New Blog

I doubt there is anyone still reading over here, but I wanted a change, so I have started a new blog. I’m posting the link and hope that you’ll come visit over there if you feel like reading, and hopefully laughing:

todrinkandwrite.wordpress.com

Thanks everyone for the comments, and for your friendship and support of the Legally Married blog.

Wear Teal Day – This Friday

Teal.

Wear it!

This Friday is National Wear Teal Day and I am asking that everyone who can to wear teal to support my mother-in-law in her fight against ovarian cancer.

Now, there seems to be a conspiracy against me finding the perfect teal, because as Attorney at Large said, true teal exists only as a platonic ideal. So it’s everything from this: 

To this

 

To this

 

 Whatever shade of teal you wear, you’ll be helping to promote awareness of and activism against a disease that is prevalent and that affects women daily. Did you know…

• There is no early detection test for ovarian cancer?
• One in 71 women will develop the disease in their lifetime?
•  More than 15,000 women die of ovarian cancer each year in the US?

 I’ve contacted a volunteer organization to try to give my time to promote a cure. And, I’m promoting awareness and supporting my mother-in-law by wearing teal. I hope you’ll join with me and do the same. If you choose to blog about it, I will post a link up later this week. If you would be willing to share your photos, so that I can in turn share them with my mother-in-law and father-in-law, but you don’t want to blog about it or don’t have a blog of your own, I would love for you to email me at legalwifeintx@gmail.com so I can share them with her on Friday when I see her.

 From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate your support of my mother-in-law. Also, my little “nephew” BB says “Thanks for teal-ing out!” (My lovely sister arranged a “Wear Teal” day early at her office since she wouldn’t be able to participate this Friday.)

BB rocks the teal!

College Colors Day and Sic ‘Em!

I’m linking up with Mrs. Jones for college football season, which kicks off this weekend!

In the world of college football, I’m a relatively new fan. A lot of people grew up supporting a specific school, wearing Longhorn onesies or Crimson Tide jackets of Horned Frog cheerleader outfits or something like that. But, even though I grew up in a sports family, I didn’t grow up with a strong college football affiliation. My dad played college football at a small school that no longer has a football program, and my mother, the consummate hater of sports throughout my childhood years, certainly didn’t identify with any team. She’s the kind of person who refers to sports as my dad’s “mistress” and used to make us children do rankings of who we thought our father loved more, God, sports or his children.But I digress.

Anyway, so I grew up collecting Major League Baseball cards, wearing Dallas Cowboys gear and singing the “I’m a Dallas Mavericks fan” commercial jingle. But I didn’t grow up sporting a specific college team’s colors.

And then I fell in love.

Not with my husband, although that happened soon after, but with Baylor University. And I made up for lost time. Not so much, admittedly, while I was in school, because it’s a little hard to fall in love with one of the very, very worst programs in the BCS. I fell in love, though, with the atmosphere and the camaraderie of the college game day.

Of course, Ducks helped.

He grew up in TCU’s backyard but is now one of the most loyal BU fans in existence. Dating and marrying someone who’s equally as big a sports fan as my father helped a lot, because my schedules began to revolve around our team, and our conversations began to trend around which recruits were taking their official visits and how we might be able to telepathically convince them to come to our school.

And then there was the era of Art Briles.

Which is, of course, better known as the RG3 era (so far).

RGIII Being RGIII

This was one of the greatest nights in Baylor history.

It’s amazing – the way it feels to be a fan of a perpetual cellar-dweller, and then the difference as you watch your school emerge into the name that’s on everyone’s lips. Jim Rome derided us as “Scrubby lil’ Baylor,” then took it back, begrudgingly, after our sports programs made history as the winningest university in the NCAA. Ever.

So, that leads to the colors thing. Today is college colors day and I’m “flinging my green and gold afar “(that’s a line from the alma mater)” in a green shirt for work, and still sporting my teal-green nails. Since I’ll never be a good photographer, especially while trying to self-portrait with an iPhone camera, I am offering up some historical photos with the fam (sorry about the dots. No one in my family is aware of this blog, so I don’t have their permission to share their personal photos online).  

Me + sister at the Elite Eight (I’m on the left). I know you don’t recognize me with that yellow thing on my face!

Ducks, me and my sisters

Happy College Colors Day and sic ‘em, Bears!

Heavy Hearted

So, I try to usually be funny, and I can occasionally be a little pouty or whiny on this blog, but today I’m genuinely heavy hearted.

Last week, we found out that my mother-in-law’s cancer has returned. It’s been a recurring theme for the past several years, but I try not to talk about it too much (see here, here, here). She was first diagnosed more than three years ago, and has been such a brave, strong survivor throughout. She’s done everything from continuing to exercise to becoming vegan in her quest to remain healthy.

It is so very frustrating to see someone who does all the right things have to continue to struggle. It’s heart-rending to know that she’s having trouble with breathing because the cancer is attacking her. It started as ovarian cancer and has spread to a couple of different places – lymph nodes and lungs.

So, I’m asking for two things from you, blog friends. One is your prayers and support, and the other is your advice. We live four hours from my in-laws, and thanks to law school, we’re tied down to San Antonio for at least another year. We can’t be there on a daily basis to help them with meals or to drive her to chemo sessions. We are doing what we can – calling, texting, praying, sending cards, but what else can we do to support them?

Today, just as a little something to make myself feel better, I painted my nails teal, which is the color for ovarian cancer.

I sent the picture to my mother-in-law just to show her I was being supportive, and I’m spending lunch shopping for clothes for “Wear Teal Day” which is Sept. 7. But, what else can we do? Have any of you been in a similar situation and can you offer any advice. Thanks in advance for the kind words, kind thoughts and prayers.

 

PS If anyone would like the link to the blog about my MIL’s cancer survivor journey, just post your email address in the comments and I will send it to you.

I’m Not That Crazy

Most of the time, I am a pretty reasonable, responsible, sedate adult woman.

Most of the time, I do act my age (all of it – all 28 years) or better. In fact, one of my friends in her late 30s has actually mentioned feeling like we just “click” and relate well to each other because I’m so mature for my late 20s (a time in which many, I suppose, still have a predilection for Girls Gone Wild and one-night stands with inappropriate men).

But, anyway, most of the time I act in totally responsible adult ways – paying the bills on time, calculating the per ounce price of generic versus brand name green beans, driving close to the speed limit. There’s just one area where I can’t seem to control myself, and where my personality does a U-turn.

It’s when I decide to accost teenage boys.

Now, it’s not quite as nefarious as it sounds. I’m not showing up on their doorsteps dressed in nothing but a trench coat and waiting to lure them into all manner of vice.

No, I accost them right out in the street, or in the gym, wherever I happen to see them.

There’s probably a technical name for this sickness, you know, something like Beiber Fever (not that I would ever dream of throwing myself at Justin Beiber – perish the long-haired effeminate thought). But, at the root of it is this – I’m just too proud of my alma mater.

Yes, I can’t keep from spewing admiration and word vomit at the high school students being recruited to play marquee sports at my university. On two occasions, I’m not proud to say, I’ve actually REACHED. OUT. AND. TOUCHED. THESE. KIDS. (on the arm, don’t get too weirded out) without permission.

My voice goes to an unnaturally high pitch and I squeak out some brilliance like, “Hey – welcome to BU!” at a pitch that makes dogs whimper. I get giddy about this. I consider it a celebrity sighting. Seriously, if you asked me whether I’d rather meet Kobe Bryant or the player I accosted recently (whose name I can’t write because I might die of EMBARASSMENT), the choice is unmistakable. I’m going for the 17-year-old kid who was probably being born about 30 miles away from my home town with I was in fifth grade.

I had the chance to meet (and by meet, I mean follow, track down and tap on the arm) the previously mentioned player recently. Shame of shame, I recognized his face from too much Twitter and online research. At least, I thought he looked familiar, and when I saw his name printed on the back of his All-Star jersey, I went in for the kill. What brilliant statement did I use to attract his attention? “We’re looking forward to watching you play at [school name] next year.” If there were a Pulitzer for introductions, that one would have undoubtedly been a unanimous winner. But, it gets better. He smiled, he was gracious and he took in my husband’s neon highlighter shirt with [school name] blazoned across it with a smile (By the way, the only reason said husband wasn’t the first person to approach this player with a fanboy attitude was that he probably had his nose buried in his player memorization flash cards. If only that approach worked in law school as well as it does for learning rosters).

Of course, just shouting out the kid on the street wasn’t enough. I also immediately, before even getting to the car, had to find him via my mobile phone and tweet him, saying, “Hey, I just met you, and yes I’m crazy. But you go to my school. So follow me maybe.” Or something of that nature.

This wasn’t even the worst of my collegiate athlete celebrity encounters. On the very worst, I forced my college student sister to take a picture with a high-ranking incoming player. Okay, multiple pictures with multiple high-ranking, signed recruits. With her camera. While I waxed eloquent about “Oh my gosh, we’re so excited you’re coming here next year.” You know, a reprise of that speech that won me the verbal Pulitzer. She was furious.

But I never really pay attention to anything said by a 19-year-old wearing a t-shirt with a cat on it. Really – surely I don’t look that crazy.

Ho hum… School Starts Again

Totally anti-climactic.

That’s how I would describe the beginning of the end of law school.

Every other year, I’ve gotten up, made Ducks a lunch, taken his picture, and all that jazz. This year, I slept in, no photo was taken and he had to take leftovers to school. It’s amazing – the difference in this year from the others. The 1L year was all about anticipation. We shopped for school supplies, did reading assignments together so we could discuss them and anxiously prepared for the heart-stopping Socratic method.

The second year, we weren’t sure how upper-level classes would differ from the 1L classes, so we were a little nervous that year as well. Plus, we had the pressure of finding an internship, finishing a 25-page writing requirement and worrying about job prospects (Notice that I say “we” on all this… weird… since I’m mostly just the bystander/cheerleader).

This year is not exactly coasting, but we know what to expect and we know what we have to do. It’s more about maintaining the status quo – passing classes and maintaining the internship and focusing on finding jobs. That part is easy for me, since – no joke – I get offered a job at least once every couple of months. Last night, I got offered a job at a mixer last night. That’s just how I roll… I guess.

One good thing about the coasting? My husband now is convinced he can go to every college football game played this season. He’s even requested tickets to go to Morgantown, WV, to watch our newest Big 12 team in action. And at that, I have to say, “Slow down, buddy!” Just because you’re not as freaked out about school doesn’t mean you’re rich. So, that “good” – that was just a tad bit sarcastic.

One more year. We can make it. How’s your year starting off, fellow law wives? And, how’s everyone else doing? 🙂

The Seedy Underbelly of Technology

So, despite the fact that I work with social media a lot in my job…

And, despite the fact that I’m currently writing to you on a BLOG…

I kind of hate technology.

Why?

Because technology, rather than being the Great Enabler, is more like the Great Preventer.

We live in a big city. I think it’s in the top ten in the nation, so the possibility of me encountering people I don’t want to see is a rare one. I think I’ve only run into a co-worker while grocery shopping in workout clothes and glasses ONCE. In three years. That’s not too shabby.

But, thanks to technology, everyone has the potential of breaking free of their neatly segmented areas of my life and colliding. For example…

Last night, I had three things on my schedule after work. There was an obligation with the husband’s law firm and a Junior League meeting. Both sound thrillingly fun, right? But, the third was MY FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT. Obviously, it was impossible for me to miss that and end up with a shafty team ALL SEASON. Or have someone draft Chad Johnson (the artist formerly known as Ochocinco) for me or something else equally heartrending and terrible like that.

So, the draft was the choice for the evening. And it was great, and I got a pretty decent team (even though I didn’t get a top three QB. Whatever.). But, I had to worry about whether someone from the draft party was going to post on Facebook that I was with them, instead of at the JL committee meeting. And that’s just a pain. I didn’t tell JL that I was home sick or that my imaginary pet wildebeest had gotten poisoned or that I was out serving lemonade to lepers or something. I just said I couldn’t go, but the oversharing, geo-locating, information-vomitting social media world (especially with all the tagging, bleh) caused me grief. And it’s not the first time this has happened.

I see kids (including all of my sisters) overposting on social media all the time, whether it’s pics on Instagram or Foursquare check-ins or Facebook statuses. Worrying about people finding out things I wouldn’t choose to tell them is part of why I never share my name or much personally identifiable info on the blog (although I don’t mind in email, etc.)

How do you disengage from technology and its inherent issues without disengaging from society as a whole? As a parent or future parent, how do you protect kids from something that’s going to be practically native to them? And how, oh how, do you get to skip out on boring meetings and do fun things without someone ratting you out? (That last one is obviously the most important.)

Have a great day!

 

Birthday Blues

There has never been a year in my entire life that school has ruined my birthday.

That’s one of the perks of being born in the summer, right?

While your friends have to be content with a cupcake, class and a bunch of homework, you get to go swimming, or go out of town, or just have fun.

Well, thanks, law school, for ruining that.

Ducks is taking two summer school classes this year. One is completely online. The other includes a professor who calls on students for 45 minutes at a time. He lets them know ahead of time, so they can be prepared to answer a lot of questions.

Ducks has never been called on for this class before, so I knew he would be called on for Monday, which would end up destroying any chance of enjoying the birthday weekend. And, according to an email I received from his at 8:45 this morning, I was exactly correct. Monday is his first (and probably only) day to be called on. So no long walk in our neighborhood park, no going out to dinner or getting together with friends (not that we have any money for that, thanks to another story – my fault – which I will tell you at another time).

I’m being a big baby about this, because honestly, a birthday is just one day, and who really cares about turning 28 anyway? It just seems that with all the annoyances of law school, this is just one more thing to add.

Sigh.

Signs and strangeness and your opinions

Have you ever asked for a sign, then actually gotten a sign?

In the past, I’ve actually seen a real physical sign – and I’m not being crazy or superstitious here. In two of the worst and darkest moments of my life, I’ve seen a double rainbow. those are the only two times that I have ever seen a double rainbow (besides in this ridiculously weird video) and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that those rainbows were a sign to me that God was watching over me in those very, very bad times.

Now, a couple of days ago, I asked God for a sign about something else that’s been worrying me/weighing on my mind. And, since then, from three separate people/incidences, I’ve been told or taught, “Making no decision is worse than making the wrong decision.”

All mysticism and such aside, what do you think of that statement. “No decision is worse than the wrong decision”? Not in a moral sense, just in a sense of ambivalence, trying to decide about careers, families, life plans, etc.

Do you think it’s true?

 

11s

I got this quiz/survey/whatever from my friend Stef‘s blog. Sometimes I get a little caught up in the humdrumness of the law school life and I can’t think about anything to blog besides my desire to win the lottery, quit my job and pay off law school debts. So, naturally, things like this help me to think outside the law school blogging box. 

1. What is your most favorite place on Earth?

Favorite place on a regular day – sad to say it, but my bed. I never get to spend enough time there and it is so ridiculously comfortable. The first instant of sliding into bed and encountering the softness of the pillowtop and the snuggliness of the covers (and my husband if I’m lucky) is really without equal. 

However, favorite place ever is anywhere beside water. I really feel like my best self when I’m near the ocean. 

2. If you woke up with an extra $10,000 tomorrow, what’s the first thing you would buy? {and DON’T say ‘pay off debt’. LAME.}

Okay, if paying off law school debt is prohibited, then I’d book our tickets for our post-law school celebratory trip. We’re thinking Maui but haven’t yet decided how we’re paying for it. Sounds great, though, right?

3. Facebook, or Twitter?

Absoutely Twitter. The avenues of stalking are so much greater on Twitter. You may think I’m kidding, but how else would I know what my favorite basketball players had for lunch or how their girlfriends are decorating their baby’s room? EXACTLY. 

4. What’s your favorite book?

I leaned toward Emma for a really long time, but as I’ve gotten older, I think Pride and Prejudice takes the top spot. The only reason why it didn’t before was probably because I didn’t want to seem like one of those people who saw the movie and picked it as their favorite. But really, there are too many to name. A few other favorite authors: Lucy Maud Montgomery, Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy…. and, yeah, I guess there are still too many to count. 

5. If you could go back and do one thing differently THIS WEEK, what would it be?

Not have eaten my whole meal at the really excellent Chinese restaurant we visited. It was too good, though, to resist the temptation. 

6. What’s one thing you wish you knew how to do really well?

Something highly crafty, like knitting or needlepointing. I don’t have the time or patience to learn right now, but I just found out that the cougar my brother-in-law (more on this later) is dating knitted my mother-in-law something. She shall not use her crafty wiles to supplant me! 

7. Iced tea: sweet or unsweet?

A true Southerner should always say sweet, right? I do like sweet tea, but I can’t drink very much of it or I get comatose. Maybe a half-and-half? 

8. If you were stranded on a deserted island tomorrow, who would you want to be stranded with? {ONE person only!}

My husband. This would actually be almost too good to be true. Can someone arrange it? 

9. Have you, or have you not, ever thought about ordering a pair of pajama jeans? {no lying!!}

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo.

10. What do you love/hate about blogging?

Love: Getting to know other bloggers and connecting with cool people. Also, getting to write for people and hopefully provide amusement or thought-provokingness or something.  Hate: I don’t often have time to write, so then I start feeling guilty over something that was meant to be a fun hobby to begin with. 

11. How do you know me?

I know Stef from the BBCE (best book club ever). I’m still just a new member, but these women are SMART and they are always very inspirational in their discussions. 

11 Random Things: 

1. I organized my whole kitchen this weekend. I am mad because I wanted to share the pics, but I forgot to take “before” shots of the clutter and chaos. 

2. I haven’t seen any of the 80s movies that everyone loves – Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink, etc. 

3. I have a new eating plan that includes vegetables for specific meals. I’ve explain in more detail after I see how successful it is. 

4. If I start a book, it is really hard for me to do anything else before finishing it. I think it could truly be called an addiction. 

5. I shot baskets yesterday and today. I have definitely lost my touch from earlier years, but it felt awesome to be outdoors and active. 

6. I am the world’s worst at MarioKart or any game that involves driving. 

7. I had forgotten how happy “Flight of the Conchords” songs make me. Seriously. Those guys are funny. 

8. The thing I’m most dreading this next week is scrubbing out our big garbage bin, which reeks right now. Truly horrifying. Oh, also, on Tuesday night, I have three hours of JL training. That ranks right up there as well. 

9. I’ve lost 19 pounds since January. When I lose one more pound, I will get a reward, but I haven’t decided what it should be. 

10. Breaking Bad is an excellent TV show. It’s our newest summer addiction. 

11. My husband is the best because he already has a stack of birthday presents piled up for me in the corner of our living room. Frabjous day. 🙂 

So, there you go. 11 questions and 11 random things – you now know quite a lot more about me. Hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day!