The UP side

If I haven't mentioned it, law school is ROUGH. It drains me. I am sure there are people out there that think it is easy breezy. I am not one of them. BUT nights like last night remind me that there is an UP side. I have a whole new community of people that I would have never known without law school. The blogger ladies (sans Lauren) were over last night for our monthly dinner/general silliness. And my funky week dissipated. I laughed hysterically. These women are all so different from me and from each other, and yet we fit. We all want different things-none has the same career path or the same lifestyle. But the level of humor and fun when we get together is unmatched by some people that I have known my whole life.

Here of some of my favorite parts...

The FOOD.

We are serious when it comes to eating!

The table was filled with yummy, healthy and fresh foods--salad and tempeh & green bean stir fry for the main course and delicious smores for dessert!

Jess talking with her fork. It was a very important point, apparently!

The fact that Joe grabbed a stool and climbed up to the counter to make himself a smore without asking anyone. He was a man on a mission.

This face says it ALL!

Eating our dessert over the sink.

We own a reasonable number of chairs, but somehow everyone congregated in the kitchen, standing around eating and drinking.

Clothing swap--Jess and I liked trying things on :)

(PS, I'm gonna rock some of the scarves that I snagged to combat the in-between hair phase)

FAV story of the whole night: Libby is our shy little gal. She doesn't warm up to people very often, but when Corey and Michael were playing Wii frisbee golf, she was the cheerleader. Unfortunately, Michael had a few holes where he wasn't doing great and had to throw several shots in a row. Libby's cheer was "Try again Michael, try again'" which she bellowed into a plastic cup for amplification. Nothing like a near 5 year old to remind you of your shortcomings :)--Michael was a good sport though!

De-funking and general Friday happiness...

It has been a FUNKY week. This time of the semester always does this to me--I am on the edge of finals season. I can feel the weight starting to build on my shoulders. My brain is hopping from one worrisome thought to the next. Instead of sitting down and getting outlines and things ready, I am curled in the fetal position--ok, well not literally, but in my mind I am curled in the fetal position.

You would think after almost 4 semesters of law school, I would have figured out how to tackle all of this stuff. But every semester, the same thing happens. Today, however, I am reminding myself to BREATH!

I started the day with a workout...the elliptical may have been one of the best purchases Corey and I made last summer! Working out helps me RELEASE some of the tension. I get lost in my music and have at least 30 minutes of non-stressed out time.

Threw on some comfy clothes and my TOMS--I really want my new springy pair to get here, but my polka-dotted pair will due for today. Then I cleaned up the office and "nested" for a bit. I need an area that I feel comfy in to work and sit and read for hours on end.

A nice distraction for the morning was a play date with the Smiths. My best friend Shawna comes over every Friday morning with her daughter Addi. Grownups drink coffee and kids play. One of my favorite times during the WHOLE week.

Now kids are in bed, I am sitting down to work on an outline for Jurisprudence. More coffee and a granola bar are making it not suck so badly! In a little while, the blogger ladies will be over to eat, drink, and just generally be merry. My soul needs a fun night with friends for SURE! Photos of our little extravaganza will be posted later, so tune in.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

[source]

Between a Mullet and a Hard Place...

Oh the woes of growing out my hair. I am a short-hair lover! But once your hair is really short, you have two options

Keep the same hair cut

OR

Grow it out and try something new

(Well, I guess shaving one's head would also be an option, but not one that I am currently contemplating. )

I have really enjoyed my newest hair cut, but it isn't really my style to do the same thing over and over again. So I am in the middle of a "growing out" phase, which brings on the inevitable--the MULLET. For some reason, the back of my hair grows (or seems to grow) much faster than the front. So I end up with a mullet. And then I get frustrated and cut it all off again--making a really difficult cycle to get out of.

BUT, to get to my goal, I am doing some new things.

FIRST: Inspiration--love these hair cuts, and I think they would be a fun Fall look, which is probably how long it will take to get my hair that long -- maybe winter :)

SECOND: Change it up without cutting it up. I am trying to do new things with my current hair so that I can "feel" like I got a hair cut without actually getting it cut. Today I parted it on the other side. Simple. Made me feel so much better about my awkward stage hair.

THIRD: NO MULLET! I am fighting the mullet by trimming the back every week. It is kind of hysterical to see me cutting my own hair with a tiny mirror and somewhat dull scissors. Luckily, my hair is forgiving and I can get away with it. We will not be here again--(scroll down to mulletted photo)!!

Book Worm--Volume 7

My Freshman year of college was a great year of reading. I was surrounded by other book nerds and got some GREAT recommendations. Freshman year was the year that I read Gone with the Wind and Grapes of Wrath. It was the year I started reading Harry Potter. But my one of my favorite finds (and later the sequel) was

Bridget Jones's Diary

and later

Bridge Jones's Diary: The Edge of Reason

I am a fan of the dramatic. I like tear jerkers and melancholy stories. But these books tickled my funny bone to the point that I was laughing out loud wherever I was reading. The books follow the main character Bridget Jones. The book is her diary--recording her weight, the number of cigarettes she smoked that day and the funniest anecdotes I have read, probably ever. She is a lovable main character that screws up in the way we all do-falls for the wrong kind of man, holds on to the extra weight, doesn't know what to do with her life. Her family is crazy, her friends are eccentric. I think both books are worth a try-they are not literary genius, but they are awfully funny.

My other favorite thing about the books is their relation to Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. It is a novel spook--with much more crude language and sex than the Austen versions (of course). The main male character is Mr. Darcy and the parents remind me of Austen's characters too. One of my favorite parts is that Bridget and her friends are obsessed with Pride and Prejudice (and Colin Firth). The second book holds one of my favorite passages...

Here Bridget Jones (for her job) is asked to interview Colin Firth - a dream come true for the Mr. Darcy - lover/fantasizer, who has spent much of her adult life watching Mr. Darcy (played by Colin Firth) jump in the lake and come out with his wet shirt.

BJ: But do you think you’re not like Mr Darcy?

CF: I do think I’m not like Mr Darcy, yes.

BJ: I think you’re exactly like Mr Darcy.

CF: In what way?

BJ: You talk the same way as him.

CF: Oh, do I?

BJ: You look exactly like him

Happy Reading...

Check it out...

I was up today on the Law Ladies Blog--you can see what some of my favorite things are here!

I am a thief...

I steal blog ideas and fashion ideas, musical inspiration and most of all RECIPES. I am surrounded by so many talented cookers :) One of my favorite new friends is a little gal named Janice. She started coming to our community group in the fall, one of a handful of medical students. She was quiet, kind and unassuming. But then she brought food. AND OH MY GOODNESS!! She makes some of the most kick butt, healthy recipes I have ever eaten. You see, Janice was also a nutrition major. So I have officially stolen her whole wheat apple muffins and yesterday--I stole her granola.

IT IS SO GOOD. Her recipe is for pistachio granola--I am including a pic of the card she gave me cause it is too cute. I want to market her stuff and call it Simply by Janice. I did not have pistachios or sunflower seeds, so I made some substitutions. Here is what I used...

Cole's Adaptation of Janice's Granola (it's a little wordy, but we will go with it)

THE DRY INGREDIENTS

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup flaxseed (ground)

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

THE WET INGREDIENTS (same as Janice's)

1/4 cup applesauce (this is awesome!! never used this in granola before)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2/3 (a little less) honey

You preheat the oven to 325; combine all your ingredients and put them on a baking sheet. Cook for about 45 min stirring every 15 minutes. Add 2/3 cup of raisins, craisins or any dried fruit

that you have on hand as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let it cool on some wax paper. DONE!

I love having people around who inspire me to try new things, eat new foods, wear new clothes and read new books. (PS the tempeh was amazing... go back here and make this recipe!!)

Menu: the week ahead...

Saturdays are generally the day that we sit down and figure out what we want to eat for the week. I make a list, add some essentials and we head to the store. Today was a little different cause we were down one kid. Yesterday we ran into Corey's dad in the parking lot of Walmart and he "needed" to take Joe with him. So Corey and I got to have a little Libby all to ourselves, SO much fun to spoil her a bit without Joe. So instead of a family trip out, we made it a girls date and let daddy stay home and drum.

So what's on the menu this week?

The NEW

• Tempeh and Green Bean Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce: I got a subscription to Cooking Light a couple years ago, and I *try* to make a recipe from it at least a couple times a month. Lately, it has been a HUGE resource for the vegetarian recipes that we are incorporating into our diet. I'm planning on serving this with chow mein noodles.
  
  

As an aside: If, like me, you don't know what tempeh is, here is a little blurb.

• Chicken Barley Chili: I bought the barley a while back to make veggie burgers; another of our goals is to use the food we buy (and not be wasteful), so I wanted to find a use for the barley. Luckily, the back of the box is usually a pretty good place to start.

The FAMILIAR

• Grilled Steak with mashed cauli and asparagus: It is that time of year again--grilling season. I am so excited to let Corey take over the main course--kabobs, pizzas, hot dogs, hamburgers, and STEAK. I love a good steak. I lighten up the traditional potato side dish by doing half cauliflower and half potato. I have done all cauliflower, but the consistency is a little off, and I prefer the half-n-half version.
• Lentil Sloppy Joes: Again, bought the lentils during out veggie-experiment, and we need to use them. This was a favorite for the whole family, so why not do it again. If you forgot the recipe, you can find it here.

The UNKNOWN

• There are always a couple nights of the week that we let be an X-factor. One is usually leftovers. The other is a fun and creative night. That is where our Made-Up Marinara came from. Last night was homemade grilled stuffed burritos (filled with ground turkey, refried beans, mexi rice, cheese, and sour cream) topped with salsa verde. YUM!

Other things that I will be making/eating this week...

• Granola: I am a big fan of Alton Brown, and I love his granola recipe. I usually sub honey in for maple syrup, but other than that it is DELIC!
• Nut Thins: I have known of these for a while, but just started buying them for myself recently. They are crunchy and simply spiced. This week they are on sale at Kroger so I grabbed the Pecan and Smokehouse varieties.
• Larabars: my mom has a SAMS club problem. i.e. she buys things in bulk and then cannot eat it all. So this week I am sampling a variety of these healthy granola bars.

I'll keep ya'll posted on what's good and what's bad :)