Calm Before the Storm

Bonsoir, mes amies! Tomorrow is my first official day of barbri classes (like Princeton Review for the BAR exam), and could you please take a look at the MASSIVE amounts of text i picked up today? Apparently that's what around $2k gets you. 8 huge books of... law stuff. Luckily i only have to bring one of them to class everyday, and it's the beautiful one in front that i, of course, took the liberty to personalize. If i'm going to have to haul this sucker around everyday i might as well experience some joy in looking at it, n'est-ce pas?

Anyway, i should really be hitting the hay (took an unexpected 2.5 hour nap earlier), but i just wanted to say hello and i apologize in advance for the plethora of "i hate the bar" posts that are to come. In other fun news, i got my new spiral bound planner pad today (the 3-hole binder style was just too bulky) and spent some time decorating it with adhesive scrapbook paper and some gorgeous vintage French stickers. See pic below! :-)

La Dolce Vita

Bonjour from the Big D! (that's Dallas for you non-Texans.) I've been really enjoying myself this weekend, pretending like i don't start BAR classes in just two days.. I drove in Friday night just in time for dinner w/ my darling M. We had sushi, hit up Kroger for some home decor mags and the 7-11 for some frozen treats, and then went home to tackle our biggest project yet - wallpapering. We (somehow) managed to successfully wallpaper one wall in her new (to her) bedroom, and it looks fantastic!! I wish i had a picture to post, but i'm sure i'll get one soon. Neither of us had ever wallpapered before, and we were pretty impressed with ourselves afterwards. It took a good 3 hours or so so afterwards we were pretty pooped. On Saturday i woke up early to take Lola out and soon discovered that another Maltese was going to be spending the day with us. Then i didn't feel quite so guilty leaving Lola at home with her new friend Macy while M and i hit up NorthPark (the most incredible mall ever). Spent that evening at home with the parentals in Rowlett. Sunday morning i had brunch with Devon and David (one of my fave married couples!) and their darling pups, then David babysat the kiddies while Devon and i went shopping (again at NorthPark!). From there i drove to Juddy's, visited with the Littleton clan, then we went to dinner at a very fun, very Austin-esque place called Obzeet. Lola promptly passed out under my chair while J and i enjoyed the live music, yummy food, and cold beers. It was one of those perfect summer days in TX - shopping, pool lounging, and patio dining. Yum. Oh AND we taught Lola how to "shake" with her paw!! I swear, she's the smartest, cutest, funnest puppy EVER.

Today i've been spending some quality time with my parents. Mom's a pro at her new computer and can now successfully send email to my sister and i. Made the mistake of showing her blog and am hoping she won't remember how to get back.. ;-) I'm leaving soon to head back to my beloved Austin, and truth be told, i am not excited about the drive. The lack of CD player really kills my buzz, but hopefully i'll stay awake with the help of NPR. Tomorrow i register for BARBRI and classes start on Wednesday. Oh ma vie...

Enjoy your summer, friends!

Reconnecting

I've said this all semester, and basically since i've been in London, i feel disconnected with my creative side. Sure i let a little bit play out while i was decorating the apartment, but as far as really digging deeper within myself, playing with my writing and reading my huge stack of self-help-esque books, i've done nada. I've gotten a little back into my journaling lately, which has been great. But tonight i found myself missing that side of myself, but the sad thing is, i wasn't sure how to get back to it. I immediately opened my iTunes and listened to one of my favorite HTC podcasts.. that definitely helped! I have since washed the dishes, cleaned up, brushed my teeth, and am now snuggled into my comfy bed with Lola, my macbook, my journal, and "The Artist's Way." Maybe it's foolish to think now is a good time to start my creative journey led by the one and only Julia Cameron, but eh, when is it ever the right time? My life from here on out will always be filled with oodles of work, commitments, meetings, and daily life-isms that i just can't get rid of. If i can't squeeze in an hour of creativity into my everyday life, how will i ever survive?

The End.

Mmmm what a lovely weekend... too tired to write much, but all went very well, and i had a great time. Thank you SO much to all my supporters. You people are incredible. Here are a few pics... more to come!

Finally

It's FINALLY here!! Tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. is the Sunflower Ceremony (aka law school graduation) for 2008 University of Texas School of Law Graduates. WHEEEEE!!! It's sort of unreal to me that i'm going to be walking across that stage tomorrow. What a ridiculous three years it's been! It's still not all over... i still have 4 credits left to take in June AND the BAR exam to take in July, but it's about as real as it can get right now, and that's just fine with me.

In about 30 minutes I'm going to pick up my darling sister and bro-in-law from the airport. Tomorrow morning Momma and Daddy Park are coming in, and after graduation festivities we are all having dinner @ Gumbo's downtown. Sunday we have brunch reservations @ Chez Zee, and then i hope to spend some quality time outside with Lola and my dear family.

Speaking of that adorable little puppy of mine... my mom still doesn't know i have her. So tomorrow will be QUITE a surprise. I'm not sure how she'll react, to be honest. On the one hand she'll be furious with me for going behind her back and getting a dog when she pretty much forbade it. On the other i'm 24 years old, graduating from law school, and SO close to getting off her payroll so... who cares? Not who cares, but she knows she really can't stop me from doing whatever i want. What a weird feeling...

This morning i had a Graduation Brunch & Tea with my darling Pony (BFF in law school!), and we exchanged gifts while Lola and Beau (her little Yorkie) ran around the apt. She LOVED her scrapbook i'm so happy to say, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE my gorgeous Vera Bradley travel bag, monogrammed with a big HOT PINK "C"! Isn't it amazing how monogramming can make an item so much more personal and wonderful? I love it, particularly in hot pinK!

Speaking of hot pink... Kimberly Wilson over at Hip Tranquil Chick blogged about adding some fun hot pink streaks to her hair the other day. It reminded me of how much i adored my hot pink streaks, and so i stopped by Hot Topic today to see if they had any of my "atomic pink" hair dye. Sadly they stopped carrying it!! I'm determined to find it and get all kinds of funky with my hair. I only have 4 months to be CRAZY, and so i've pretty much decided to get it all out of my system. Hurray!!

I Can See The Light

Hello, dear friends! I'm happy to report that it's a GORGEOUS day in Austin. After yesterday's brutal humidity and heat, random rain and HAIL storm, today is much cooler, breezy, and sunny. Lovin' it! I've been up since 7 a.m. (went to bed at 10 p.m. last night - delish!) and have been busy doing laundry, hanging clothes to dry on the patio (seriously - way better than the dryer), and playing with my darling zoo. Also rode my bike to Bark N Purr to get the kitties some food (i promise i'm not starving them..). I love love LOVE my bike! Yesterday I biked to the Intramural tennis courts to play a set with my dearest M. Afterwards we biked to get snowcones, and then i biked home. What a fun workout! During our bike ride we decided to name our respective bicycles... hers is Anastasia and mine is Sylvie (French, but of course!). Anyway, buying Sylvie was the best idea ever.

This morning I also tackled a petit DIY project for my pink wall. Currently a collage of fun pictures, posters, frames, etc., I decided to put my new Alexander Henry fabric from Etsy to good use. I stretched it across a cheapie canvas (can be purchased at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc.), busted out the staple gun, and voila! New art! Lovin' it. Plan to purchase an array of canvases of all diff. sizes and cover them with fun new Amy Butler fabric (yet to be purchased.. waiting on that tax refund!) and put them around my room. Project Anthropologize is well on its way!

Still have one more final tomorrow morning, but after that, i'M DONE. This week is full of doctor's appointments (for me and my animals), a delectable end-of-finals massage, and preparing for my family's arrival next weekend for.. GRADUATION!!! Who knew the day that i graduated from law school would actually arrive?? I'm also tres excited for Friday b/c Pony and I are going to have our own private Graduation Tea at Chez Carolyn, aka The Pink Palace, where we will be exchanging graduation gifts and probably just lovin' on each other. ;-) I can't WAIT to give her the gift on which i've been working the past week (ya know, instead of studying for finals). Yay the end is near!!!!!!!!

Mid-Finals

Bonsoir, mes amies. My lack of posts is appalling, i know, but in my defense, i am in the middle of finals! Luckily i am not stressed, as getting through the first is always the hardest part. As i speak i am at a Starbucks with two darling friends, semi-working on a takehome. Not bad, eh?

I'm sure i have tons to write and discuss and update but for now i'd like to stick to a topic that has got my mind spinning the past couple of days. And that is my weight. If you had read my blog (it was probably my "xanga" back then actually) a few years ago, it would've been filled with discussions of calorie contents, fad diets, logging miles, etc. I used to be OBSESSED with losing weight, as it was my #1 goal in life. Seriously i woke up every morning thinking about food and my weight. It was an awful way to live, and i'm so so SO very glad that i'm past that stage. Unfortunately, i seem to have hit the other extreme in that i've hardly really given my weight and body much thought in the past year in a half. In my defense, i've been dealing with a lot more important things - namely my depression and figuring out how i would graduate from law school. Until recently, i've also been on an anti-depressive medication that has been known to cause weight gain. (Believe me, had i know that potential side effect i probably would NEVER have agreed to get on it!) As a result of alll these factors, i've managed to pack on a good 20 pounds in the past couple of years. In fact, since starting law school, i've probably gained around 35. Luckily for me, 35 lbs doesn't look quite as extreme as it might on someone else. But it's definitely noticeable, and i had a very harsh, cold blow with reality this past weekend when shopping for a graduation outfit with my very dear (VERY thin) BFF. After feeling tres sorry for myself, i called my darling Mommy to broach the topic (really hard for me to do), and we ended up having a very honest, very real conversation about me, my weight, my eating disordered past, and my future health. As diabetes runs rampant in my mother's side of the family, she's always been very concerned about my health.

After many many tears and another phone call to a dear friend here in Austin (thanks, J..), i faced up to the fact that i've let myself, and most importantly my health, go. Normally i'd take news like this and swallow it with a LOT of french fries and a very pricey shopping trip. Luckily i have the support of my mom and friend and decided to turn lemons into lemonade. I got my ass to the gym for the first time all semester, and I emailed my sister's ex-trainer (used to work at Google in Cali but has since moved to Austin!) to set up an appointment. (Um also decided to curb the milkshake runs to Which Wich.) Met with Deb (aforementioned trainer) today, and we set up a plan. Not gonna lie, running was HARD after not having done it in so long. But it also felt good. So did training today. My body's ready for this change. My heart and head, however, need a bit of help. But i'm trying to be kind and forgive myself and stop focusing on the past. I'm doing something now, and that's what counts, right?

1 Down.. 800 to go!

Just finished my first final this morning. It went tres well, if you ask me, especially considering my class attendance and prep work. Before the test, my dear friend Dara walked in, and we were both shocked to see each other (as she doesn't have the best class attendance either). After a quick, "you're in this class??", i found out later from another friend that one of her neighbors said, "well at least we'll do better than them..." H8ers!! They have no idea who they are messing with!!

Anyway, Lola is tres famous and has not only graced the Hip Tranquil Chick blog in the past month, but is also featured in the Tranquil Space Newsletter you can find here. I'm SO excited for Kimberly's move to a bigger & better location, and although i'm totally bummed about missing the grand opening soiree (it's on the day of my graduation), i'm definitely planning a trip to DC post-BAR trip to take a yoga class or two, sip tea @ the new Tea Bar, and of course, spend time with my #1 girl crush. :-) Hopefully I can bring Lola, and her and Louis (KW's adorable black pug) can get friendly!

Ok time for lunch (shrimp tacos from Sago) and some paper writing. Funner events for the day include an AABA (Asian-American Bar Association) Happy Hour at my mentor's house and dinner @ Stix Bistro with L & M. Have a good one, kids!