amazed by how He came into the world-a helpless baby, born in a manger. And I am amazed at why. To save me, a sinner. To rescue me, a prodigal. But I am so very thankful for the gift of life that I have been given in Christ. And I hope His love fills all of your festivities and all of your hearts. Merry Christmas.

Exhale...

Finals are OVER. They were actually over on Tuesday, but I still haven't had a lot of time for blogging-

SURPRISE!

Oh well. Finals were exhausting. I feel like I say that every semester, but magically I forget until they come around again.

Sooo True.

But it is done. And I am one semester away from graduation. I am looking forward to celebrating that fact with my friends tomorrow at our Semi-Formal. We get dressed up. We have good food and drinks. We forget all the stress....we laugh...we have fun.  

As for the rest of break...I am knitting up a storm to get ready for Christmas. I'm hanging with the kiddos some-yesterday was Libby's Christmas Program so check the family blog soon for photos and hopefully a video! I'm back in the office too. Every year I have big plans for break, and then it whizzes by without me realizing it. So this year, I have 2 concrete projects that I want to accomplish.

THIS...

and THIS...

Both are knitted-I haven't delved into the crochet world yet. And I SUPER excited to make them! Added to the fun is that 4 or 5 of my friends have expressed an interest in learning to knit, so I will get to work on my projects while hanging out with some really awesome ladies.

I'll post photos-unless they turn out terribly...

images from here

In the thick of it...and some thoughts on Jacob.

I'm in the midst of finals. One has been turned in after a very long Saturday (12 hours in my dining room chair). I have two left - closed book exam Thursday and a take home due a week from today. And then I am DONE. Until next semester...
On a different note, last week Trey was preaching at church about Jacob. Now we have been in Genesis for the last several months, so Jacob has obviously been a topic before. But two weeks ago was the account of when he wrestled with God. They wrestled all night, and Jacob didn't let go. Instead he said "I will not let go unless you bless me." (Gen 32:26). And the blessing? A new name "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." (Gen 32:28).
Struggle. Jacob struggled. He refused to quit until he got the blessing. But struggle seems like a four letter word in our society. We have this notion that struggling means that we have failed instead of seeing the struggle as the process of succeeding. We don't want to struggle, we think it should be easy-so we give up. It is a word that reminds us (or maybe just me) of tiring, hard, painful events with no purpose. But that is isn't what the word means. It does involve tiring and hard and painful events, but it is for a purpose. We fight and claw and work and labor to get the blessing-for Jacob it was a new name. Maybe the blessing is different for me or for you. But if we fight and claw and refuse to let go, there is a blessing...

Easy example...If you struggle with growing out your hair (this isn't about me AT ALL), it is a fight to not go to the hairdresser, especially when you feel the mullet coming on. But you fight the urge-you remind yourself that a cute hair cut is in your future. You work through the awkward phases to get to the blessing-an awesome new do. (in my case, I want this one...

Harder example...If you struggle with school, you study and read, you make flash cards, you struggle with the material until you know it. The blessing? a better grade, a better job - maybe. Certainly an understanding of the material, that light bulb moment can be a blessing!

Hardest example...If you struggle with body image (like most women I know including myself), it may seem that the struggle is against food and motivation-the endless cycles of diets or exercise. But really I think the struggle is against the words that we say to ourselves. We have to struggle to love the bodies God has put us in, and fight with the influences and the messages that say otherwise. I know I certainly have to claw my way out of the pit of comparison. And the blessing? Contentment? A deeper faith in the God that made us? I'll let you know when I get there!

this pic says "One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful" -Freud

(Side-note, I don't ever look this cute while struggling with life,

 I usually have on man-sweatpants and stained T-shirts. :)

Whatever it is, STRUGGLE. Don't let go. I want to fight and claw and work until I get the blessing. And maybe at the end, you will see that the struggle really was beautiful because God used it to shape you.

images can be found here.

Lawbrary :: finals necessities

In this edition of law school talk, I will tell you all the things that are necessary for me when it comes to finals...and when I know my brain can take no more.

1. CLEAN HOUSE
I am distracted by a dirty house-mainly because even cleaning seems better than studying when one gets desperate. So I clean it beforehand and then am not tempted to clean during finals. I know my brain can take no more when I am cleaning really random things-organizing the junk closet, rearranging my closet, cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush.
2. WEAR GLASSES
For two weeks I don't put in my contacts. This is a weird rule. I am not saying that all of my finals necessities make sense-just that they are necessary. Not wearing contacts keeps my eyes from getting too tired. And when I fall asleep on my books or at my computer (which has happened) I don't have to worry about eye infections.

I love everything about this look--dark hair again??

3. PLAN SNACKS
Lauren and I have been planning our Wealth Transfers edibles all week.
So far we are making these...

and these....

and these...

and this...when our brains stop working.

vootbeer :)

I also stock up on healthy snacks like banana chips and mixed nuts; greek yogurt; graham cracker sticks and fresh fruit; and carrot sticks with salsa.
4. BE COMFY
I have no trouble with this one.

Comfy pants, sweaters, maybe my new cowl :)

5. When everything seems to be overwhelming....LAUGH
When I study with Lu-who it seems I study with every semester (1-Contracts; 2-Property; 3-Evidence; 4-Crim Pro; 5- Wealth Transfers), we laugh A LOT. After hours of studying, we usually take a few moments to tune into the most hilarious thing to a law student during finals...cats doing funny things.

These next couple of weeks are going to be tough--but here we go. In two weeks I am one semester away from being done with school forever (whoa). Or if all else fails...I'll start a knitting business. :) See you all when I emerge post-finals!

all images (except cowl) are from my "finals necessities" board on pinterest.

Tis the Season...

For finals :( 

Boo. 

It is that time of year again.
My outlines are made, my highlighters are new.
I am curled up in my study nest ready to LEARN. (or blog, whatever).

(said nest)

We did find some time on Saturday to get into the Christmas Spirit though. I like having all the decorations up while I study; they make me smile despite the stress. This year, Libby was our little helper.

And she did quite a fabulous job!

I love Christmas. The magic. The traditions. I love Christmas lights and carols. I want to drink warm drinks and snuggle under blankets this time of year (not really in this 60 degree weather though).

I dislike that finals mar it in any way. But I will cozy up on the couch with my third or fourth pot of coffee and read by the light of the tree. Studying could be worse. And soon it will be over.

18 days. It is the finals countdown.

Kiddos...

In case we aren't fb friends, and you would like to see some photos of my adorable children, you can hope over to the family blog. I posted some photos from a mini photo shoot that spontaneously occurred a couple weeks ago.

Today is my big presentation for one of my classes. So of course I am updating blogs and things...not practicing or preparing.

source

To be honest, I already have butterflies. I am not a BAD public speaker, but I am a NERVOUS one. Some people's voice shakes, some stumble over their words, me? My legs have uncontrollable tremors. So when I wear heels, you can hear the chatter in the background. Awesome. I actually had an acting class in college. My instructor told me to take the nervous energy in my feet and redirect it to my facial expressions. I never quite mastered that-mainly because I have no idea what he was talking about. It will be nice to have it OVER-and then afterwards dinner at our professor's house. AND THEN?? Thanksgiving Break. YAY! Not that I will "break" much. But not having to go to class will be wonderful!

Busy Busy

source

This is kind of what I feel like.

 It is that time of the semester. I still have to read for class, but add on preparing presentations, drafting outlines, researching for clinic, and tying up loose ends. Too many things in my inbox--not enough in the out. So until December 16 (when finals are over) I will be mainlining coffee, abstaining from most television, and digging in my heels for my next to last set of finals. Here we go...

A little bit of truth

After a really GREAT night last night-celebrating my amazing husband (photos etc to come)-I had a really crappy morning/day. I definitely let circumstances steal my joy. But God is faithful-and when I sat down and spent some time in His Word, He gave me some very sweet words that I am holding close to my heart right now.

"GREAT PEACE have those who love your law,

and nothing can make them stumble." Psalm 119:165 

So now I am going to exhale, enjoy the rest of the day with my family, probably dig into our new Dexter's that came on Netflix and START OVER tomorrow. Hopefully I will remember to rest in His great peace.

Happy Birthday, Husband!

Today is the day that Corey Bozic made his debut into the world 31 years ago.

As Joe would say "BIG thumbs up!"

I am so LUCKY to have this guy in my life everyday. I don't have any clever poems or sappy tales to tell. Just an overwhelming amount of appreciation for all that he does and all that he is. I have had more fun, more laughs, more incredible moments in the 10 years I have been with this guy than I could have ever imagined. All these years later, our song still rings true--I really am the luckiest.

 

 

 

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HUSBAND! I LOVE YOU!!

Currently...

I haven't done a "currently" post in a very long time. What AM I up to-besides law school ridiculousness?

so currently I am...

LISTENING: 

gungor--so wonderful

this is the song "Beautiful Things" (thanks Danie for sharing)-the rest of their stuff is equally amazing!

READING: 

HELP ME HERE I NEED A GOOD BOOK! 

I have been having major withdrawal since finishing the Hunger Games in August. I have taken to forcing my friends to read it so that I can relive the wonderfulness through them. It is tempting to read Harry Potter again, or Narnia. But if any of you have suggestions for new-to-me books-PLEASE-HELP!

STUDYING: Lies Women Believe, and the TRUTH that Sets them Free

It has been a great study for this semester of life. I am recognizing a lot of areas that God wants to refine me. And replacing lies with TRUTH is always a good idea!

WATCHING: 

We just finished up a Twilight Movie Marathon (I am sure Corey is so happy I am sharing that information!). Now onto another season of Dexter-so fun especially after our awesome Halloween costumes. I am also obsessed with the Sing Off! It is such a great show, and I think this is the best season. Ben Folds is my favorite, so the show could be terrible and I would still watch. But, it isn't. It is great.

EATING: 

Lovely fall treats

Corey and I have had a great time cooking together and creating our own "specialties". We make a killer pizza, and a mean grilled cheese (ciabatta bread is the KEY ingredient). I love making soup. He loves bbq anything and chilis of all sorts. And we can add bacon to almost anything :)

CRAFTING (what?! I know, me crafting?): 

I have not yet ventured beyond the scarf-,mainly because now everyone I know wants one. And they are super cute and fun to make!

Makes my heart happy to see my friends wear things I created!

Other than that, I am busy, busy with kids, and school, and work, and life. Same old, same old! Check out the family blog to see the kiddos in their Halloween costumes! SUPER CUTE!

Halloween: the adult party

Corey and I have not done Halloween in a long time. I think only once since we got married-and it was a somewhat lame costume without much thought. The fact that our friend Cameron has a out-of-control Halloween party every year to celebrate his birthday makes it pretty ridiculous that we have never participated. This year, we changed all of that! All we needed was a good idea-and Corey's Type-A personality to create a superb couples costume. I give you...

Dexter and Victim.

 the first question from every person "Is that a real knife?"

Answer: Yes. Corey's brainchild-looked awesome and gruesome

If you have never seen the show, our costumes may not make sense. Here are some pics from the actual TV show to show you accuracy-Corey was dead on in his costume :) Note the cellophane use-I covered more of my body for the sake of modesty.

The other guests at the party were equally bedecked in some creative costumes. Cameron was Abraham Lincoln with Sarah on his arm as Mary Todd. He went so far as to memorize the Gettysburg Address and recite it to us on the front porch with the flag waving in the background. I have the video. You can check it out on my fb page. He also reenacted his death scene, and returned to the party as Zombie Abe. The Swearingens came as army men (my personal favorite costumes of the night). Batman was there, Thor, a crazy bear that I still don't understand. Everyone had a blast at the very patriotic Halloween Party.

 Abe and Mary before getting shot.

 Zombie Abe with Army Man.

Me and Violet Beauregard (aka Chelsy Gevas)

All in all it was a supremely enjoyable night. I'm not sure that we will ever top our costumes, but I know that we are going to keep trying. It was too much fun to not do again!

Kiddos go trick-or-treating tonight, so expect some photos of them in the near future. They will be much cuter than Corey and I :).

a tree

Today I took a picture of a tree outside my office. 

And I liked it.

I liked looking at it. It is a perfect little tree. 

And sometimes looking at a perfect little tree makes a dreary day less dreary.

Trees are some of my favorite things. I love them in spring and summer when their leaves are full and green and beautiful. I love walking through the woods and seeing the light filter through the canopy. I love them in fall when the leaves turn fabulous colors and set our hills on fire. And even in winter. When the leaves have fallen and the trees stand bare. I love the look of them-it is a lonelier look, but one that I appreciate and understand. It is certainly one of the reasons Ansel Adams is my favorite photographer. 

So today is about a tree. 

Eye on the PRIZE

The semester is more than halfway over. It is the part of the semester that begins to pick up in regard to workload. I am in the midst of researching to write a bill for legislation, reading filings for clinic, and just getting through the regular course load. So of course it is completely reasonable for me to make some additional goals, right? 

A few things have been rolling around in my head to do, and sometimes you just have to START. 

One is scripture memorization.

One of my blogger-pals Amanda shared her scripture memory system (started by Beth Moore) on her blog. I am going to steal it and make it my own. You need a spiral notebook of index cards and a bible :). The concrete goal? Two verses per month for a total of 24 for the year. I do not know where I will start, but I am sure I will post them as I memorize them. 

Another goal is to make exercise a priority again. 

This semester has been an energy drainer. But I am tired of excuses. So I dusted off the elliptical and dragged myself out of bed this morning. It felt great. The concrete goal? elliptical 2x a week, one long run and maybe some yoga in there somewhere. 

FINALLY, over Christmas I will make a quilt. 

I like the nine-patch pattern

This goal requires help from my very crafty Mother in law. But I have had the material for a few years, and I want to MAKE IT! I have enjoyed knitting so much in the last few weeks-creating something functional with my own hands. A quilt is a much bigger time commitment, so it must wait until school is not in the way. 

I like setting goals. I like having things to work toward. Even in the midst of school's chaos and crazy schedules. Even in the middle of it all. 

DIY? DI-Done!

From start to finish, this took me less than a week. I generally only worked on it while watching TV in the evening. And if I do say so myself (and I do), I think it looks great! I am excited to wear it now that the weather is turning cold :)

NOW? I am making another-in mustard yellow for my best friend and fellow blogger Danielle (you can check her blog out here). I am using a different pattern which I will post when I finish.

For all of my fellow knitters, I will share the pattern for this guy.

• CAST ON a multiple of 4 plus 3 stitches to size 13 needles
• Row 1: K3, *p1, k3; rep. from *.
• Row 2: K2, *p3, k1; rep from * to last stitch, k1.
• Repeat the two rows until desired length (I used 1 skein of soft but chunky yarn)
• CAST OFF ( I don't know any fancy casting off things, so just regular cast off for me)
• ADD decorative button (the pattern is not too tight, so no button hole is necessary.)

WEAR HAPPILY :)

cityChurch |:| learning self-control

site

Our topic last Thursday was self-control. NOT my favorite topic. Why? cause it is hard. and I'm not great at it. (that sounds whiny, and it is kinda whiny). But I was so blessed and encouraged by our community group. One of the things that has stuck with me since last Thursday was the link between FAITH and SELF-CONTROL.

One of the reasons that we can exhibit self control is because we believe that what GOD has for us is better than what is right in front of us. I always think I will be missing out if I don't indulge now. There won't be cookies left, I better eat 5. It's a really good sale, I better buy 5 (when 1 is plenty). I won't have time to do ______ if I take time to read my bible everyday. I don't like to show restraint...

BUT if I believe that God's way is best....if I can resolve that His life is the life abundant, then I'm not missing out on anything.  I really liked that one guy in our group shared the verse 1 Corinthians 10:23. It says the believers freedom is that "'Everything is permissible'-- but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'--but not everything is constructive." There is freedom, but just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD. Man this is hard to learn. Hard to live. But by FAITH we can do hard things. And by learning SELF-CONTROL, I show that I have FAITH. It is very circular--in a good way.

I like to share what I am learning--hoping that someone out there needs to hear these things too. :)

Progress.

I have been working hard on my scarf. I only knit when I am watching TV or taking a break from study mode. Amazingly it is really coming along-it is imperfect, but made with love. I thought I would share a photo.

 I think in a week it will be done :) 

Kitchen Adventures |:| a week of farmers market fare

When we visited Knoxville, we were lucky enough to get to not only go to the AWESOME Farmer's Market, but also to get half of the flat of veggies the Taylors normally share with another family (that family was going on vaca and did not need them). So we got to take home-potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, mustard greens, broccoli, hot chili peppers, unidentified leafy things (they looked like maple leaves).

I decided to try to incorporate at least one thing into each meal. The result? A week of wonderful and healthy meals.

Tuesday: Corey's chili.

He incorporated the hot chilis and who knows what else. I let him keep his secrets. Needless to say it was delicious--served with cornbread muffins. (and we froze the leftovers and used them on our southwest omelets for cityChurch brunch this morning)

Wednesday: Panko crusted Tilapia with mushroom and garlic wild rice and sauteed mustard greens.

I stole a Martha Stewart recipe to make the fish-I did fish sticks so the kiddos would eat it too!  The mustard greens

Thursday: Greek Wraps with tempeh. 

This is a recipe that we like to include as a light dinner. It comes from Cooking Light-you can find it here. We used the amazing tomatoes from the Farmers Market along with some spinach, lettuce and goat cheese, it was YUM. We usually serve these with Terra exotic vegetable chips of the Mediterranean variety. It makes for a quick and light dinner.

Friday: Loaded Baked Potato soup. 

ALSO from Cooking Light. (Have I mentioned my love of these magazines?). It is one of my favorite potato soup recipes- I extra love it because you bake the potatoes in the microwave-EASY PEASY! We used the Farmer's Market taters ( I use more than the recipe calls for cause I love em). Adding bacon and cheddar on top makes for a filling and comforting soup. I LOVE it. Try it.

Tonight: Veggie (pasta-less) lasagna. 

not the prettiest presentation, but hey-it's lasagna-it's messy

My friend Brittany forwarded me this recipe. I already had the squash and zucchini, all I needed was some eggplant. The recipe can be found here. It is gluten-free (as long as you omit the bread crumbs on top). It makes a TON-so plan accordingly!

I love cooking-especially when we PRE-plan our meals for the week. So having this post will certainly keep me accountable to plan out weekly meals. The one area that I struggle with is KID-friendly meals. My kids like food--but soup is not a fav, so we tend to make them ravioli or chicken nuggets on nights that we have a more unique meal. I'm open to ANY IDEAS :)