Wonderful article

If you haven't, you really should read this Esquire article about Roger Ebert.

I know I tend towards the sarcasm, but in all seriousness this is a really inspiring article. The author really does Roger Ebert's story justice - and it is quite a story.

It's nice to see that there is still a place for eloquence in the midst of the quasi-illiteracy that is the Internet era.

This is how I think on a Monday...

So I'm in the law library - more commonly referred to as my fifth circle of hell.*

I've been at school for 11 hours, and the end is not in sight. (So instead of hurrying to get out of here, I took a leisurely timeout to write this...wise decision?)

Yes, I'm in school on a day that should rightfully be (a) a national holiday and (b) a snow day. But the administration is apparently from one of those Canuck First Nation tribes to which we were introduced at the Opening Ceremonies. This is clearly evidenced by their opinion that going to class in a foot of snow is a reasonable standard AND by their deeply anti-American refusal to acknowledge the dead white guys who once stole Alaska from them.  See? It makes perfect sense.

So this basically means that today has been (c) a rather sucky Monday.

Which is why I decided to peruse my iTunes music for something new and different that I haven't listened to 101 times (Lady Gaga, that means you.)

And this is how it happened that I am rocking out to the Coyote Ugly soundtrack. The pure 90s awesomeness has definitely given my day a boost...you just can't argue with a song called "Can't Fight the Moonlight."

And it was totally a great film! Tyra? John Goodman? Maria Bello? And don't forget the girl from Sweet Home Alabama who has a baby -  in a bar! Poor Piper Perabo. She really disappeared after that movie, huh? Her hair deserves a better career than that. Her acting, maybe not so much.

So now I'm happy and not feeling eternally damned to the library.

Until I have to hike home via sidewalks that the First Nation of Administration decided to leave unsalted. I think they're hoping that we are all so festively Olympic that we will consider Ugg-shoeing/slush-jumping/black-ice-gliding to be a brand new, previously unrecognized winter sport.

I'm onto you, guys. Either give me a gold medal now or let's use Purdue's patented sidewalk ice-polishers and skip to the curling!

*Wrath and sullenness...check and check. 

How I Spent My Superbowl Sunday

Please note that I have a cocktail in one hand and a baby in the other. 

Pretty sure that's what they call "multi-tasking." 

And also, "good practice."

Go Colts!

Umm, hi? You've met me, right? So you pretty much aren't surprised to hear that I used the SuperBowl as an excuse to give myself a Colts-themed manicure? Ok, just checking...

PS - Go Peyton!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Ugh, I don’t want six more weeks of this crappy weather. Stupid groundhog.. Take it back! And why his name Phil?* Why not Paul? Punxsutawney Paul has a much better ring to it. Or Pete? Percy? Phineas? Anyway, not the point. Point is: stupid groundhog. 

So yeah, worst fake-holiday ever, and I refuse to watch the movie Groundhog Day because Bill Murray creeps me out a bit too.  Instead I’m finally going to get around to a very belated Happy New Year post.

So a year ago, I rang in 2009 in Florida with M&J. There were bikers and cougars (oh my!), not to mention beer pong, cigars, feathered tiaras and - I think I'm recalling this correctly, but I tried my best to block it out - chocolate flavored tequila.   
It  looked a little something like this:

Much happened last year.  M&J got married and moved to cold New England (ha, but they hate Phil too!); I swore off bikers, and am not quite old enough to be a cougar (but really, for Taylor Lautner - I would.) Somehow I still haven't found another appropriate occasion for feathered tiaras (Believe me, I'm looking.) And chocolate tequila, for the love of God, never again.


So while 2010 found me back in Florida, that was about the only similarity to 2009.


Instead, this new year looked a little something like this: 


Morning reading on the porch, waiting for the temperature to reach 50. 

After it "warmed up," went for a walk on the beach with Mom and Sister, then had to organize shells.

Adventure of the day: paddleboarding in 60 degree water. Too windy to stand up, but it was surprisingly fun, and not nearly as freezing as I had feared. 

Cocktails at sunset, of course.

Fireworks started at 10PM, this was taken at approximately 10:12PM. By 11:15PM, no one in this picture was awake. 

So there you have it - not nearly as exciting as 2009, but I have high hopes for 2011! And now somehow it's February and we are stuck in the midst of dreary, gray winer. And this, friends, is why I hate Phil.

*Don’t tell me to Wikipedia it. Already did. It’s like Scientology-level stupid. They say Phil is essentially immortal, thanks to a special thing called “Groundhog Punch” that he drinks every summer. Oh, and he Twitters. Yeah.

So okay...upon further review, I have to admit that he’s kind of a sassy little groundhog. In appreciation, I have moved his holiday up my list. It now comes after Flag Day, but before Columbus Day. Chris wasn’t snarky, he doesn’t get me a day off, and someone else would’ve gotten around to discovering America. Sorry Chris.

Secret shame

No, I’m not going to admit my love for trashy reality TV shows. Like that’s even remotely a secret, please. 

Although TV side-note...every time there is a television show based on a book, I have to go read that book. Which is how I spent weeks reading the entire Southern Vampire series, despite never having watched True Blood. Also read the Dexter books, but that is a rare instance where the show is much better than the book. Anyway, it should come as no surprise that when Gossip Girl came on I eventually caved and read the first book. 

But then I decided to read the next nine…

No, I didn’t actually go out and buy these books (because then I would have to show my face to the cashier). Instead I went through a stealthy little process at the library, which went something like this. Start at the real books, find about six to check out. Slowly meander towards the teen section. Sneak a peak to see if it’s empty. Casually saunter closer. Make the approach. Quickly add as many available books to the middle of the stack (so no one sees, obvi). If anyone asks, prepare to lie and say they’re for your appropriately aged make-believe niece. Go home, read quickly, and return to the dropbox surreptitiously. Luckily, I only had to do this a few times. Then I discovered a delightful little trick: the library website. (Website? You’d think it was 2009 or something..) Putting books on hold - totally avoids the secret shame process. It's amazing! So obviously, I finished the Gossip Girl series in no time. And I’m not gonna lie, it was awesome. End of story? Psh. 

In case you haven’t heard? There’s a spin-off.

I know. But thanks to my new-found ability to shamelessly procure teen novels, I also read every book in the “It Girl” series. which actually, in spite of the awful name, they are better than Gossip Girl. (Too bad Taylor Momsen's idea of emoting is adding more eyeliner. Otherwise they could have had a legit spin-off instead of that awful 80's episode they tried to float.) Then I moved on to the other spin-off, and...okay yeah, I can't even try to defend myself anymore.

But having knocked out the Upper East Siders, I figured I was done with ridiculous teenage books. Of course Lainey, having long ago convinced me to read Twilight, had already posted new reviews. So I read Sloppy Firsts. And Second Helpings. Then Charmed Thirds. And Fourth Comings. And finally Perfect Fifths. These, you guys, are actually good. (So good in fact, that a Georgetown law student plagiarized them a while back….) They start out in high school, but by the end, she's 26 and randomly runs into her high school ex-bf. Suffice it to say: check.

Anyway, now you are in on my secret shame: I  have the literary tastes of a tween.  But if you are looking for some good, fun reading  -  you’re welcome. And now that I am on work-release from my casebooks, you better believe I am going back to the library website - after all, New Moon's not gonna re-read itself!

Bad Boys II

You remember this guy? 

I managed to avoid him for a year. AN ENTIRE YEAR. 

Do you know how impressive that is at law school? Seriously, we are all locked together in the same building, the same classroom even, for 10 hours a day. It required keeping my head down, looking very busy, faking iPhone distractions, and occasionally just straight up hiding. But I avoided him. For a whole year.

And then...

Oh yes, my ghost of Halloween past returned to haunt me. 

It started when I ran into him during composite pictures.* The moment had arrived when I couldn’t avoid him any longer. (I would have tried, trust me, but we were the only two people there and we had a long wait. Even I cannot realistically check my email for that long. ) He gave me bedroom eyes. I blushed bright red. [Note: I blush easily, it's really not fair.] Awkward small talk ensued.

Over the next few days, we ran into each other at school a few more times. Awkward hellos were exchanged.

Cut to the next week. I sign onto Facebook during class, as all good law students do. All of a sudden, my biker boy starts FB chatting me. WTF? 

And what does he lead with? 

"Hey, hope it wasn't awkward running into each other last week."

"Umm maybe a little awkward. Did my bright red face give it away?" [I'm telling you. Not fair.]

Then, for an even better follow-up, he tells me that he would like to repeat the occasion, but his girlfriend wouldn’t be too happy. Oh, but wait, what were his chances? Just hypothetically?

Yeah, he actually lives with a girl – a girl who is also in law school - and is still trying to get me in bed.

Have guys always been this shameless!? Or does shamelessness come with the leather? (Actually yeah, that would make sense.)

Anyway, I told him that homewrecking wasn’t really my thing and tried to disengage from the conversation as quickly as possible. Even so, he managed to elicit a few more blushes...[So. Not. Fair.]

PS – As it turns out, boys are not only shameless, they are also really into FB chat. That turned out to be the first of three ridiculous conversations I had with three shameless boys in three consecutive days. I think maybe it’s time to leave FB. 

Oh who am I kidding?

*Composite pictures, really? Like I haven’t done enough of those? And yes, of course I wore pearls – triple strand.

Half-moon manicure

I've been seeing these everywhere lately - ok, mainly just on the runway and in InStyle. But that was enough to get me intrigued. I finally decided to give it a try. If it means avoiding studying for Secured Transactions, I'm willing to do just about anything...

Anyway, thought I would share the results of my little experiment. It looks gray and black, but it's actually light blue and navy...way more fun! It's not perfect, but I was actually surprised by how easy it is.

And, ooh, bonus - the real grown-ups in my family will hate it! Yes, I realize I am a 26-year-old who is passively rebelling against authority via nail polish...don't worry about it.

(What's that in the background, you ask? Why yes, it is my statutory supplement and outline. Welcome to my wonderful life!)

Such a happy girl

Tough Love has returned to VH1.

Sunday nights.

Watch it.

You will thank me.

Wedding weekend is here

On Saturday, I stand up at L's wedding and give a toast in front of 400 people. You would think I would have prepared for this, right?

Oh wait, all three of you who read this have met me.

So obviously you know that I have not even come close to writing anything. Instead I've been taking care of important stuff like pedicures and picking out a dress for the rehearsal dinner. (To be fair, there's been some legitimate important stuff too...say, law school)

I'm kind of hoping that if I put off writing anything until Friday night, it will give me less time to be nervous. I'll let you know how that works out...