No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn

Temporary Template

2011-05-13T18:44:00.001-04:00

In honor of our move to Colorado, I've updated the template for now. Joseph really wants to give a go at designing his own, but I felt it was inappropriate to have the city up!

Joseph is moving our things this weekend, and hopefully we'll be settled in soon and we can do some serious updating!

Legitimately Working on Something New

2011-05-06T17:52:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! So, things have been a little hectic in the soon to be Cizmorris household. Namely, we're in the process of moving across country to Colorado.

However, we're hoping to give the blog a facelift, and maybe actually post on it for once. As usual, no promises, but we're optimistic!

The King's Speech

2011-01-05T15:41:00.003-05:00

So, in an effort to post more, I think I might try going in a few new directions with the blog. Tell me what you think!

Last night, Joseph and I went with our friends R. and A. to see The King's Speech, a British film starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Geoffrey Rush. Joseph and I both had some reservations about seeing the film, as we were worried it would be boring. However, we ended up going with R. and A. anyway, largely because of $7 movies at Cobble Hill Cinema on Tuesdays.

The story revolves around Prince Albert, the Duke of York in the 1920s. He has a massive "stammer" that makes public speaking difficult and unbearable to listen to. This of course becomes a problem, as he is the son of King George V, the king of England at the time. So, Albert—or "Bertie"— and his wife, Elizabeth, are in search of a solution to his speech impediment. They see several doctors before Albert is ready to give up. However, Elizabeth forces him to try just one more, Lionel Logue. While Logue has "unconventional methods" (which aren't so unconventional anymore), he is able to help Albert slowly overcome his speech impediment just in time for him to make his first speech as King of England (if you're interested in that very compelling story, you can read more about it here).

I will start by saying how surprised I was that I enjoyed it. I have a love-hate relationship with historical movies, but I think this was different because I was not at all familiar with the story. Not only was there intrigue in his succession to the throne, but the relationship that develops between Logue and Albert is so interesting. Logue is just an ordinary man—a speech pathologist by trade, not by education—who gets the Prince/King to open up about all of his deepest fears and familial issues. It was an insightful look into the prevailing beliefs at the time between the nobility and the "common man," to which the nobility could not relate.

At any rate, I would recommend it to anyone looking to see a compelling, insightful, and touching drama. It's bound to win big at the Oscars next month.

Montreal for Amy's Birthday

2010-11-15T23:59:00.009-05:00

So, I finished September by heading up to Montreal with my mom for a visit with Brandon, Kristen, and Amy to celebrate Amy's first birthday. As mentioned before, it was my mom's first trip out of the country and she was a little nervous. However, she did fine. It was a pretty uneventful trip up, except that the people sitting behind us got kicked off the train (lesson learned: always know where you're staying and don't get drunk on the train) and Amy started feeding us snacks.

Excited to be on the train, can't you tell?

She started by feeding me her crackers (it was one for her, one for me)

... and ended up feeding Mom, too!

While in Montreal, we spent a lot of time walking around, showing my mom the city. We saw:

The Olympic Stadium

The Basilica du Notre Dame

Le Vieux Port (Old Port)

Bonsecours Market

Lovely Fall Foliage

La Fontaine Park

Beautiful Houses

Puzzle Chairs

... and I got to feed a squirrel

As for Amy, she had a pretty big week too!

She got her first two teeth.

She learned to blow kisses (this is the best picture I could get)

She learned to waive

She learned to give kisses

She started walking while holding onto moving things. (sorry, no picture of this one)

And most importantly of all: SHE TURNED ONE!

I can't wait to see Brandon, Kristen, and Amy again for Thanksgiving in less than a week!

Update!!

2010-09-10T15:14:00.004-04:00

So, things have been a little hectic since the last time I updated. As usual, I've been pretty horrible at keeping up. So, here's a rundown of what's been going on in our lives since I last updated!

1. I graduated from law school!!! It was a whirlwind weekend, but my parents, Uncle Frank, Aunt Sandie, Brandon, Kristen, and Amy all came to visit and celebrate with me. It still, even now, doesn't seem quite like I've graduated, but here I am several months later.

2. I spent all summer studying for the Bar exam. I took the New York and New Jersey bar exams from July 27–29. It was pretty much one of the worst summers of my life, as I was holed up in the library or in various Brooklyn coffee shops attempting to learn 21 different types of law. Now I just have to wait until November when I find out whether or not I passed them! Fingers crossed.

3. We've gotten to travel a lot, despite the bar exam:

a. We went to Illinois for the 4th to celebrate with my family. We got to see a lot of the cousins, which was really nice. I really love seeing everyone and I wish we could go more often.

b. We went to Niagara Falls and Buffalo the weekend after the bar exam. I had been wanting to go to Niagara Falls since I moved to NYC, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I convinced Jess and Chris to hike down into the falls with us, so we got to get right down into the falls. Luckily, I had just purchased an underwater camera case for the digital camera I got for graduation. I had wanted one forever, and I was very anxious to use it at the Falls. We were extra lucky that we got to see Buffalo and spend some time there. It was a very nice city, although I wish we could've spent more than a weekend there.

c. I got to go to Texas and on a Caribbean cruise with my BFF, Allison. I had a pretty terrible time getting to Texas, but I was so happy to finally get there. I spent the first night catching up with old friends and getting to know new ones! Then, Allison, Alex, and I went to Galveston for a few days to relax and take in the sights and sounds. It was quite a relaxing and fun precursor to OUR CRUISE!

We went to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands BWI; and Cozumel, Mexico. Despite the fact that the cruise line wasn't quite what we were hoping (I wouldn't recommend Carnival to even my arch nemeses), I think we both had a great time. I was so happy to spend some quality time with Allison, as it seems that anytime we get to see each other there is so much else going on. I can't wait until the next time I get to see her and for our next girls' vacation.

d. We just got back from another trip to Illinois for Heather and Erik's wedding. As usual, the trip was far too short, but it was great to dance with my second cousins; see all the uncles, aunts, and cousins; and visit with Joseph's family in the Chicago area. Hopefully our next visit will be for a little longer!

e. Next up are my trip to Montreal with my mom for Amy's first birthday! I can't believe that she's already one. It's been three months since I've seen her, and the days can't come fast enough! I'm also excited to accompany my mom on her first trip out of the country! After that, I'll be going back to Texas to start the wedding planning by picking out a venue for the wedding. More on that when I have something to report!

4. Joseph is still really enjoying his job with Chase. It's so refreshing to have him come home and be really excited about what he's doing.

5. Alexis is coming to visit next weekend! I'm very excited to see her again and take her around the city now that I know much more about it AND that the weather is much more beautiful (she came in Jan. last time).

Other than that, I'm just on the job hunt and enjoying my time off. I'm going to the gym more, eating better, cooking more, riding by bike more, and trying to reconnect with and make new friends. Maybe I'll even update the blog a little more too! Who knows?

Sorry about the lack of pictures. It would appear that I've already moved them onto my hard drive, so instead of putting off the post even longer, I'll just post this and I promise there will be more pictures to come!

What a Whirlwind Week!

2010-05-14T18:23:00.004-04:00

Last week was a pretty big week here in the Morris/Cizmar household:

1. Joseph got what will hopefully be his last new job for a while at Chase as a Personal Banker. He'll spend his first two months studying to take some of his investment securities tests, and then he'll start with training in August. We're very excited, as Chase is a great place for Joseph, especially because he's interested in going back to business school. It's everywhere and it's easy to transfer if he needs to.

2. I took my last law school final ever. I'm still have to write a paper, but it is so exciting to know that I will never have to sit down to take another final exam again.

3. I turned 27 on Saturday. This is the first birthday where I've actually felt "old," but it was a really great day and I got a pretty awesome gift.

4. Joseph and I got engaged! I know this is old news for most everyone, but I figured the rest of the blogosphere might want to know :). It was very sweet, intimate, and in our apartment (but not for lack of trying). He designed the ring(s) himself, with the help of his friend Lauren, who used to design jewelry. When together, they're supposed to make a heart, and represent the two of us coming together as a whole. The wedding band isn't complete yet, but Joseph had it sent too, just so I could see the concept as a whole.

Now I get to begin all the "fun" planning. We haven't really decided on much, aside from the wedding party and that it'll be in Fall 2011. I'm sure I'll be sharing everything with you guys on here, as I try to plan and find that I need an outlet for everything!

Second Month-a-versary

2010-03-05T11:48:00.002-05:00

So, it's been a little while since my last post. I've been keeping pretty busy recently and my camera broke. So things have been a whole lot less scenic on my end. This is what I've been keeping myself busy with recently:

1. Journal work. This Journal will be the bane of my existence! I've spent countless hours on it this semester already, but at least I'll be done this week. Then I won't think about it for a very, very long time.

2. New Job! At the beginning of February, I left my old internship at the Attorney General's office and moved to a new small firm, Walkow Nicholas. They do general civil litigation, instead of the criminal work I've previously spent most of my time doing. I enjoy it pretty well, and it's a lot of work! There's always new things to do and I get a lot of practice in a lot of areas of law. So far, I've done work in family law, civil rights, immigration, and contracts ... all in four weeks!

3. Bar Prep. I've started taking early Bar Preparation classes, as well as filling out paperwork to take the Bar exam this summer. I know I'll be taking New York, and I'm pretty sure I'll take New Jersey too ... just because it can't hurt to be too prepared!

4. Job Searching. Still need to find a post-graduation job! I've been looking across the country, but I think that we should stay here until Joseph gets into a business school somewhere. It seems irresponsible to potentially move cities twice in two years.

5. Knitting! My favorite person in the entire world, Allison, is slowly teaching me how to knit. Right know, I know how to cast on (I think that's what it is called) and have the makings of a pretty awesome scarf ... that I think I might turn into a headband.

6. School work. While I have less classes this semester, I have so little free time with Journal obligations. So, I'm trying my best to stay on top of things. So far, I've done a terrible job.

7. Cooking. I made some really awesome s'more cupcakes last night. They're heavenly.

8. Going to the gym! I've gone almost every day of lent (minus the one day when I couldn't), and even then I exercised for at least 30 min. that day. I'm also trying to eat better, so that's been successful.

9. Redecorating. We're trying to put little things into the house to make it more liveable. In the next post I'll show you guys some of the stuff we've been doing and some of the stuff we plan to do!

New Year!

2010-01-05T01:46:00.005-05:00

So, this year, Joseph and I rang in the new year in Austin with our two best friends and newlyweds: Alex and Allison (also Jimmie and Dan, who were two added bonuses). We had such a fantastic time "crashing" their friends' party and dancing the night away in drunken revelry. It was definitely the best way that either of us could've imagined ringing in the new year.

"Stolen" photos from Deanna:

Joseph, Alex, and Deanna (the hostess)

Me, Jimmie, and Allison

We spent the first two days of our year with some of my family members (Aunt Nancy, Uncle David, Emily, and David). We enjoyed perusing the Riverwalk and walking around the Zoo looking at animals. We both had a really great time and were very happy that they came to visit.

I've tried my best to eschew resolutions the past few years. However, this year I decided to make just two:

1. Put more of myself into what I do. This may mean being less lazy with the things I do or, alternatively, it could just mean making sure I dedicate more time to my work to ensure that everything I produce is the best I can make it.

2. Be a better friend and keep in touch better. I really want to talk to people more. I feel so isolated at times, and I realize that a lot of that is (unfortunately) myself being so busy that I can't/don't find the time to build and maintain the friendships I have. I'm hoping to start calling people more and setting aside time just to keep in touch, even if it is weekly webcam knitting lessons from my favorite knitter and whoever else wants to chat!

PS - I apologize for the lack of pictures recently, but my camera just broke and I haven't been able to upload pictures onto my computer.

Christmas and Sugar Doll Blogger

2009-12-31T10:18:00.003-05:00

Merry Late Christmas! I've had a pretty decent vacation down in Texas the past couple of weeks. We spent a few days after getting here with my parents, Brandon, Kristen, and the baby, while I tried to finish up a paper for a class. We then went up to Austin for Allison and Alex's Christmas party, Ultimate Truth with Annie (and everyone else, too!), and then Polish Christmas Eve with Joseph's mom.

I've got to say, I'm starting to enjoy the Polish Christmas Eve meal more and more every year. It's vegetarian, because the Poles don't eat meat on Christmas Eve. However, there is a fish dish ... which is a-okay with me, because I still eat fish. It was absolutely delicious: there was barscht (sp?), asparagus, peirogies, potatoes, cheese, artichokes, salad, wafers and honey. I think I was in heaven.

We spent Christmas day with my parents, and Joseph's mom drove down from Austin to join us. I'm not-so-secretly very happy that she has come down the past two years, because it allows to me to still spend Christmas with my family and to let her spend Christmas with Joseph. Unfortunately, we didn't do a "traditional" Christmas, where we spend it with my Uncle and his family, but maybe next year we'll be able to make that work.

Since Christmas, we've been hanging around San Antonio, seeing people and spending time with Brandon, Kristen, and the baby. She's absolutely precious and I'll post pictures soon!

Now, onto New Years! With a few exceptions, I'm thrilled to say goodbye to this decade and everything that has come with it. I'm not hoping for major life change, but I'm looking forward to what 2010 has in store. We'll be spending NYE with our two favorite people in the world, in our favorite place in the world. So, we're pretty excited.

A while ago, Kelsie tagged me for the Sugar Doll Blogger Award thingie. So, sorry it's late, but I wanted to make it into a New Years reflection piece, so here it is:

The Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award

The rules are simple: Post the award on your site, write 10 interesting things about yourself, and then pass it on to 10 other bloggers. *Note* This is where I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of just writing ten things about myself, I wanted to write ten reflections about myself/what I did from 2009:

1. Despite all of he amazingness that 2009 has brought, it's also been a very, very hard year for me. I am very happy to see it go.

2. This year, I was blessed with my first niece. It was a surprise for all of us, but my little brother and sister in law have been great parents and she's the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

3. This year I watched as two of my best friends got married (one in Hawaii and one in Las Vegas), two of our cousins got married, and as two good friends got married. It was a busy year filled with a lot of travelling.

4. This year saw one of my cousins moving to New Jersey to take on a new job. I have been so lucky to get to know her and spend time with her in the past few months in a way that I could've never hoped for before.

5. I'm two semesters closer to completing my law degree!

6. I've been so fortunate to have wonderful people to share my love and happiness with. While I may not always be at my *most* happy, I am so thankful that I have such great people all around me.

7. I got to climb up into the crown of the Statue of Liberty! It was much easier than it was in 1996, when I did it the first time, and much more fulfilling as a "New Yorker"

8. I got to visit my brother three times this year, which was incredibly exciting for me. He lives in Montreal, and it's such a great city.

9. I am fortunate that I have been continuously employed throughout the year. Not only that, but I have really enjoyed both of my internships, although maybe not every day of each!

10. And as of Jan. 5th, Joseph and I have been together for three years (!). I know that's not technically from 2009, but it's so close it really should be ;)

Hope you all have a fantastic New Years and I'll see you in 2010

Finals (Boo)

2009-12-12T17:16:00.004-05:00

It's that time of the year again: finals. There is nothing like spending 12+ hours a day in the library for two or three weeks. It's enough to make a girl lose her mind. Imagine: seven days straight about chapter seven bankruptcy, automatic stay, and avoidable preferences. I'm about ready for Christmas break.

I'm taking a brief respite from studying just to say hi! Here's what I was up to before going into super finals mode:

Trip to Connecticut! We hiked up a big hill/small mountain the entire height of the waterfall. It was so pretty. I really do enjoy visiting Connecticut, it's just so pretty. Makes me wish I had a car so I could just take random car rides through the state. I have a sneaking suspicion the rest of the northeast is similar, but I've yet to find out.

Christmas Tree! Sure, we won't be in NYC for Christmas, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy 15 days of Christmas Tree loveliness, right? It's missing the star on top, but luckily my mom/brother sent the one we bought at last year's after-Christmas sale to us. Although I don't have a picture, rest assured it looks fantastic on top of the tree.

Photo collage! Joseph and I really want to have more artwork up in our house. We don't have a lot of money to purchase someone else's artwork, nor do we really have the time to make an attempt ourselves. So, we opted for a photo collage on "top" of our mantle. This collage's theme: friends. We (okay, I) ordered about 300 pictures of various events, so we can guarantee an endless stream of pictures for us to cycle through!

I also got my graduation pictures, as I only have one more semester of law school left!!!!! However, I haven't scanned those in yet, nor will I likely post them up here. If you're interested, you can let me know.

We're leaving for Texas on Tuesday and we can't be more excited. I look forward to spend lots of time with Amy, my family, and Allison and Alex (lots of A's). I also hope I get to do everything I want to do in both Austin and San Antonio. I need to force myself to get out of the house!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-03T22:30:00.003-05:00

So, given that last Thanksgiving Brandon and Kristen came to New York, Joseph and I packed up to go to Montreal. We decided that the best and most cost-efficient way to go was to take the bus up there.

Okay, so this isn't the bus, but it is on the way to the bus!

It was a long, uncomfortable journey, but we made it up by Wednesday morning, happy to be there!

The spread was a little different than last year. Joseph has become a vegetarian (not my doing, but I'm very proud of him nevertheless), and thus we made veggie pot pies for ourselves and Brandon and Kristen had chicken breast ... so they wouldn't be stuck with a fridge full of turkey and only a few days to eat it. The pot pies turned out pretty well, although just a little dry and in desperate need of some spice. Both of those were totally my fault and I can fix them in time for Christmas, which may be their next appearance.

Yum!

We also had a not-so successful caramelized apple pecan pie. It's hard to tell where I went wrong, but it turned out tasting like smoked meat (although no one else agrees). At least it still looked pretty:

See? It doesn't look disgusting!

In the end, we had a lovely time and I already miss Brandon, Kristen, and especially little Amy.

2009-11-24T00:36:00.000-05:00

Testing!

Pre-Thanksgiving Thankfulness

2009-11-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

It was a rough week. I had two papers due this weekend (one of which is due tonight ... and I'm still working on it!) and the whole week previous was filled with lots of busy social dates and school assignments. So, in anticipation of coming out of a week of craziness and into a week of "relaxation" I offer to you a few things that I've been thankful for or happy about recently:

1. I'm thankful that my Journal note is finally out of the way! I have turned in my final copy and shouldn't be dealing with it for a while. On the downside, I'm very optimistic about this other paper that I'm still working on. Part of me would absolutely love to get it shopped around and maybe published somewhere else. However, it would need a LOT of work ... and I don't know if I'm quite up for that at this point in time!

2. I'm thankful that I get to see my beautiful niece (and my fantastic brother and lovely sister-in-law) in a mere two weeks!

3. I'm thankful for beautiful fall days, even when I can't fully appreciate them. Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day. I was happy I got to ride my bike around, if only to the store. I did learn an important lesson: I need a basket for groceries ... trying hold the bag was disastrous!

4. I'm thankful for Joseph. As much trouble as I put him through, he's always there for me when I need him the most. Not to mention, he totally indulges my crazy dreams.

Labor Day!

2009-10-17T19:28:00.000-04:00

In keeping with our late-summer tradition of travel, we decided at the last minute to spend Labor Day in D.C. with my ex-roommate, Briana, and her boyfriend Matt.

WWII memorial in the shadow of the Washington Monument

We spent a lot of our time going around D.C. and just hanging out with Briana, Matt, and their friend Jes.

After we spent our first night going to watch Matt the waiter at a bar in Dupont Circle, we spent our second morning climbing the Billy Goat Trail in Maryland.

It started out deceptively easy. It was a nice, scenic stroll along a canal and then started out as a light hike up a few rocks.
See? Nice and scenic!

Straight and narrow

... Then the trail took a turn for the worse:

Craggy rocks only a billy goat could love

However, we triumphed and made it to the more beautiful parts ... before taking the "emergency exit" a treacherous half-mile later.

Victorious!!

It was equally scenic one-quarter of the way through

On our way out

At least there were shells to detract from the unexpected terrible-ness of the hike

Later, we went to Jes' for a surprise birthday party for Briana. I don't have many pictures, but it was definitely a fun time for all. The next day, before we left, we stopped to see a few monuments in the rain. This really entailed the WWII monument, Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial.

WWII Memorial (I went to the ground-breaking ceremony in 2000!)

We repped Texas at the WWII Memorial

We walked along the reflecting pool to visit the Lincoln Memorial

With President Lincoln

On our walk back along the reflecting pool back to the car

All in all, it was a really nice and relaxing weekend away!

Baby Shower

2009-09-30T09:48:00.005-04:00

In my summer of trips, the next destination was: Montreal!
Canada looks a lot like upstate New York

My mom and I decided to throw a inter-country baby shower for Brandon and Kristen:

l'invitation

I went up to visit a few days early on the train, in order to spend more time with Brandon and Kristen. I was very excited to see Kristen (and Brandon, of course) and to visit again. I took the train up, which was a "pleasant" 13 hour trip. Unfortunately, as soon as I sat down, someone came to sit next to me! I didn't even get five minutes on my own!!

We had lots of things to do to prepare for the baby shower, which meant lots of errands before everyone else got there a few days later.

For the baby shower, we made a diaper cake!

It was pretty simple, but I was really proud of it. I was going to make it more ornate, but we ran out of time and I figured it would be nice to return some of the decorations.

We also made another rainbow cake. Kristen liked the cake I made a few weeks ago so much that we duplicated it, vegan style! We also had vegan puppy chow, lots of fruit, a watermelon full of melons, chips and guacamole, and pasta salad. I don't have too many pictures, because I'm obsessed with Kristen's camera and forgot to get all the pictures from her.

Later that night, we headed down to Le vieux port with Jess, in order to see a little more of the city.

Chinatown

We stumbled into a cute "little" crepe restaurant and had a delicious dinner/dessert. Unfortunately, we had to leave the next day, but we enjoyed the ride back to New York. Luckily, the fact that Joseph forgot his passport and I was desperate for mine to be stamped didn't delay us too much!

Dad and Brandon visit NYC

2009-09-29T22:21:00.013-04:00

So, this is a little old, but I'll still start from the beginning!

In early August, my dad came to visit us in NYC! As an added bonus, I found out about a week or two before that my brother would be joining us. I was beyond excited, as it had been over eight months since I had seen either.

Enjoying some post-plane ride ice cream

The first night of the visit, I drug them to visit The High Line. It is the last remaining vestige of a time when New York was covered in elevated trains. A group decided to turn this elevated train line into a park that spans most of the west side of Manhattan. I had been dying to go to visit since it opened in June, but I waited!

Washington Square Park

Trying on hats in SoHo

So excited!!!

I've got to say, it was absolutely gorgeous. They did a spectacular job of mixing in repurposed materials and really integrating them with the existing tracks. At any ways, I'll let the pictures (however terrible) speak for themselves!

The next day, my dad and I went to the Yankees' game.

I've got to say that I'm not a big Yankees fan, I'm much more of a Mets girl. I like the underdogs. However, the Yankees were playing the Boston Red Sox and I can't pass up a century-long rivalry. The game was amazing. The Yankees scored first, and then the Sox went up the next inning. The Yankees responded with four straight runs and we went crazy. It was so much fun! I think my dad had a spectacular time and we couldn't have asked for a more exciting game.

The next day, we went to the Statue of Liberty and Joseph got to finally see Ellis Island.

On the ferry

He was so excited

We bought tickets in June so that we could climb all the way up to the crown, which just re-opened this 4th of July. It was a pretty arduous climb, and we were very happy to finally get to the top. The only problem was that the 89ºF weather on the ground had turned into 98ºF weather at the top! After we enjoyed a little fanning, we were ready to make the trek back to the bottom. I think the walk down—more than the walk up—made me sore for days!

These are the steep and narrow stairs to the top.

View from the top

Success!!

The next day, Joseph, my dad, and I packed it up to see Steely Dan at the Beacon Theater. If you know my dad's musical tastes at all, you know Steely Dan is his absolute most favorite band on the face of the planet. He was super excited to see them and we all enjoyed the show. Unfortunately, I was too worried to take my camera, so we don't have any pictures!

We spent the next morning walking the Promenade, the Brooklyn Bridge, and ending up at the Bodies Exhibit at South Street Seaport.

View from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

There should be no doubt that this is the origin of my love of animals.
My version of an "artsy" photo

He enjoyed the walk across the bridge!

Brooklyn Bridge!

Waiting outside, impatiently

While it was a little expensive, it was pretty awesome. It was so amazing seeing formerly real people in the "flesh." I think Brandon most enjoyed the fetal exhibit, which showed fetal development. I think it really brought home what exactly was going on inside Kristen.

That night, we had dinner and drinks with Jess and Brandon 2, who came to New York to visit for the evening. We ate at our perennial favorite, Capri Cafe. It was so delicious, I think everyone enjoyed.

We spent the rest of our time relaxing and enjoying being together, which doesn't happen nearly enough!

Busy, Busy

2009-09-03T10:03:00.003-04:00

So, I'm working on writing up some substantive blog updates, but unfortunately I haven't quite finished. I still need to edit some of the photos and find some free time before I get them up. I'm hoping for sometime next week, before we set off to Hawaii for Alex and Allison's wedding.

In the meantime, I wanted to post a couple of things I wish I had some money to buy:

Moop Letter Bag
Amber Ring

If I manage to come back from Hawaii with any money, I'm totally getting the ring for myself!!

Update

2009-08-02T20:18:00.002-04:00

We haven't really been up to much recently. I'm still plugging along at the Attorney General's office until Thursday, and then I'll be taking the MPRE—an ethics exam. However, the reward for my diligence is a visit from my brother and dad! I'm super excited and I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun photos to share then.

We've got a lot of stuff planned, including a Yankees game, a trip to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, Six Flags New Jersey, and a Steely Dan concert. Really, I'm just excited not to have to travel anymore to see a friendly face. Our pocketbooks are severely depleted after and in anticipation of all the traveling.

After they leave, I was supposed to be heading off to Austin to see a very good friend get married and to go to an even better friend's bridal shower. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen. Tickets were just too expensive and no airline seems to want to give me a deal to Austin! I'm rather upset that now the cheapest tickets I can find that will get me to Austin in time are $430/round trip. I'm more upset that I have to miss out on even more wedding stuff. I guess this is what I get for going to law school!

So, in short, more pictures soon, as everyone visits and we go up to Montreal for the baby shower!

Alexis Gets Married

2009-07-22T21:30:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we went to Las Vegas to see my lovely friend Alexis get married at the MGM Grand. The wedding was short and sweet (only about 10 minutes!), and very touching.

Alexis and Damion looked absolutely gorgeous:

I didn't get to take too many pictures of the wedding. Given that I was in it and I had my camera with me, I just have to wait for Alexis and her mom to post the pictures and then steal them all! Here are some of my favorites, though:

Alexis shows off her muscles

I forced Joseph to take a picture

Almost everyone, minus a few uncles, aunts, and cousins
Totally not the shoes I wore during the wedding

We had a really great time at the wedding, though. The reception was nice and the cake was delicious! We even got a quick glimpse at the couple's unofficial first dance!!!

The happy couple cutting the cake

We stayed at my favorite hotel on the strip, The Exaclibur:

I love it because it's on the strip, which is nice. I also love it even more because it's super cheesy. It's the perfect mix of cheesy and classy. If people didn't die at Circus Circus (inside joke), I really would've considered staying there. However, considering that at times the Excalibur felt too far away from the MGM Grand (it's caddy-cornered), Circus Circus—on the ther side of the strip—might have been juuuuuuust a bit too far away.

We had fun walking around and seeing the other casinos, although we had both already been.

Just like home at New York, New York ... except for the ads on the Brooklyn Bridge

Monte Carlo
Bellagio Fountains

I actually only gambled about three times, and I won about $24, so I was pretty excited. Joseph, however, broke even. Now maybe he'll stop bragging about how he never loses!!

The day after the wedding, Ricky was kind enough to drive us to the Hoover Dam before he headed back to LA for his roommate's book party. It was only about 45 minutes outside of Vegas, although we probably spent about 45 minutes waiting to go through the most pointless checkpoint ever. They literally just waived us through.

The view was pretty amazing and they have built the best non-bridge ever. I felt that it was well worth the drive, and I'm happy we went. Now I never have to go again!! I'll slowly accomplish my goal of visiting all of the National Parks, one at a time.

The Hoover Dam

See the view?! That bridge behind us is way incomplete.

Lake Mead National Park

Like the Hoover Dam, we straddled the great divide between Arizona and Nevada

Joseph, Wolf, and Ricky

Hanging on the statue

All in all: Joseph approved.

Figment 2009

2009-06-16T21:37:00.005-04:00

This Sunday, after an awesome visit from Jess, Joseph and I headed over to Governor's Island. Luckily, we were fortunate to stumble upon Figment 2009, a collaborative art project brought to Governor's Island every year. For you Austinites, it was very similar to Eeyore's Birthday Party . . . except on acid. That's right, it was even more strange than Eeyore's.

We had a really great time, though. Governor's Island was absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to go back on a weekend where faeries and men with dolphin wings (yes, he had dolphins for wings) aren't walking around in front of my view. For those that don't know (which I suspect is everyone), Governor's Island used to be a military outpost (for the Coast Guard) until 1996, when it closed down and everyone moved out. Now, it's owned by the City of New York and is used as a park and public space. I'm not going to lie, I really want to sneak into the houses and take pictures inside.

At any rate, we did a bunch of really some stuff. We saw some people "dancing," we went into a quilted fort, watched as people married themselves (the line was too long), explored some of the better-preserved homes, listened to some absolutely atrocious acoustic guitar, watched an opera (Cavalleria Rusticana), and discovered that we don't play miniature golf well when kids are running around and playing through while their parents sit idly by. We also managed to do some things we took pictures of:

We tried to hula hoop.

Joseph was much more successful than I.

We played in a pile of rose petals (think a pile of autumn leaves).

We enjoyed a swing on a hammock (I was so excited).

We learned that 80% of water bottles in the US are not recycled (for shame).

AAAAAAAAND I beat Joseph at miniature golf (by 12 points!).
(I got a hole in one on this hole ... Joseph got a six)

He should know better than to mess with a girl who played miniature golf (by force) almost every weekend of her life for 10 years. I think he's learned his lesson.

Rainbow Cake!

2009-06-10T00:54:00.003-04:00

This past weekend my friend Jen baptized her twins, Tony and Stella. It was my first baptism and it was pretty neat! They had a group baptism and a beautiful Catholic church in Park Slope. As a baptism present I made a delicious Rainbow Cake! Here are the results, which I got to display in my new cake dish.

Separating out the batter and dyeing it

Pre-baking

Iced and ready to go!

Piece of cake ... doesn't it look delicious??

My favorite part was the clean-up, because the crumbs were rainbow colored!

The Little Things

2009-06-01T20:40:00.005-04:00

Life in New York City is hard. Unless you make a lot of money, it's not always very glamorous and everything costs about 10 times more than it should. Food coloring costs $5 and beer costs $12 for a six pack. Absolutely ridiculous. Sometimes (okay, a lot of times) I need reminding why I moved here and why the city isn't all that bad.

I consider myself pretty lucky. I live in a beautiful neighborhood, in a nice, large (for New York) apartment with a "roommate" who helps me with half of my living expenses. I have my two adorable (okay, one's a jerk) cats. I go to a decent law school, have decent grades, and the only thing I could ask for is a certain someone (okay, a few certain some ones) to be closer (like within walking/2 hour train ride distance) to me.

I've been trying to do more enjoyable things with my summer. It's sad that a 9-5 job and an extra 13 hours at the library is like a vacation to me, but it is! I feel like I have so much free time and I really enjoy the fact that I'm getting to do some stuff I'm interested in and have always wanted to do.

First, we joined a gym. They had a pretty unbeatable summer plan and Joseph had been nagging me for months. We've been going pretty regularly (about once every other day), and combined with with walking to work, I've been seeing some results. I'm sure the results will stop soon, but right now I have a lot to lose, so it's coming off. Most days (unless its raining or I am thrown for a loop) I walk through my little corner of Brooklyn to the Brooklyn Bridge, across the Brooklyn Bridge, through City Hall Park, and down to Wall Street, to get to my building every morning.

Where I work!

Second, I've been volunteering more. During the school year, it's hard to make definitive volunteer plans. Everytime I think that I'll have time every Sunday to do something, some big assignment comes up and I'll be busy with school stuff three out of four Sundays. This summer, I'm volunteering to help run Celebrate Brooklyn, a music festival that runs throughout the summer in Prospect Park. I'm also doing some legal-related volunteer work with NYCycles, a group that is trying to get a bike share program implemented in New York City. I'm excited, and maybe if I'm lucky I can turn it into a full time job. I've been volunteering with Rooftop Films, and I already made a friend! I also am trying to go to a book club, although I already can't go to June's meeting.

The point of this whole post was that lately I've had more time to wander around NYC and I've come up with a list of little things that remind me that this place isn't quite so bad:

1. My walk to work. It's so gorgeous.
The Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1873. I get to walk across this every day.

2. Beautiful sunrises (when we wake up early enough to see them)
Sunrise from my window during April

3. Even more gorgeous sunsets
View from the Brooklyn Promenade

4. Central Park
This is around the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. Apparently those are cherry blossom trees, and we're definitely going back next spring.

5. Secret Gardens in Central Park.

We found this on accident. It was so beautiful.

6. Fire escapes covered in umbrellas!

7. Suggestive venue names.

8. Secret gardens in the middle of a less than awesome part of town
I stumbled upon this right after walking through one of the scariest parts of Manhattan I'd been in yet (more than Harlem!) It was so gorgeous. I was thinking about volunteering there too!

CW, Jamestown, and Williamsburg

2009-05-25T22:36:00.001-04:00

Finals are over! Hooray!!!!

On that note, I decided to take a little birthday/post-finals-celebration trip to visit my friend Krista, her husband Jason, and her beautiful baby Savannah Mae in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Savannah Mae

We went to Colonial Williamsburg (CW). It was pretty informational and interesting, although admittedly I'm not much for historical reenactment. For any thinking of going, it's a little costly and unless you really want to learn about colonial times, not worth the money. I really, really enjoyed going and couldn't have asked for more awesome company.

Squeaker and I helping out Thomas Jefferson

For my lovely Allison

Horses and carriage going through town

The courthouse

The shoe cobbler/leather worker

Governor's Mansion

Basketweaver

Pretty garden

Blanket weaver

The next day, we met up with Doug and Vera, Krista's father and step-mother. We convinced them to go to the Williamsburg Winery, my first-ever wine tour. It was really neat to see where everything gets made and more neat to actually taste the wines. My favorite ended up being one Jason and I bought for later, the Governor's White. It was absolutely delicious.

Barrels

Grapes in the vineyard

A little blurry, but even Savannah was in on the fun.

After the Winery, we headed over to Jamestown, the first settlement. I liked Jamestown much more than Williamsburg. Half of the settlement was a museum, dedicated to the settlers and their lives here. The other half consisted of a Native American settlement, the "settlement," and the ships they used to sail over here. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see as much of it as I wanted, given that it started raining about three seconds after we got into the museum.

Indian settlement

After Jamestown, we went to Carrabba's, Jason's old restaurant. We got to enjoy an absolutely delicious meal and I was so incredibly sad to leave the next day. Had I known, I could've stayed for Krista's graduation from William & Mary Law, she was number one in her class! How awesome is that!!!

Beautiful Day

2009-05-11T15:23:00.008-04:00

The past few weeks have been rather dull. Not only have I been stuck inside studying on some absolutely gorgeous days, it also rained every day for about a week straight. How dreary is that?

Yesterday I finished my third exam (a 24-hour take home exam, yuck) and decided to spend sometime outside and study for my last exam on Tuesday (tomorrow). Despite the fact that it was an absolute terrible idea study-wise, it was a beautiful day and I had a wonderful time.

Squeaker, Throbby, and I headed out of the house with my beautiful new bag and Criminal Procedure II book. We weren't sure where we were headed, but we decided to go to Brooklyn Bridge Park. On our way, we passed through The Brooklyn Flea. We'll definitely have to go back when I've got more time!

Not long after we got there, it was a little chilly and we had to hide under the blanket.
Then, it got comfy and we got to sunbathe. Unfortunately, I ended up with a sunburn (although I think the jury is still out on that one)

Manhattan Bridge

It was so pleasant to sit in the park, pet dogs, and watch parents playing with their children. I hate being in law school sometimes, because it so often prevents me from enjoying little things like beautiful days in the park. If there isn't a plug within two feet of me, I'm pretty much not there.

Ohh!!!! We got a couch! When we decide on a place to put it, I'll post pictures! For now, I'll leave you with the most adorable thing in my house (aside from Joseph).

Sorry Bernini, I love you, but you're kind of a jerk.

Study, Study, Study

2009-04-29T22:00:00.002-04:00

I apologizing for not posting more. However, I'm in the middle of finals and trying hard to be a good student! I promise, I've got lots of great posts saved up and many more throughout the summer.

Pillow Fight 2k9!

2009-04-09T18:56:00.005-04:00

Last weekend Jess and her Brandon (Brandon Two) came up to New York City for the Pillow Fight. Every year (for the past four or five years), a group called Newmindspace organizes a pillow fight in New York on World Pillow Fight Day. There were pillow fights all around the world, even Atlanta, St. Louis, and Montreal. While usually ours is in Union Square, this year it was in Wall Street, right in front of the New York Stock Exchange. I can't tell how many people were there, although it doesn't seem like the event quite reached the epic level (5,000 participants) it did the year before.

Regardless, we had a good time. Brandon Two, Joseph, and I got into the thick of it. The two boys had immensely more fun than did I, considering that I started feeling nauseous about five minutes in. I would estimate that we stayed in for a good twenty minutes, with Brandon Two staying in for about 45. Here are some pictures from the day:

Gearing up for the fight

Joseph hitting away

The mayhem

Feathers flew!

By the end, I was so scared

I am employable!

2009-04-02T10:23:00.002-04:00

So, it looks like I finally got a job for the summer! I'll be working in the Criminal Prosecution Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's Office. I think I'll mostly be working on antitrust and consumer protection cases, which are two things I'm very interested in. I'm excited to get some valuable experience, although I am a little sad it won't be in civil law.

In other news, Jess is coming into town from NJ this weekend for the NYC Pillow Fight! Pictures of the mayhem to come. Should be fun!

Journal

2009-03-18T23:48:00.003-04:00

So, I'm trying to be more positive in general, but I do have one small complaint (and then I'll zip it ... maybe).

I was elected Associate Managing Editor for my Journal. Before you tell me it's great and you're proud, you should know this was the one position I did not want. Journal members have weekly bluebooking assignments, which essentially means that every person on the journal has to take the footnotes from a scholar's article and check them to make sure they are properly cited in the correct legal format AND that the author hasn't plagiarized or lied about the source. As an AME, my job is essentially to check over everyone's work (and plan parties). Not ideal.

Today I began my first "training" assignment as an AME. It's awful! I didn't know people could pay so little attention to the rules. I mean, there is an entire 415 page book about how to do this correctly. It has an index and everything. I just don't understand. I mean really, is it that difficult to make sure you put small caps instead of ALL CAPS? I already spent 5 hours doing my own assignment, now I'm going to have to spend another five to go over someone else's. Lame.

Whew, rant done for now.

On the partly sunny side, I have two interviews tomorrow for summer jobs. Fingers crossed!

Trips

2009-03-15T10:28:00.005-04:00

Well hello! I warned I'd be a terrible updater, and so I have been! Things have been pretty busy around here. I'm still working hard trying to balance school, three jobs, and a growing commitment to the Law Journal. Joseph is, of course, also very busy trying to find a more stable form of employment, which is so very difficult during these economically stressful times.

We have, however, been quite fortunate to have gotten around quite a bit. Firstly, Kristen (sister-in-law) came to visit on her way back to Montreal from Texas. I enjoyed her visit, although she had a pretty hefty dose of morning sickness throughout all of it. We did get to go to the Bronx Zoo, which was a huge treat. I love the Zoo and I was really happy to have gone. I also got to play with Kristen's new camera. It was so much fun. Here are a few pictures:

Creepy Monkey with a staring problem

Adorable Baby Tree Kangaroo

Baby Otters!!!!

Later that week, we went to Chicago for a conference. Last year, Joseph's cousin was to get married in Chicago and we bought tickets through SW Airlines. Unfortunately, the wedding was called off about a month before the wedding. So, instead of taking a trip to Chicago, we canceled our tickets and stayed home in a very responsible manner. So, instead of just me going for my conference, Joseph got to come to, using the money we had saved in our SW account! How fortunate.

Unfortunately, we forgot the camera, so we don't have any pictures of our trip. We did have a great time, though. We stayed with my good friend, Shawn, in his huge Hyde Park apartment. I went to the first day of my conference and then met back up with Joseph and Shawn, and we went out in downtown Chicago. I got a little sick the second day, but luckily Robbie came up to visit and by the time I felt better, the four of us went to look around Wicker Park and went to the top of the John Hancock Building. The view was absolutely gorgeous. I wish we could've stayed another day!!

This past weekend, I also went to North Carolina with Jess (cousin) to visit Heather and Kelsey (cousin and second cousin). I'd never really been down the east coast before, and we had a very nice drive down to visit them. On our way up, we even stopped in DC to sight-see! As many times as I've been to DC as of late, I had a ton of fun looking around. I feel like I spend so much of my time in Maryland on those trips, it's hard to get to see the museums and monuments. Here are a couple of pictures from there, too:

As soon as we stepped foot in North Carolina

Kelsey, looking beautiful

White House after someone important left

Capitol Building

Washington Monument at Dusk

Orlando

2009-02-16T11:39:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to Orlando for Joseph's cousin's wedding. They have a cute little website here, if you're interested.

It was a wonderful vacation and a very nice wedding. It was a little too traditional for my tastes (it was a very traditional Catholic wedding, with a mass and everything), but they both looked amazing and so happy. They had an intimate lunch reception down the street and then an after party at a hotel in downtown Orlando.

We also got to see some of the sunny Floridian countryside on our way to visit some more of Joseph's family. A second cousin and his great aunt lives about an hour outside of Orlando, so we went to go visit them and had a nice dinner out at their home.

Unfortunately our trip was a little too jam-packed to do some of the things I wanted to (like go on a gator hunt or pick oranges), but there's always time for more trips to Florida! Here are some pictures, although I must say that I let the Cizmar's take most of the pictures.

The beautiful bride and groom

Downtown Winter Park, where they had the wedding

Joseph at Waffle House, a Southern staple

Just because it's cute

It's Been a While

2009-02-06T23:02:00.000-05:00

I apologize for my lack of posts recently, but it's always hard to find time for the things I'd like to do at the beginning of the semester!

School is of course in full swing. I've been super busy interning for a judge in the Eastern District of New York, taking 17 hours of classes, doing Journal stuff, and keeping up my other two jobs! However, I'm way more relaxed this semester and seemingly much better able to get stuff done on time. I'm not really behind yet, which is a feat!

I found out the other day that I'm going to be an Aunt! I know it's really early to get excited (she's only about 6-7 weeks along), but I can't help it. I get to enjoy all the cool things about kids without actually having one. AND they had a 4D sonogram done and this is what the baby looks like:

How awesome is that? I get to have a dinosaur niece/nephew. So excited. However, in all seriousness, I am very very excited. I'm sure I'll keep everyone updated when I know more.

Oh! Also earlier this month I got to make it out to the Central Park Zoo. I'd never been before and I was really excited to go and see. It was a lovely day and in the middle of our trip it started to snow! It was very picturesque and it was nice to see Polar Bears in a more natural climate than San Antonio. My friend (who is a zoo member) informed me that in all the times she's been to the zoo she's never had such success with being able to see all the animals. Here's a couple pictures if you're interested:

The snow monkeys were antagonizing the swans.
Red Panda!

Polar Bears who aren't green
Twirling sea lion

Central Park covered in snow

Hope you enjoyed! This weekend we're going to Orlando for a wedding. I'm excited to get out of the cold for a little bit!

Good News

2009-01-15T17:21:00.007-05:00

So, I have good news to report:

1. My computer has actually been fixed at no cost to me. They were able to recover my hard drive and apparently it was not liquid damage that caused the malfunction. Apparently it was a hard drive failure, so I got a new hard drive and case. All and all, my love affair with apple continues.

2. Last semester I spent every waking hour doing work for school and working on my note. In case you don't know, which you likely don't, each law school has one or more law journals. Each year, first year law students compete in a write-on competition to earn a spot on one of the journals. Last July, I found out that I was selected as a member of the Journal of Law and Policy.

Most Journals at most schools require their members to write a 30-45 page paper about the legal topic of their choice. If it's good enough, it'll get published in the journal and be available for all the world to see. Aaaaaaaaaand, I got published!!!!!!! So, within the next year, my article will be published in a real law journal and my name will be on the front page. Exciting.

3. Other than that, the semester has started out well. I'm not behind yet, which is a feat. I've got a lot on my plate, but I feel ready for it and like I'm going to be okay. I just hope I can keep up this "normal life thing" I've got going on now. I was excited that Kim came into town this weekend and that I finally got to see Megan. Here's to spending more time not doing legal work!

Broken

2009-01-11T16:23:00.003-05:00

My computer broke. It was a sad day, brought to fruition after an unfortunate airplane accident involving Joseph and cranberry juice. I had high hopes, as it took two weeks before it really crashed the computer, but the high fructose corn syrup corroded the logic board and put him into a deep, deep sleep.

I am using Joseph's computer now, in hopes that we can find out a relatively inexpensive solution to our computer woes.

In other news, school starts again tomorrow. I'm optimistic and I've already read for all of my classes on Tuesday, which is a feat practically unheard of. I also start my internship with a judge in the Eastern District of New York. I'm excited to be more involved with the law and hopefully be better able to decide on a path to take. I'm still looking for summer jobs and trying not to get worried. Now that my computer has died, it's a little more difficult to apply for jobs, because I don't have my resume and cover letter. I'm working on it, though. I'm sure you'll hear—faithful blog reader(s)—when I get anything.

She's Crafty

2009-01-02T14:36:00.005-05:00

We've been having a great time at home. We were really happy to be able to spend New Years Eve with Allison and Alex in Austin, and we're very sad that we have to leave tomorrow. For New Years we went to an "80s party," at which we were four of six people dressed up (until the 80s punk cover band came on stage). Allison and I had a ton of fun getting dressed up and putting on really tacky jewelry and makeup. Here's a few pictures:

Yesterday, I started off the New Year by completing my first ever "craft project," which was a stuffed animal for Allison. Have sewed next to nothing in my life, I was very pleased with the results. So pleased—in fact—that I wanted to post pictures:

Blue side

Yellow side

Mine and Allison's

Home for the Holidays

2008-12-29T11:18:00.003-05:00

After a huge debacle at the airport and a small overnight stay in Atlanta, we finally made it home in time for Christmas.

We've been bouncing back and forth between Austin and San Antonio, coming into San Antonio on the 23rd (one day late), going up to Austin for "midnight mass" on the 24th, back down to SA that night, and back up two days later to spend a week in Austin. We'll come back down to SA on the 3rd, after a friend's wedding. LOTS of driving. I guess that's one way to make up for no car in New York!

We've had a really wonderful time at home so far. We've seen all of my family in San Antonio, a couple close friends in both cities, we've been to art museums, went out to a couple clubs/bars, ate at Demo's, went out for ice cream, made it to Ultimate Truth, and spent yesterday with the best friends a girl (and boy) could ask for.

We're excited for what the rest of our trip will bring and we're so happy to be home again.

Christmas and end of semester

2008-12-20T14:31:00.006-05:00

I am so happy to finally be done with this semester. It has been one of the most overwhelming and draining semesters of my life. I hope after I go home and "reset" I can learn from my mistakes and make Spring 2009 a little better.

Since I've been done with school (Dec. 16th), I've slept a lot, cleaned a lot, and watched a lot of Veronica Mars with Joseph. We had planned on doing a few "Christmas" things in NYC, like seeing the tree this year, going ice skating, etc., but we've been ever so lazy and probably enjoying hanging out with each other more than we should. We haven't gotten to spend a ton of time together this semester, and when we have, I've been stressed out or "studying."

We did, however, manage to get our tree all decorated. Our friend Jen was kind enough to give us an extra tree she had in her basement. Usually, I'm a huge advocate of real Christmas trees. However, this year, we just didn't have the extra money lying around to justify a $50-60 expense for a decently sized tree. It seemed like kismet that Jen had an extra tree that was too big for her space, but seemingly perfect for ours.

After six trips to Target for ornaments and five trips to return the ornaments, we finally have our tree all done!

Lit up in our living room

Our version of a New York Christmas

ornaments

In other news, we're going home in TWO DAYS! We can't wait.

Cats

2008-12-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

Similar to any "parents," I am completely in love with my cats. I spend 75% of my time at home playing with them, sitting with them, or telling Joseph how cute they are.

So—as if anyone was even remotely surprised—I routinely take time out of my day to take pictures of them when they're doing something cute. These are some of my favorites:

Achilles

Bernini

Next up: Tales of law school finals and pictures of our first Christmas tree ... completely decorated.

Thanksgiving Madness

2008-12-01T22:55:00.000-05:00

Although Joseph and I weren't able to make it home to Texas this Thanksgiving, we managed to have a pretty great Thanksgiving right here in the BK.

We had to say goodbye to my mom, but Brandon and Kristen quickly followed her visit with a visit of their own. They took the train down from Montreal (a lovely 12 hour train ride) to spend a week visiting us and enjoying American Thanksgiving.

We, of course, did all of the usual things again:

Lady liberty

Times Square

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons

... and Central Park

Brandon and Kristen were a little more laid back than my mom was, so it was really nice to see them and to spend less than 12 hours a day walking around! We went to Boston for a day and then came back to NYC just in time for a visit with Aunt Julie and Mike.

At the Chrysler Building

I made thanksgiving dinner for the four of us (Brandon, Kristen, Joseph, and myself) and it was my first complete thanksgiving dinner ever! I made a turkey, homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, biscuits, pumpkin pie, apple-pecan pie, and a pumpkin spice cake especially for Brandon. Here are some photos of our spread:

Dinner table

Apple-pecan pie. This was so delicious.
I think everything turned out pretty well and I even had a little turkey (which I think consequently made me sick)! Everyone seemed full and satisfied and we had enough leftovers to feed another family of four. Now Joseph and I are stuck with more turkey than he can eat on his lonesome!

We're hoping to pick up a Christmas tree tomorrow and maybe find time to decorate it while I'm studying rabidly for finals. Only 13 more days to go (that's incredibly scary).

We Have A Follower

2008-11-25T22:42:00.000-05:00

So, we decided that we're going to try to keep this up.Just in case someone's interested.

First up: My mom came to visit last week.

We were really excited to see her and take her around New York City. It was also really nice to hang out with her. I got to take her to all of the usual tourist destinations, such as Rockefeller Center, Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Times Square, and Battery Park. We also got a chance to go up to Conn. to visit Aunt Julie and Mike, which was quite nice.

She also brought up Bernini, the other cat. It's really nice to have him up here to keep Achilles company. Achilles was getting a little sad/depressed without his other cat friends around. Although he and Bernini don't exactly get along very well, you can tell that Achilles has perked up just a little bit. I'm hoping that once they've been around each other for a while, they may get more friendly.

Goooooood Morning

2008-11-25T08:45:00.000-05:00

So, I set this up so I could more easily follow everyone else's blogs. I may revive my blog one day (as it's been retired for about three years now), but right now I'll just stick up this post and read others. If there seems to be some sort of outcry for posts, I may oblige.