Time passes so quickly!

I haven't posted in almost three months, I think. This is what we look like now:

Courtesy of SnapChat filter.

Just kidding. :)

My lack of posting is not for lack of things happening in our lives. More like lack of time / lack of want to log on and write. 

I still have not completed my law school applications. I have a self-imposed deadline to complete those by the end of February. I think the first due date coming up for applications is in April and some schools even allow you to submit applications as late as August. I am to a point now where it is stressing me out more to not know what I will be doing than the thought of rejection. The applications themselves are very easy. Obtaining the letters of recommendation was easy. It is writing the personal statement that is a huge challenge.  BUT Ben will be at a conference in Seattle this weekend through Tuesday, so I will have plenty of time home alone to work on this thing and at least get a draft completed. I have many, many first drafts which consist of about 2 or 3 sentences. 

On another note, we went to Chicago last weekend! As an early birthday present to Ben, I purchased tickets to the opera Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss. We went up Friday night and stayed through Sunday morning.  We walked around the city, got a couples massage, went to supper at The Berghoff (German restaurant before going to a German opera!), and attended the opera. We ended up leaving a bit earlier than originally anticipated because there was a winter weather system moving in and we wanted to get home safely.  We truly enjoyed our time in the windy city! We had never done a couples massage before and we both truly enjoyed it. We did the deep tissue massage and I was sore the next day. I also had some bilateral hip pain going on after the massage which was uncomfortable, so I think next time I would discuss that with the massage therapist prior to the massage.

Here are some lovely photographs of our time in Chicago:

Ready for our couples massage!
One of the ladies at the spa said y hair is gorgeous. :)

Supper at The Berghoff - a German restaurant in Chicago.
I chose a German restaurant before going to the German opera!
Ben had steak, potatoes and asparagus.
I had sliced beef with a sweet and sour gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggies.

Wined and dined and ready to go see Der Rosenkavalier!
Isn't my hubby handsome?!

We did, unfortunately, hit some snow on our way home from our weekend away and ended up sitting in stand-still traffic for 3 hours due to a massive car accident. (No fatal injuries, thank goodness.)

Other things that have been happening in our life:

I started my final semester of undergrad!!! I graduate May 14th at 9 a.m.! I could have had the 1 p.m. slot and slept in if my name were still Watznauer. . . Just saying. . . lol

My sweet babies after a weekend at the farm. Pooped!

Odie and Grover became BFF's. They now look out the window together, play, snuggle in the same vicinity, share doggy beds, and sometimes chase one another. It is a nice change from Grover snarling at Odie allllll the time. [NOTE: Grover still snarls on occasion. Odie normally deserves it.]

Odie earned our trust to remain out of his kennel during the day when we are at work. After about a month of free roaming, he betrayed our trust and is now back to the kennel. In his lifetime he has destroyed 5 pairs of my flats, 2 pairs of Ben's shoes, too many Kleenex's to count, a few of my school books, multiple puzzle pieces, multiple pens, a bajillion toys (those are ok to destroy), and I'm sure many other things that have slipped my memory. Most recently he tore into a stack of text books I was going to take and return for a bit of moolah. We have noticed that we can predict when Odie will be destructive, and most of the time it is when we tick him off because we are leaving. So. . . kennel.

Ben has continued to learn and grow in his new position this year. He has liked this job from the get go, but as the year has gone on I have noticed that his enjoyment has increased. He has had the chance to establish working relationships with his teachers and gained their trust. They have also gained experience in the classroom and are able to actively participate in their conversations and various interactions. As I said, this weekend he is in Seattle for some conference from today through Tuesday. If you want more information on how things are going with his career, feel free to ask him about it!

As for my job, I continue to work hard and am learning more each day! It has been pretty busy at work. I had a deposition at the end of January to prepare for and then a hearing from this past Thursday that both kept me quite occupied during the working hours. I went to both the deposition and workers comp hearing with the attorney I work with and it was great to be able to see how my hard work was used in both situations. Advice to attorneys: take our paralegal(s) to hearings, depos, witness interviews, etc. It will improve their work ethic and work product!

This is all I can think of at the time being.

TTYL. LYLAS. BRB. ;)

Life

It took them forever, but they're friends sometimes! 

It has been quite some time since I have sat down to write a post for the blog. I have been completely swamped with work and school and have had no time to do anything I find fun. If I do make time to do something fun, I end up paying for it later with 20 tons of homework to catch up on. Sigh. . .

BUT this semester is almost over! My first day of total freedom will be Friday, December 18th! Ben and I are going up to the Twin Cities for a Christmas party and some holiday time with part of his family. I will finally be able to enjoy a weekend that does not include a complete day being consumed with class work! I haven't had a break like that since summer.

I suppose this is good practice for law school. Although, I won't have a full-time job if I'm going to law school, so I'm hoping that will make a difference.

So for now, I will go and gloriously plow through one more week of classwork. When finished, I'm going to veg and watch Christmas movies every night while eating candy kisses and enjoying snuggle time with my husband and fur babies.

Freaking out.

My current mantra. . . 

You know that feeling when you look at your life and realized you are trying to do way too much at one time? Well that is me right now. 

I have a loaded schedule of 3 online courses through Iowa, 2 that I am finishing up from the summer, I am trying to prepare for the LSAT on October 3rd, I am working on preparing all of my crap to apply for law school, and I am working full time. I envy those who either do not have to work and are going to school full time, OR who are working on getting ready to apply to law school while working but without other classes. I know I'm being a big baby right now because there are people with a lot more on their plate than me, but I don't care. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

Today, I feel like I am drowning because I can't turn my brain off. I keep thinking about everything I have to get done in the next 2 months and I feel helpless. I'm trying to switch my thinking to just one day at a time - max one week. I can do one week. 

Law School - Apply Today!

Some of the various law schools I am interested in applying to open their applications today!!!!

Errrrrrmahgerrrrd!

Who is ridiculously giddy and has butterflies in their tummy?! This girl.

Unfortunately, I won't take my LSAT until October 3rd, so official submissions cannot be made until then. BUT I am being proactive and collecting my letters of recommendation, drafting my personal statement and other various addenda I plan to file, and I will fill in what information I do have in the applications so they are ready for me to click SUBMIT once I receive that LSAT score! 

All that being what it is, Ben and I are mulling over the decision to wait one year before I start law school. We plan to have all debt (aside from student loans, car payment and mortgage) paid off by the end of January, so at that point we can begin saving more each month. If I waited a year to start law school, we would be in a better place financially once I did start.  This is just an idea flitting around. We will see what happens and what we decide together. 

Wish me luck!

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful. CleverGirl.

You know when you are out running errands wearing your yoga pants and a ratty t-shirt, no make up, and have total bedhead and see a perfectly put together woman and you suddenly think, "Wow. I wish I could be her!"  Well I do!!!!  I have always been amazed by those women that seem so outwardly put together! They have perfect hair, makeup, and an amazing outfit to boot.  I have always wanted to be like those women! They look amazing, exude confidence, and appear to take pride in their physical appearance.

I had a realization a couple/few weeks ago. The only way I will ever be like those women is to take action instead of wishing for a miracle. So, I have begun to take action!

I have never worn much makeup. Foundation, blush, and mascara were my usual day-to-day staples and if there was a special occasion I would slap on some eye shadow. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that routine, but I want to learn how to do more! I have been watching beauty YouTubers and learning new tricks. I have picked up some new beauty products and the experimenting has been quite fun.

Ben's lovely finger poking my overexposed face. But new makeup! Yay!

Before you go all judgy on me, I would like to clarify that I am not a completely self-involved dumb woman. I am a woman who wants to have confidence and take pride in my appearance. I am not materialistic or think that I need every product known to man slathered on my face. I want to look good for myself! And my husband. I want him to take pride in having a lovely wife! I also am smart, have a good career and will be applying to law school in a month. Brains are beauty, too!

Anyway. . . So far in my process I have found a few products that I do not know how I lived without! 

1. The Bobbi Brown Corrector from Sephora is TO DIE FOR! I know that some people use regular concealer for under eye dark circles, but this stuff is far superior. It is very dense and creamy and covers those circles and lines and brightens the eyes. Go try it. Seriously.

2. The Urban Decay Naked 1 eye shadow palette is also to die for. Very subtle colors that you can mix and match to do an everyday look or some beautiful night looks. It comes with a brush that I love and there are a million online tutorials for different shadow variations.

3. The Urban Decay Perversion Mascara is the best I have ever used. It doesn't get clumps or create spider lashes with multiple layers. It also stays on your lashes and doesn't give you raccoon eyes by midday. I will never go back to my drugstore mascara AGAIN.

4. I have also learned that your makeup brushes MATTER. If you use the $10 pack of brushes from Target, you aren't going to get the nice, blended and natural look that you will from the more expensive brushes. Splurge, get the better brushes, and care for them so they will last a long time and it will so be worth the money!

5. I am also a huge fan of the Urban Decay All-Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray [not pictured]. This is a light face mist that sets in your makeup and is perfect for long days at a wedding or other event. Pretty much all of the Urban Decay products I have tried I have loved. I also have the eye shadow primer which is fantastic and keeps your eye shadow flawless all day.

 I will leave you with a quote I thought was appropriate from House Bunny with the discussion of eye shadow, mascara. . . makeup. 

"The eyes are the nipples of the face." -Shelley

:) hehe.