Dontchoo Get No Ugly Tractor...

My time in the south is coming to an end unfortunately. I have been doing reconnaissance in the deep south and I have some things to report to my northern brethren. (Also, if you are offended by my referring to Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi as deep south, please see my comment on geographic insults below)

1. Do not stay at the Hotel Preston in Nashville, TN.

I have been booking most of my travel through Hotwire.com in an attempt to find nicer hotels at a less costly price. In Nashville, the Hotel Preston seemed to have good rates and good ratings by guests. I disagree. My experience at the Hotel Preston added a lot of features to my "not desired" list for hotel amenities and features.

I realize it is a boutique hotel, so it thinks of itself as different and creative. That amounted to the lobby looking like a stage set-up for the cast of Mad Men. That is not altogether offensive, I don't mind the styling. However, I didn't see how the paneling in the elevators matched the lobby...

Yup. That is real animal skin. I am pretty sure it's cow, even though the picture would seem to indicate dalmatian. The black spots are not fur, but are actually places where fur has been removed. Blech. :P Oh, also, the elevators were not air conditioned, so it always smelled like hot leather in there.

The decor was actually not my biggest problem with the hotel, and it didn't extend into my room, so I didn't have to look at it much. Security seemed a bit of an issue. My door to my hotel room was not heavy enough to close on its own, meaning if I didn't physically pull the door shut myself, it would likely stay open.

Since I am staying in strange places completely on my own, I have taken to using the security chain and the deadbolt when I go to bed at night. I was extremely grateful for my foresight as I was awoken at 5:30 in the morning during my stay to the sound of someone attempting to access my room with a key card. A little terrifying when you're in a strange place with no husband, or over-protective, 100 lb. dog to protect you.

I called the front desk who promised to send security. I never heard anything more about it, which was a little disconcerting. But in my Minnesota Nice fashion, I didn't make a huge deal about it.

Apparently security is lax all over the hotel though. I realized after I had moved on to my next hotel that I had left a drawer of clothes behind. It's my own stupid fault but I figured since I was calling within 24 hours the likelihood that I would recover the items was good.

I was given the runaround every time I called, and it was only after I e-mailed the general manager that I got any type of response at all. I was informed the situation would be take care of. Housekeeping e-mailed me asking for descriptions of my clothing. After I replied I got no response. When I e-mailed again to follow-up I was informed they had exhausted every avenue and could not find my clothing. Needless to say I was really disappointed with the whole situation.

Do not stay at Hotel Preston in Nashville, TN.

2. Be careful what you say about the city/region someone is from.

When I got to Mississippi, I was greeted by super-friendly student members of the Lamar Chapter. I really enjoyed my time with them. One of the nights I was there, we all went to dinner. At dinner, the topic of the neighboring state of Florida came up. Two of the ladies did not realize each other were from Florida. One was from Sarasota, and another was from a more affluent and further south region of the Sunshine State.

The lady from the southern region began to talk about how Sarasota was not even a part of Florida. And that Gainsville was dirty. And both should be considered "North Florida." Having no frame of reference for any of Florida geography, I was unsure how to react. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the Sarasota-native reacted enough for the entire table.

A debate about the merits of Sarasota and whether is should be considered "North Florida" ensued immediately. Noting the growing tension, I quickly excused myself to use the restroom, as did another gal at the table. As we were using the facilities, she was texted by a person still at the table that the discussion had become a catfight. Shortly after that, Sarasota stormed into the bathroom with nothing good to say about the snobby South Florida-native. I laughed out loud when she called her a See You Next Tuesday.

Be careful when insulting someone's hometown or region...

3. No black leather seats in the rental.

Do I really need to explain this one?


I have learned a ton in the last two weeks. I am very much looking forward to a week at home. My own bed, my own kitchen, my own pets and my own husband! See you all very soon.

Several Days of Labor

On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again... Oh wait, I already am.

It's been an eventful and liberating week. Navigated a totally foreign airport just fine. Got my first car rental. First night in a hotel all by my lonesome. Not too shabby.

I did get scolded by the baggage handler for my bag being too heavy. Had to unzip it in the middle of the terminal and put a bunch more crap in my carry-on, that's always fun. At least I didn't get searched at security. Beyond the normal I mean. I still think it's totally nasty that I have to walk through security barefoot.

My plane was one of the smaller types and one of the first things the captain says is we should be expecting turbulence for the first half of the flight. Excellent. But we made it to Louisville just fine, even a little ahead of schedule. Then I found the car rental place, and they upgraded me!

I am excited to test drive a few different types of cars, since mine shit the bed and we have yet to get a replacement. Though with us living practically on the lightrail, I am going to go for as long as possible before getting a new car. Still, a two week test drive sure beats a one hour test drive with a salesman yapping in your ear.

I got the new Ford Focus, in pretty white! I like the new model because it's a hatchback now! That's one of my must-haves on the next vehicle I buy. This bad boy has leather interior. Not something I would choose again in the south. Especially not BLACK leather interior.

I made it to my hotel with no problems, even though I forgot to pack my GPS. It helps that my hotel is about two exits from the airport. Hard to miss.

The morning of my very first visit, I woke up late. As I was hurrying to get ready, this blaring sound came from the bedroom area. I thought maybe it was some ridiculous setting on my alarm clock, sounded a lot like the "chime" my husband has on his alarm clock ( the "chime" that sounds like a blaring foghorn and makes me want to kick him out of bed myself so he hits "snooze" faster). Then the chime turned into an automated voice, informing me that the hotel was being evacuated. That was fun. I am still not sure what happened... Firemen came though.

That made getting to Brandeis Law School a little tougher than I meant the first morning. Still I managed to set up my recruiting table.

I tabled in this little mosaic lobby area. To the right edge of the picture, just beyond the table is a staircase. It's mostly open, so you could see people walking up and down. I realized after the first few classes let out, that it was an uncomfortable place to be. Only because it had a certain vantage point that made me better acquainted with most of the female students than I would have wished. Even the knee length skirts! I was shocked. And I will be definitely more conscious of my wardrobe AND open stairways.

I finished up my time in Louisville and went on to Nashville. Navigating is a little tough, but I still made it to hotel number 2 just fine. Oh wait! I almost forgot...

HAD to take a picture of this because it reminded me of that scene with the creepy twins in The Shining. REDRUM!

And I will end with some of the more interesting bumper stickers I have encountered on my travels.

First trip

I have been hired by Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International as a Membership Services Consultant. Sounds fancy, right? It is basically a job where I get paid to do my favorite thing that I did as an officer for the Pierce Butler Chapter at William Mitchell College of Law. That is, they are paying me to recruit. I get to travel (flight, car rental and hotel paid, plus a per diem for food) around the country to weaker chapters of the fraternity and try and help them reactivate by recruiting new members. I leave for my first trip today.  I am headed to Louisiville, Kentucky. I will spend a couple days there and then move on to Nashville. I will be there over Labor Day weekend so I will have a little time to see the sights. Unfortunately I will be missing my husband's birthday on September 6. :( It is too expensive for me to fly back home to spend it with him.

After Nashville, I am moving on to Oxford, Mississippi. Did you know the best hotel you can get near Ole Miss is a Super 8? And you get to choose between smoking or non-smoking rooms! Can't wait for that one. Lastly I will be in Alabama. From there I fly home to my hubby!

I get a week at home before I take my next trip, which will be to Indiana. My little sister Ruthie is getting married this winter and all she wanted to do for her bachelorette was go to a Colts game. But there were none near MN. So I decided to invite her to drive down with me to Indiana (I hate to fly so I am renting a car). I bought us two tickets to a Colts game. She will fly out after the game. I told her it is a combination birthday-bachelorette-bridal shower gift because each ticket is $150!!

My last trip is in my own back yard, which is great because I get paid like I am traveling, but I can be at home. I will visit the U of M, St. Thomas, and Hamline law schools.

This will be my first time traveling alone for such a long period of time. I studied abroad for a month in England and Ireland in college, but I was with a professor and a whole class, so that doesn't really count. I am nervous and excited. I hope to post about my travels. I also have several knitting projects that I will update on as their finished!

Oh! And we moved! It took a lot of work, but the house looks pretty good so far...

The office/craft room (my husband is awesome) still has to be put together, but everything else is pretty much finished. I like it better than any house I have ever lived in, and I will miss it while I am traveling!

Speaking of traveling...


“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

Scale Buster

So I've had a busy year. Which makes it hard to notice things. Like how all my jeans feel like they just came out of the dryer, no matter how many times I've worn them. And I certainly haven't had a lot of time for the gym. And who wants to (or even can) diet while they are studying for the bar? Comfort food reigns in times of stress, and It takes me less time to order pizza then it does for me to cook dinner for my family.

So when I got on the scale at my mom's house earlier today, I didn't expect it to be good. But I definitely didn't expect it to be THAT bad. I was shocked. I am not revealing any numbers, but I am currently the heaviest I have ever been. And here I had thought it couldn't get much heavier. Of course I ran to the gym to make sure my mom doesn't have an old wonky scale. Turns out she doesn't. In fact, my mother's scale was a little kinder to me than the scale at the gym.

All this amounts to a resolve to do better. I don't want to have to buy new clothes (and we couldn't afford to, even if I did).  Time to buck up. And get a new plan to help me to feel better about myself.

The way I see it, this plan has three main components:

1. Track my food with Weight Watchers, AND STICK TO IT. I have used Weight Watchers before. The first time was before my wedding. I lost ten pounds in about two months. Not too shabby. So I know the system works for me. And I enjoy eating fruit (zero points) so the diet isn't too restrictive. Except when it comes to cheese and carbs. But hey, stuff doesn't come for free right? And I can still enjoy the occasional slice of pizza, just maybe not five slices every other night. And okay, liquor eats up a lot of points too, but it won't kill me to drink less and drink less often.

My problem is falling off the wagon. No, I don't mean falling off the sobriety wagon. We're not there yet. BUt I start to cheat on my diet, or get lazy about it. And there are no immediate consequences. No one knows, and I don't visibly gain weight. But it all adds up, and before long, I am not tracking at all.  A few months of that and I end up where I am right now. Feeling bad and wearing sweatpants. So this time I will go to the meetings every week. And do the dreaded weigh-in. That way I can track my progress, or lack there of... I will also be accountable to someone other than myself. And my husband, but what can he say about how I look except "great"?

2. Exercise. Duh. But I hate to run. Hate hate hate. I was one of those kids that walked for half of the mile run in elementary school. And I only half-heartedly jogged the other half. My best friend had asthma and she still beat my time. Recently I discovered the C25K app for the iPhone. And I am in love. It turns running rejects like me in to stars! Well maybe not stars, but certainly into someone capable of huffing their way through a 5k without needing a break. And it's not intimidating. I can track my weight and it plays my music through the app, and "pings" when it is time for me to pick up the pace, or slow it back down.

I just have to stick to it. To keep the pressure on, I am planning to run the Anoka Grey Ghost run in late October. Plus I get to dress in a costume. It's a win-win.

3. Cook healthier! I won't have to make my points stretch as far if I use them more wisely. And I love to cook anyway. This will give me an opportunity to try some new recipes.

That's the plan anyway. Here's hoping it works!!

Won't you be my neighbor?

So, we have nice neighbors. Really nice. Only we just met them and we won't be living here much longer. Our neighbor Tara came over the other day because she heard that the tailless yellow cat is our very own Butters (see below).

As you can see, the Butts-man enjoys the outdoors. Which was fine when he stayed in the yard. Except that punk found a way to get out of the yard. And when we found that way and fixed it, he found another way. And so on... Then Butts started taking off for a couple days at a time. Me being the worried kitty momma that I am, I was convinced he had gotten run over by a car.

He always came home though. And he seemed so much happier being able to get out all the time. Not to mention he's a hell of a lot skinnier. But right before we left to take the bar, Butts came home with a bloody back paw. Since we're dirt poor, we decided to keep an eye on it. He wasn't limping or anything. Then he took off again and didn't come home for four or five days.

J was convinced he ingratiated himself with some other home, and he was right. Then Butters came home and we shut the windows and wouldn't let any of the kitties out anymore. No matter how loudly they protested. And they protested, LOUDLY. And gathered around the window, looking forlornly. 

The next day, a woman from down the street came to our door.  She told us that Butters had literally walked into their house and they had kept him. He slept for a day and a half. His paw was worse, so the woman had her veterinary friend stop by and look at it. They bandaged him up and fed him. Then after about five days, Butts in a very Butts-like fashion promptly escaped from their place and returned home.

We were very grateful they took such good care of him. I wanted to do something nice, so I baked some banana bread. 

And sewed a dishtowel with a kitty print to wrap it in.

Hopefully our neighbors in Minneapolis are just as friendly. And if not, I am sure my delicious banana bread will win them over!!

The List

So the other day, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself after the bar exam. This is the first time in my life (well, since before pre-school) that I won't be a student. So naturally I am wondering what the hell I am going to do with myself... Enter "The List." It's a list of stuff I have decided that I will finally have time for, now that the time- and soul-sucking pursuit that is law school. Some of The List is stuff I want to do with my husband (don't worry, I won't get THAT personal). Other items are purely solitary pursuits (minds out of the gutter people...).

1. Learn Spanish via Rosetta Stone - When my husband and I first started dating, we invested in Rosetta Stone Spanish, Levels 1-5. I am still on Level 1, Unit 1. It's been over a year.

2. Teach myself to sew - I am well on my way with this one... I even took in a couple of my mom's favorite shirts this past weekend. (Go Mom for losing a ton of weight with Weight Watchers!) But I want to be proficient enough to make dresses for myself, and clothes for my future babies, and current step-daughter.

3. Make exercise a part of my daily schedule (aka lose 10 lbs, aka make my clothes fit better, or again) - I am working on the Couch to 5k plan right now. It's going well actually. I am a terrible runner, I don't enjoy running unless it's for a sport. But, my goal is to be able to actually RUN the Anoka Ghost Run at Halloween.

4. Go to a show at the Guthrie - My husband and I got a gift certificate from our wedding shower. Much Ado About Nothing is on the schedule for this fall. Yay! Jason brought me to Wicked last year. We had SUCH a great time. I'm lucky to have such a great theater buddy. :)

5. Move to Minneapolis - Yup. Moving, again... Even though I swore the last time I moved that I wasn't moving again until it was going to be the last time I ever moved. But then the people we rent from wanted to short sale their house. And I happen to have a very high strung dog. A yorkie, you ask? No. Maybe a pomeranian? Nope. Must be a cocker spaniel then... Still wrong. He is a hundred pound Chesapeake Bay Retriever. He's quite excitable. Especially when he sees strangers, or really anyone, approaching his home. So waiting around for them to sell the place with realtors and prospective buyers in and out all the time is not a good option for us.

So we are moving to the house my husband owns in Minneapolis. Formerly owned with his ex-wife. Was I crazy about that at first? Hell no. But we've refinanced the house into our name, getting her off the mortgage. And we'll save a ton in housing expenses. Plus I have never had a place that is MINE. I mean not even my parents' place was mine growing up. But this joint will be all mine. I could paint my bedroom hot pink if I wanted... Okay so maybe J isn't going for that. But we have talked about starting a garden, and finishing the basement, and redoing the fence. Best part is, now I really don't have to move again!

6. ??????

The List keeps growing. Hopefully it will keep me busy!

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” - Dale Carnegie

Rejuvenation

Henry David Thoreau had it exactly right when he moved into that cabin on Walden Pond. I can't think of a better place to be than at a cabin on the lake in northern Minnesota.

Since I arrived at my mom's cabin last Thursday, I have finished three books. Gosh I missed reading for fun. That is not to say I gave it up while I was in law school... But it was nice to read for fun again without a huge guilt cloud hanging over my head and a knot of anxiety in my stomach about all the reading I WASN'T doing for my law school classes. It was also nice to be able to finish a 300 page book in a day instead of a month.

I've also logged more hours in the sun in the past three days than I have all summer long. The last time I was out in the sun, besides into my car and then into a coffee shop, was Fourth of July weekend. I made a rookie mistake. I laid out in the sun for several hours that day. I burnt my chest and the tops of my legs so bad, I was shot for the rest of the weekend as far as sun exposure goes. I did manage to fish with my dad and my husband on Lake Winnibigoshish, affectionately known as Lake Winnie in my family. I wore a hat and a long sleeved shirt (even though it was well-over 80 degrees) and I kept a fleece sweatshirt over the top of my knees. Still, I could only last a few hours.

This weekend I was MUCH smarter. I work 30 spf the whole first day. Even reapplying!  I even wore a baseball cap to protect my face. My dad would be so proud. I managed to avoid a burn altogether, thank goodness for Native American roots. Now I probably have the requisite amount of vitamin D in my body again. And I made up for a little bit of the indoor seclusion I suffered for most of the summer. Fletcher loves it too. The poor dog has been as cooped as my husband and I.

Mostly it was nice to just rest. And be able to eat and drink normally without a pit of anxiety gnawing at my stomach. Or watch tv without my throat closing at errant thoughts of the bar exam. And to enjoy the company of the people around me without distraction. It turns out that life goes on after law school, and I can't wait to start living it!

"In wilderness is the preservation of the world." - Henry David Thoreau

First Post

A recent law school graduate, just survived taking the bar, my life is in a weird limbo. I won't find out until September if I actually passed the Wisconsin bar, with a score high enough to waive into Minnesota. So I won't find out until fall if I can begin practicing law, which is probably find since I don't have a lawyer job yet. It's super fun applying to law jobs though, especially because any employer is throwing my resume in the trash because I am not licensed. I keep trying to convince them to hire me because I am not licensed YET, to no avail.

I am also embarking on my first year of marriage. My husband is wonderful, also a recent law school grad and recent bar exam survivor. He has an associate position lined up for when (not IF, but WHEN) he passes the Wisconsin bar exam with a high enough score to waive into Minnesota. So we have a little more security. But we are still dirt poor for now.

And we're looking down the barrel of a big move from Coon Rapids to a house in Minneapolis. The plus side? It's in a great neighborhood, right down the street from Minnehaha Falls and blocks from the nearest lightrail station. And my first love, Highland Park in St. Paul, is just across the river. Downsides... I HATE to move. I HATE to move. I HATE to move. And my hubby will be working full time, so most of the packing and etc. will fall to me. Also, we're only SLIGHTLY busy in August. I have a wedding shower the first weekend (I have a side job as a Pampered Chef consultant), we leave for a trial lawyers conference the 11th-13th, we have an alumni meeting for our fraternity on the 13th and a conference planning session for the same on the 14th, my husband's cousin is in town the 14th and my family is having a picnic the 14th as well. We're trying to pull off a garage sale the 18-21 (my first), despite having a wedding on the 20th. We're supposed to move after the 20th and we also have a wedding on the 27th.

I am embarking on this blogging experience (also my first time) as a way to keep myself sane and fill my suddenly empty days. I thank my good friend Bri-Licious for inspiring me. Also Kate Bratt. I don't promise entertainment, though there should be some. I am also teaching myself to sew, hoping to become proficient enough to maybe sell items on Etsy, so I expect that will be a recurring topic.

In the way of a tired cliche, and also because I love quotes, I'll aim to end each blog with a topical one...

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." - Ralph Waldo Emerson