viva las vegas

it's true. i get to "viva" las vegas tomorrow! baby sister's bachelorette party commences in 24 hours and counting.

the law student (who is opening his own practice and once again will need a new blog name), ever so caring, has given me some thoughts and instructions for my trip, based on his extensive vegas experiences.

1. don't get sold into sex trafficking.
2. don't ride in a cab with a stranger.
3. don't ride in a cab alone.
4. at all costs, make sure you're on that plane sunday. i don't care about anyone else.
(me: not even my sisters?)
4. a) ok, make sure your sisters are too, but that's it.

anna to me: if you don't have more than 3 drinks, i will roofie you.
ben to anna: if you ruin my marriage, i'll ruin yours.

i'm really excited, and a little nervous. 15 southern belles taking vegas by storm has comedy of errors written all over it.

days 23 - 26

#23 - favorite vacation

boston, probably. on this same vein - realized yesterday's #21 used the same picture as #1.

#24 - something you've learned

i'm not always right, but i think i am.
also, how to correctly use the + and - signs on my adding machine and that i had the alligator and crocodile mixed up.

#25 - put your ipod on shuffle, first 10 songs
this takes too long. veto.

#26 - picture of your family

our little house.

day 8

#8 - a place i've traveled to

well, there's been a few. my blog, my rules

upstate new york and gloucester, massachussetts

grammi's house

gloucester fisherman's memorial

quechee gorge, vermont

saratoga race track (have i mentioned i love horses?)

new york city with my besties

baltimore with college friends for the preakness

talladega super speedway
(also known as redneck central)
chicago with dad and the law student

wrigley field

boston

fenway with the fam

los angeles and santa barbara wine country for vacation and our 3rd anniversary
santa ynez hills

brander vineyard, santa ynez


but my very favorite place ever was
costa rica
our fabulous honeymoon destination
san jose

guanacaste province on the pacific

rainforest in arenal

the arenal volcano

best. vacation. ever.
did you know the law student planned our entire honeymoon himself?
i want to go back.

carolina in my mind

once again, i'm back from vacation with a big case of wanderlust and general dissatisfaction with my current geographical standing. however, every time i bring up the subject, the job-searching law graduate ever-so-kindly reminds me that 1) it is more realistic to get a job in our home state, 2) bar exams are expensive and not exactly in our budget, and 3) no one is going to hire him and pay for him to take the bar in a new state. sigh. but not really the point of my post. the real point of my post is to update you on our lastest cross-continential trip.

after a late night and an even later start, we arrived in carolina for a weekend visit with tim, sara and olivia. after about 9 hours in the car, we arrived to a home-cooked dinner and fabulous dessert (i'll post the recipe once i get it) and just hung out. saturday morning was a bit rainy, but nonetheless we drove up a big blue mountain (with limited visibility due to fog and rain) to pick blueberries. we were soaked in a matter of minutes, but the berries were delicious. we did have to abandon our trip out to sliding rock though. we went back home for fabulous italian takeout and a walk downtown. sunday began with church and lunch out. miss olivia did fantastically--hardly got upset at all! we drove to jump off rock to get a view of 5 different states over the mountains. you don't actually jump off though. there's a railing preventing people from being too literal. we went to park to walk around and let olivia watch the skater kids, then came home and cooked out. can i just tell you my fabulous sister-in-law cooked us not only dinner and desserts, but breakfast? i never cook breakfast, unless it's 9 am on a saturday and i have nothing to do. we had such a great time visiting with tim and sara and playing with olivia, we just hated to leave. she's so fun now! she's starting to crawl and has 4 teeth. she's starting to eat table food and will constantly talk to you. she especially likes to walk with you. she's so sweet i could eat her with a spoon! i'll leave you with pictures of the cutest family member:

olivia

2 brothers and a baby

winding down and gearing up

well, summer is almost over. not that i get summer break or anything, and not as if mississippi weather recognizes the passing of months as incentive to adjust temperatures and humidity levels accordingly. it is so hot, and so humid you could drown outside if you break a sweat. hello, august.

the law graduate's social life has come to pretty much a screeching halt. at least while he was studying for the bar he got out of the house a little bit. okay, he only went to the library, but there were other people there. but now his routine is pretty low-key: running the trails with the roxy, job searching, reading sports chat forums, finding new low-budget historical drama series in the on demand, and completing lists of emailed househusband tasks from yours truly. that's. about. it. the couch is involved a good bit in this routine.

we are about to take our last vacation together before the new school year starts. oh wait, no one is in school this year. weird. anyway, we are headed to the hills of carolina to visit the brother-in-law and his family. our niece olivia is, in just the past few weeks, already crawling, teething and pulling up. she'll be in high school by the time we get there this weekend.

olivia

i've enjoyed the general laziness that comes with summer. it's actually too hot to do much anyway. but as it winds down, other things gear up. namely, SEC football (and in-town traffic.)

i'm so very excited. i'm throwing a shower for my friend kayla and her unnamed unborn son, and my very bestest friends, jules and mandi, are both coming to the first game the same weekend.

mandi and jules - party animals

i'm already on the hunt for the perfect game day attire, but there is a serious lack of cute maroon out there. i can't wait to see old friends, endlessly tailgate, cheer on the bulldogs and ring my cowbell illegally. and if you have anything to say opposing that, kindly skedaddle. go dawgs!!!


i've also managed to agree to teaching more pilates and/or cardio classes at the studio. why?? i taught my first cardio class last week. one girl left early, and another almost passed out at the end. fail.

speaking of gearing up, i sure hope the job market does soon. the law graduate would prefer to stay in mississippi (i'm a bit less than ambivalent), but is applying all across the lower portion of the country. right now we are waiting bar exam results (september 16), and will reevaluate after that. stay tuned for more updates.

and last but not least, today is my daddy's birthday! the big 5-5. happy birthday daddy, even though you don't read this blog. i'd love to be able to go to bristol with him this weekend to celebrate, but the niece is just too cute.

i think i'll go to boston

so, we went to boston this past weekend. dad's on a kick to see all the old ball fields before they are inevitably torn down in the name of progess, or modernization, or some crap like that. he took anna to yankee and shea in 2008, the law graduate and i to wrigley field last year (sadly, the cubs and white sox alternate home weekends), and this year was supposed to be rebecca's trip to fenway. however, it was tragically imposed upon by the other two sisters (and hubs) but the more, the merrier! and boy howdy did we have a bang-up good time! photo evidence is forthcoming.

friday, we took a trolley ride around town (which i actually don't recommend, but dad's knee was hurting him), had lunch at cheers, saw paul revere's house and other historical landmarks, and tried unsuccessfully to tour the u.s.s. constitution and the boston harbor. saturday morning we tried unsuccessfully (again) to tour the sam adams brewery. i wish we had a photo (or better yet, video with audio!) of the woman on our subway ride screaming obscenties on the phone. and then it was off to fenway to see the red sox vs. the dodgers: manny's return. i'm a dodger fan by marriage, but i definitely cheered when former bulldog jonathan papelbon pitched! we also managed to marry rebecca off to one of the guys sitting in front of us.

my camera is still having grand mal seizures, so i have been harassing the sisters to get their photos. a quote from rebecca, in response to my request:

im sorry....i've been a worthless slug this week. boston wore my arse out. ill get them up soon. its hot in my house :( anna and dad, love the one of you and norm!!!!!!!!!!!

pretty in pink*,

rebecca

ps-i need to do some serious repenting after the debauchery of boston. i think we all could benefit from a little "i shouldn't have acted like that" prayer.... seriously. i bet the people around us wanted to kill us (maybe it was just me).

*("pretty in pink" refers to a statement made by the law graduate regarding a man from natchez, ms, of all places, that was staying in our hotel. dad told him we went to mississippi state. he responded with, "oh, they're pretty and dumb." effer.)

i'm in love with boston. it's true. i've never fallen for a city before. i'm a southern girl through and through, impervious to heat and humidity (except for my hair) and averse to snow and temperatures below 40. and i. love. that. city. i truly (foolishly) believe i could survive a nor'easter just to live there. the culture, character, history and prestige, not to mention the professional sports teams (i can only root for two, though, or more like one and a half). and the food--oh my gosh, the food! irish, italian and seafood--all the good ones. and since there are no law schools anywhere nearby, i'm sure we'd have no problem relocating immediately. i mean, who wouldn't want to come visit us in boston?

photos this weekend! or maybe sooner, if you're lucky.

vacation photo post, numero tres: fun in LA

the final chapter of our vacation. we came back from santa ynez and went to the LA artwalk, went out on the town, played with hex bugs and generally just hung out.

kissey & jules

welcome to funland!

the neon exhibit. way cool.

max. at LA artwalk

his first pedicure

melrose. i did some damage at aldo.

jules & zach. we think she'll keep him.

obligatory photo #1

obligatory photo #2

WE LOVE IT!

afternoon trip to the orchid hothouse in malibu.
right after the gary busey encounter.
and then i saw this hothouse in the new anthropologie catalog.

friends: aaron, sweet sarah and us

kissey: "we look so awkward, jules."
jules: "it's what we do. it's why we're friends. plus, what good are
photos if at least one of them doesn't make people go,
'wait a second...what?'"

vacation photo post, numero dos: santa ynez

pictures of our anniversary jaunt to santa ynez valley. i highly recommend it.

(having a bit of trouble putting the photos in order with blogger, so just disregard it)

getting ready to go

brander winery

the brander vineyard

the ballard inn

anniversary dinner at the ballard inn

the ballard inn

brander winery

i'd like to put up more photos of our gorgeous drive down, but i'm annoyed with blogger. enjoy!

God bless the camera cord

i found it, it works, and now i have lots of new photos on our computer to share with you.
i'll start with the vacation photos, days 1 and 2 in los angeleez with friends.

the law graduate and his buddies christian & aaron

angel trolley. thank God the cable didn't snap.

kissey & the law graduate on los olvera street

oldest home in los angeles

ben, ryan, aaron--donna reed reunites

the boys. love aaron's face.

our barbecue-turned-pizza-ordering-ordeal. note john jordan and the candle.

i miss vacation.

wednesday wussy

it's a wednesday wussy post, just for my friend elizabeth.

my body is conspiring against me. not only am i just now recovered from previously mentioned hellacious sinus infection and living with a disagreeable gi tract, but i suspect that my body actually wants to get pregnant against my will. my fertile period seems to be extremely long this time. maybe my body is producing ambiguous symptoms on purpose. maybe it's just the antibiotics. it doesn't matter--i'm on to its games, and i will win.

i gained four pounds on vacation. four. and we really didn't eat all that much! i ate SALADS on vacation! we accidentally skipped dinner two nights. i only had ice cream once. geez.

i think my camera is dead. it started suffering grand mal seizures on graduation weekend. you know, the moment i pick it up to take a picture of my law student receiving his diploma. so, i've found the camera cord (fingers crossed for a successful upload!) for the computer, found my stash of photo cards and have actually taken pictures of an entire vacation, and now my camera is kaput. sigh.

i have a bit of a vacation hangover/depression. before los angeles, i was kind of ok living here in small town. it had its good points, its perks: the farmer's market, our church, the park and the trails for roxy, a cute little downtown, good public schools, and it seems to be perfectly situated as a sort of home base for all my travels. i'm really no more than 4 hours away from any given friend except jules, and we're only an hour from an international airport. not to mention we live rent-free (for now) and i am employed. but after los angeles, i'm in a bit of a funk. i don't really want to live in los angeles, per se. you know, traffic, smog, crime, etc. but it is just as intoxicating to me as it once was: very grand, very busy, very cool. and very not like small town. sigh.

i have been accosted with two emails this week about homeless dogs--my poor little heart can hardly stand it. one family is looking for a new home for their dachsund, and another family has been semi-adopted by a stray. i am particularly drawn to the scraggly stray. i think she and roxy could get along. anyone want a dog?

in happier news: i may have the best husband ever. last week, i woke up at 5 a.m. unable to breathe and proceeded to blow my little nose off in the bathroom. instead of 1) rolling over and 2) telling me to go to the hall bathroom (like i might have done), he got up and made me a glass of cold water and a hot towel to put on my sinuses. awwwwww. he's also brought me lunch twice this week. whatever it is that he wants, he's playing his cards very shrewdly.

monday, everyday

monday, you win. i give up.

your official 24-hour stay this week was not really any worse than usual, except that i had about a week's worth of work to finish in three days, dinner to make for eight people, a recovery to make from an overindulgence of milk of magnesia, and a husband with a brutal exam schedule. but really, nothing out of the ordinary.

except, you stayed.

tuesday, i was admiring myself/primping in the mirror at work (i'm a bit vain, ok?) and saw the faint outline of a tag through the much-higher-than-normal-for-that-shirt neckline. i had worn my shirt backwards and didn't know it. i blame it on the accompanying cardigan, but i'm pretty sure it was because i got dressed half-asleep in the dark. i was too annoyed with you to correct it and flaunted your victory over my day.

i was sure you had lost track of time and would beat a hasty retreat. boy, was i wrong. not only were two sets of quarterly reports missing in action at the office, i ordered some skincare products online a few weeks ago, and had not received them yet. i made a second order for a new-and-improved product and free cleanser, also mysteriously lost in limbo. so while on the phone with my mother, i check my order status. it said "delivered," and then i saw my fatal error--i had both orders sent to my old apartment in college. i have not used that address since i got married. it somehow showed up as my default address, and apparently i also managed to charge my dad's card for the first order (thanks dad!). i contacted the store and they put in a request to ups (i did not mention my personal sidebeef with the brown truck) for a reroute (new word!). thankfully, a good friend of my sister lives in our old apartment, graciously took my 10 p.m. phone call while studying for her last exam, and is taking care of my package(s) for me until next weekend. apparently she told anna (sister) about this a while ago, but it was not mentioned to me. thanks, sis.

so thank you, monday, for commandeering my week. you have wreaked havoc and left me annoyed and just plain tired in your wake. here's hoping for a bright and shining thursday (pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease). but maybe i shouldn't say that just yet--i am about to make a phone call to mdes.

in other news: the law student has one more exam--EVER! graduation is next week, then look out, los angeles!

friday

kathleen thinks i'm funny. thank you, kathleen.

in other news:

i did make it through yesterday. but i still can't fire that client. and i have to work sunday. i can't wait for april 16th.

the law student and i are now the proud owners of two round-trip non-stop flights to the city of angels! i hope all of our friends are currently underemployed with lots of free time, large extra bedrooms and deep pockets. oh, and los angeles dodgers? you suck for playing out of town in arizona that week.

the law student thinks that upon graduation, he should be called sir. the law student is deluded.

i think my mental state this month is echoed in the physical state of my bedroom. and bathroom. and kitchen. so, i plan to clean this weekend.

i also plan to make dream cookies for april 15th, and later this month for a friend's birthday. corrie, this is your sign that i really do love you.

in addition to all my crazy situations at work, i started this week off with a pregnancy scare. but have no fear, nfp rides again! can i tell you how much our california vacation would have sucked? who has 2 thumbs and wants to be knocked up in la watching their husband and friends party it up while she's puking? not this girl.

i asked the law student to make dinner last night. please note this involves a crock pot (read: you can't screw this up.) here's the email i sent to him:

in crock pot, put (in order):

frozen corn (it's family size, so maybe not all of it)
1 can black beans (drain, rinse, repeat), or 2 if you think we need it
chicken breasts, salted and peppered
chopped garlic (2-3, remaining cloves in the little dish--the small things)
jarred salsa over the top

put on high.

the "drain, rinse, repeat" part stumped him. yes, really. i made dinner.

just thinking about this week makes me want an adult beverage.

california vacation 101

so, the law student and i are pretty set on going to the city of angels this may after his graduation. he'll no longer be the law student! i wonder what i'll call him...the counselor? the law graduate? the esquire? hmmm. i must give this some thought.

anyway, continuing. it's LA or bust. we are so excited to see our friends! haven't seen the boys since the wedding, and going months without seeing jules is completely unacceptable in my opinion. but, i'm running into a problem. this will be the first time i've been back to LA without going to visit the law student. on any one of my 2004 - 2005 cross-country romantic rendezvous, i had a pretty narrow objective.

(cut from tuesday afternoon to wednesday morning)

so, i started that post to get some ideas on fun things the law student and i could do while on vacation. i then began imagining the reality of our vacation. i assume our friends have jobs, lives, things to take care of, et cetera, et al, and will spend their waking moments taking care of these things. i personally don't want to use up all my vacation days staring at someone's apartment walls waiting on them to get done with errands, or going along on these errands (not that i'm that averse to it--costco can be fun), or worse--watching the law student and friends play video games--so we can all go out. don't get me wrong. i can't wait to see people (mostly jules), and the law student is really about to wet himself with anticipation. i know our evenings will be full of partying, hanging out and quality time with friends. i'm just worried about those 8 hours of daylight doing nothing. if i don't get out and do something active, etc., i'll become as big as a hippo and never be able to come home due to embarrassment. and yes, for short people, weight gain happens that fast. so yesterday, on our way to walk the roxy, i expressed these concerns with the law student.

he does not agree.

the law student explicitly informed me last night that he is going solely to visit his friends, and has no other outside interests. at all. he plans to see all of them, which led me to the question: "so, you think we're going to pack up every day and 'move' somewhere different and spend a night with all your friends? no sir."

"well, you can go spend the night with jules."

"oh, really? because she has to work and lives with two boys i've never met. and i won't have a car (not that i could drive in la if my life depended on it anyway). no thanks."

(which begs the question, where, and with who, exactly are we staying?)

did i mention our anniversary is right smack in the middle of our trip?

i did offer a compromise: something fun together on our anniversary and talking jules into faking a migraine and heading to the beach for a day, or something (here's looking at you jules. get on it). the rest of the trip would be completely impetuous. the law student did not confirm.

should be a fun and memorable vacation for everyone involved. anybody have any fun things to do in la solo?

i want to go to there

i'm seriously daydreaming about a vacation. the last vacation i had was in 2008. the law student and i went to upstate new york to visit grammi, gloucester, ma to visit extended family, new york city to visit mandi and heath, and then made our way home via d.c. and north carolina, stopping to visit my cousin lane and the law student's brother tim and wife sara. it was a trying trip. just ask amanda and heath. photos below. but after traveling 8 days in a car together, i know our marriage can withstand anything.

ben and grammi

lauren vs. the lobster

gloucester fishermen's memorial

our exit into new york city. or so we thought.

heath, mandi, kissey and the law student. we had made up at this point.

law school graduation is in may. then, the bar in july. i want to go on vacation right after graduation. i'm thinking of here:

a vineyard in california

or here:
the gulf coast

or here:
los angeles, to visit friends.

so back to our budget we go. by saving carefully and intentionally, we should be able to afford a short respite from work/the bar exam. for now, i'll just daydream at work.