A lawyer and a shrink? Your poor kids...

We have a dog....

2011-03-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

Fact: I am not fond of animals.

Fact: Meredith IS fond of animals, or at least of dogs.

Fact: On December 20, 2010 we officially adopted a female beagle of undetermined age.

Her name is Eva (because the only pet I have ever wanted is the robot Wall-E. Since I can't have Wall-E as a pet, we named the she-dog Eva as the closest substitute). We don't know her age because the shelter estimated her age at five years while the vet estimated it to be seven.

This dog bays loudly at squirrels at 6.00am and whenever we leave her alone in the house. While we weren't looking, she jumped onto the counter, stole a pancake and breakfast burrito, and hid them in our couch and bed. She has escaped from her kennel and greeted us at the door with trash strewn across the floor behind her. She has taken hold of her food bowl with her teeth and shaken it until all the food was scattered around our bedroom. She will not let me sit or lay anywhere in our house without coming over and laying down on or next to me. We can't have our windows open because she will not stop begging to be taken outside until the blinds are closed.

Fact: I am now fond of this particular beagle. You have to admire her style.

3 months

2010-05-14T18:44:00.001-07:00

It has been almost exactly 3 months since my last post.....I just don't find the time. So what I am going to go ahead and do is give you a brief overview and hopefully add more details and photos later. So, here is what we have been doing since Valentines Day:

- Getting ready to move. Which includes: find boxes, spending alot of time on craigslist, collecting newspapers, getting everything shut down, lots of cleaning, saying goodbyes

- My mom and stepdad came down at the end of

March for my stepdad's mother's funeral and were able to spend time with us.

- I quit my job. Which was really hard at the time.

-Dustin turned 27!! Luckily my mom and Paul were here for his birthday so they took us out to a really nice restaurant and we celebrated !!

-Dustin took his last set of finals for law school this April

-Dustin graduated from BYU Law School!!!!!!

- Luckily, my mom and Paul were able to come up again to Utah but for Dustin's graduation this time. Also, Dustin's dad and brother were also kind enough to make it to the graduation. It was a nice weekend.....freezing....but nice.

-We tried to hang out with everyone we could before we left. We hung out with some neighbors, church friends, old buddies, law school guys....the works! We will miss you all!

- We moved. Dustin's law buddies were kind enough to help us load up the Penske while I cleaned the apt. with a fellow R.S. friend. I miss my Provo apt.!! Its the only married place we have known.

- I turned 23! I celebrated my birthday by getting up really early and moving across the country. Dustin drove the truck and I drove the car so I spent my birthday alone in the car. Luckily, I am not super into birthdays or that would have been a really depressing one. Also, we stayed in a nice hotel that night and I just soaked in the bath so that made up for things.

- We are currently living in Missouri until we get established and find an apt that we love.

- I just got a job yesterday working for a medical company as an Account Coordinator. I basically work with nurses to try and get them out to patients to teach them how to use their meds and how to inject them. It seems like a great job.

-Dustin is currently....as we speak.....applying for the bar exam in another state! We applied and paid for the Kansas bar but realized that most of his job leads lie in Missouri so it would be beneficial to take the

Missouri bar. Sooooo, now we will defer the Kansas bar exam till next Feb. and he will take the Missouri one this July. So his time and summer now consists of studying for the bar.

- I am also hoping to start my masters from UMKC sometime soon so I can get going on starting my career. I am hoping to do counseling in an academic environment. We will keep you posted.

-Side note: I am anticipating the preview of my favorite show Wipeout!! When does it come on this summer? ahhhhh. Also, we have a Blue-Ray player here in Missouri and Dustin bought his first Blue-Ray DVD, Avatar, and it looks amazing on our TV :)

So yeah, thats about it in summary. We are doing great and are anticipating what our future will hold for the next 6 months! :)

Valentines Weekend

2010-02-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

Well, let me back up a little bit. So earlier this month Dustin bought a plane ticket to go to Kansas so that he could work on some job prospects and see his family during placement break at the law school. Hence why I have time to write this post. First off, I am excited that Dustin has the opportunity to go to Kansas and that it seems to have been a successful trip thus far.

Luckily placement break was after the Valentines holiday so I was able to have him for that weekend. So this year, Valentines fell on Sunday which makes celebrating kinda hard but lucky for us we decided we were not going to celebrate this year. We are not "gifts people" and Valentines day has never been a big deal for either of us. So Friday night after work I start on the topic of puppies (and anyone who reads my blog knows I have wanted a puppy for a long time) because I probably found a random YouTube video of a puppy and of course wanted to talk about it. Well long story short, by the end of the night Dustin and I have gone to every dog website that matches breeds to owners. We kept filling out these survey's and answering questions to see what would be the best dog for us. After many hours of drooling (no pun intended) over cute puppy picture and reading up on breeds, we decided that a beagle would be our best bet for our current situation. And then it happened.....Dustin said to me what I have been waiting to hear for so long: "Hey Meredith, you know what? I am okay with us getting a puppy this summer once we move into a dog friendly apartment." I nearly died....I am so excited!!!! So it kinda turned out to be an accidental Valentines present....I am getting a puppy!

So then on Saturday, Dustin woke me up and asked me if I wanted to go look at puppies. Of course I said yes and joked about buying one that day. Dustin stated that if I get a puppy that day then he gets a new flat screen TV (something he has been wanting for over

a year now). Well, we knew neither was going to happen so we just joked about it. After spending the day out and about and looking at puppies, Dustin asked if we can just drop by Best Buy so he can look at TV's. I said sure, we do it all the time.....whenever we go to Target, Walmart, Best buy, or any

store that has electronics, we always have to stop by the T.V.'s. So long story short, by the end of the day we

had bought a top of the line massive, beautiful TV for an amazing price. It was nice that there was a President's Day sale and we had just gotten a huge tax return. We have been pinching our

selves since Saturday night. We cant believe after a year of really really wanting one that we finally bought a T.V. and a super nice one AND we could use our tax return. We have now upgraded from a 1990's 27" huge box TV to a new large flat screen. Dustin was giddy for a loooong time. Boys and their toys.

The only thing that I had planned for Valentines day was to make Dustin breakfast in the morning before church so on Saturday night we went to the grocery store to get food. While we were there I saw some gorgeous tulips and of course my sweet husband bought them for me and I love them. So Sunday morning came around I made his breakfast but to be honest the days before Sunday felt more like Valentines Day. So anyways, after purposely not planning anything for this holiday it actually turned out to be one of our best! I love feeling like a newlywed even though we have almost been married for over 2.5 years. Thanks Dustin for a great holiday!!! He is the best!

Holiday Catch Up!

2010-02-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

Hello All!! The reason for the lack of posts have been because of the lack of eventfullness. Christmas was good. Dustin and I just slept in on Christmas morning, listened to Christmas music while making and eating a delicious breakfast, and then we opened the presents we had restrained from opening earlier in the season. It was a little weird to not be with family on Christmas morning because of the following reason: a loud house, everyone sitting in a circle around the tree taking turns opening their presents, the excitement of seeing your family's face when they open presents, the Celion Dion Christmas album blaring through the surround sound (cant do that in an apt.), and then all the warm water running out because everyone wants to shower at the same time. Oh good times were had when I was younger. With the way we are planning life, this should be some of the few Christmas's we have alone. Soon we will have our own family (hopefully) or at least be close to immediate family.

Nevertheless, this Christmas was relaxed.....well kinda.....I had to work all the way up till Christmas eve and the days after following up to New Years. I sure love and miss the school schedule breaks. Because I was so tired from working over the holiday, both Dustin and I were passed out when it became 2010. I remember that it was one of those rare nights that we fell asleep at 8 or 9 and woke up at 11.....contemplated whether to stay awake or not.....we both went to bed but heard fireworks going off at around 12:05. Hearing the fireworks made me feel lame....we are old fogies. In the moment I did not care, but looking back I wished I would have stayed up and kissed my Mister. Oh well.

Well Dustin has started school back up.....his last semester!!! It is weird to think he is almost done. It has not hit me at all.....just
like it took me 3 months after I had graduated for it to hit me that I did not have to do homework when I got home. School is all I
have ever known. It is going to be weird to not consider ourselves "college kids." I am so proud of him though....that I am sure. He works so hard and has found passions in law that get him excited which get me excited. I just want him to find a job so bad that he loves. He deserves it SOOO much! The kid is brilliant and applies himself and the law firms that have worked with him love him. For all who don't know, the last 2 years of Dustin's law experience, we have received a job for the summer weeks before the semester would be over. It is always nerve racking so we are kinda hoping for better luck this year.

Since real life is just around the corner, Dustin and I are on this kick about winning the HGTV dream home this year. If we won it, he would sell it and probably be left with 1 million bucks! That would be nice. I just want the million, I don't want the house in New Mexico, it is not my kind of house. Yes....we dream about taking the easy road and being lazy for forever. We just want to sleep in everyday, then travel, and have a personal masseuse. Its fun to dream!!

Some exciting news on my end is that one of my undergrad papers was published in a Psychology Journal. It is official and it is in print and I love it. I always wanted to add a publication to my resume for grad school. Speaking of grad school, I am kinda feeling flip floppy about what I want to go to grad school for. I really love therapy but some days I wonder if I have the heart for it. I am not sure what else I would do. To be honest, there are days that I want to go to law school.....if only I was smart enough. Because I would probably do family law (which Dustin hates and would never do) which is a good mix of psych and law. We would make a pretty good lawyer team :)

I totally forgot, my brother came into town at the end of January. It was nice because he was able to spend about 5 days with us and we relaxed, played on the wii and went sledding. I am just hoping that Carson got a good break from work. It was not crazy eventful because Carson is still a kid (even though he is 19) about video games and cartoons so much time was spent doing that. He also slept into 12 or 1 in the afternoon everyday and it reminded me of my teenage years when that was not a problem for me at all and now I don't like to sleep past 11. I sure love that kid though. He is so nice and timid. I just hope the best for him....his is still baby Carson in my mind.

All the time that we have left, Dustin and I are looking for job for after April. We are sad to leave our Provo apt because it has been the only apartment we have known as a married couple and it is nice but we wont miss our loud neighbors and having to tip toe around. I think we would like a townhouse in the future. We also love to routinely watch our 30 rock, Community, Modern Family, I watch the Bachelor and Dustin watches Lost. Lately, we have been extra glued to the T.V. because Dustin has been sick for about 3 weeks and cant walk anywhere too fast.....so we sit lazily on the couch.

Well, thats about it. Hope you enjoyed!

P.S. sorry for the random photos!!!

My personal "Dan in Real Life"

2009-12-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful night tonight. I was not able to go home to visit my family this Christmas and it has been eating at me as time goes on but tonight helped my pain. My extended family invited me over to their house for their Christmas party and it was wonderful. It was just like the movie, Dan in Real Life. If you have not seen it, I strongly recommend it! In the movie, they are this family that is so cute, everyone loves each other, they are a tad dysfunctional, and of course involved in everyones lives. There is also a scene in the movie were everyone is being goofy and they are putting on a talent show. Tonight, I had my own little version of the movie.

Tonight, the kids of my adult cousins put on a talent show that was pretty funny. I love being surrounded by kids because I never really had that growing up and I don't have that in my immediate family. I love the loud house and the millions of foot steps on the floor above us. Then we have an "ugliest christmas sweater contest" that was great. We first voted, then there was a dance off, and then a re-vote. I love that they have this tradition. It was so funny!!! They have another tradition where they do a roast, via a poem, to a family member. This was so funny and heartwarming. I really felt like I was in a movie tonight with all the appropriate goofiness and loving the family even more after I left.

The food was great, the company was refreshing and I just might stay home next Christmas as well to do this all over again. Just next time, I need to bring a camera.

The last couple months.

2009-12-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

So I know it has been forever! Sorry to disappoint everyone....I know you wake up and the first thing you do is check our blog...but again....no new post. So here it is!!! I guess alot of little things have happened but not alot of big things except for Thanksgiving. I am still working at a job that is, well, a job, and I feel the guilt every night when I go to sleep that I am not looking for a better job for myself. Dustin just finished his semester (just one more to go) after a pretty easy going semester if you dont include the finals. Dont get me wrong, he worked hard, but he did not have as many credits which makes it easier. I have to be honest, I miss finals. I miss running around like crazy and memorizing too many things but still feeling like I was progressing and stimulating myself. I was one of those freaks who loved school and I really miss it now. It is going to be super weird when are are out of a college town in 4 months. Dustin is still doing his music website, but with the holidays, traffic has gone down. I really hope that activity goes back up because I have high hopes for this site.

So back to Thanksgiving, Dustin's family came to our house for the big day. Everything went well. All the food tasted great, the turkey was perfect (in my opinion) and we loved having company. Unfortunately, our little nephew was not doing to hot with our cold weather so he had to leave early but we got alot of good video of him. Also, we were able to take the family to see Temple square and of course it was beautiful.

Let me think....other news....well last night Dustin and I drove around for 2 hours looking at Christmas light, drinking hot chocolate, and listening to Josh Groban. That drive definitely got me in the Christmas mood. Also, my extended family extended us an invitation to come to their house this Sunday for a Christmas party. They are so sweet and it is going to be nice to be with family around the holiday. Also, we finally saw the new twilight movie which was good. A little cheesy but good. We also saw star trek, and yes, it was as good as everyone said. We have finally been able to catch up on movie now that the season of time off is vacation is upon us.

I have to be honest, this time of year is a tad hard for me. First off, Dustin and I have wanted a baby for over a year now since our molar pregnancy fiasco. I keep finding out that everyone who is younger, has been married for shorter time then I have, and some people I just dont like (gasp, I know) are pregnant. It is just not fair. I have to get my blood drawn in a couple weeks to check back up on my progress to make sure no little cancer has come back. Ohhhhhh maybe in a couple years we can have a kid. Also, Dustin is stressed about graduating in April because the economy still sucks and we are getting screwed because of it. I am just hoping and praying that something pops up for us. I dont care where we live....I just want Dustin to be happy with a job. Okay, thanks guys for letting me vent. I promise, I really am grateful around this time of year.

Also, Dustin and I got each other the same Christmas presents this year. We both got a Wii for each other! That probably sounds confusing....we just got 1 Wii, and we both went in on it. Yay, we are finally cool :) So we are playing alot of mario cart and getting pretty good at it. All we need now are to invite friends to come over and play. Also, my family was kind enough to send Christmas gifts ever though WE ASKED THEM NOT TOO!! That is what family is for right....to not listen and give you gifts :) We have had fun decorating this year. I love my 3 foot tree and I love Christmas decorations. We keep our Christmas tree lights on all the time....I am surprised we have not burned down the house.

Anyways, I hope everyone has had happy holidays and been able to spend time with family....whether immediate or extended. I truly am grateful for my Savior and for this time of year! I have been truly blessed with an amazing husband, the means to get an education, the gospel in my life, a roof over my head, and food on the table. Thank you friends and family for enriching my life.

October

2009-11-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

I keep saying that I will get better at posting but I never do. Oh well. Guess I will just do it when I do it. So I should update you all on what has happened this past October. Nothing really to be honest (hence the lack of posts). Dustin was sick for most of the month....for about 3 weeks in a row. He was tired all the time, randomly ran a fever, and seemed to have a constant headache. I think that he is finally getting better! Thank goodness! He is a TA up at the law school and his professor/boss does have the swine flu and could have given it to Dustin but I dont think he has it. I think we dodged a bullet.

Dustin did start up a music website this month where he supplies information about the music industry, which is very useful for people who are just starting out in the music world. You all need to check it out at destinationundetermined.com He is interviewing artists and constantly finding the most relevant information to share. I have been having fun with this website as well because I have designed his logo and the intro to his videos. It fun to pop out old graphic desig skills. He loves the music industry and that is definitely where his passion lies! He is currently rejoining some old band mates and starting to play in a band here in Provo. I am glad that he is able to do what he loves again.

As for me, I am not doing much of anything. I go to work, come home, watch to much t.v., get too little sleep, and then start the day all over. If you don't mind me getting my violin out and letting me play my sad song, then here I go: my life seems so stagnant and depressing right now. I am in a job that is sucky and will not get me anywhere in life, I miss school and feel like I am not progressing, and I actually miss having my nights busy with too much homework. I also wish my life was no longer in the limbo state. I always say how hard Dustin works for our future so I wish that our future could already be planned out. I am tired of not knowing where I am going to be in 6 months and it is all the economies fault. Okay, thanks for listening to my pity story.

What I have been trying to do this last month is going out and taking pictures, which is something I enjoy. And then of course, we carved a pumpkin for this years halloween. He named our pumpkin jack jack and we loved him. For halloween we just stayed home and watched ghostbusters 1 and 2! Yes, we are party animals. But overall, life is fine....normal.....mundane. I just hope that Dustin's website can lead to some great contacts which will in turn lead to a great future. He deserves it. We deserve it. All I can say is that I am grateful for prayer and the spirit which comforts me in my times of uncertainty and freak outs. The gospel seems to be the only constant and dependable thing in my life right now, and for pete sake, I sure need it. Sorry, if this post had a solemn tone, but life is life, got to keep tugging along.

Here are some pictures from the last month! Enjoy!

September thus far

2009-09-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I am going to try and be better at blogging since I now have no homework to preoccupy my nights. So since September has begun, I have received my first paycheck from work and that was soooo nice. I love knowing that I am earning money and contributing to my little family. We also are sad to announce that there is only 1 more episode of Wipeout left.....sad day. But for all of you who dont know, Dustin signed up to be a contestant on the show for their third season next summer. When he filled out the application he was being completely sarcastic and funny. We are hoping his quick wit will get him on the show. We will let you all know if we hear anything.

Also, we have been in Provo for 2 years and have never 1) eaten at Brick Oven and 2) hiked the Y. Let me rephrase.....I have never done these things. Dustin gets Brick Oven delivered to t

he law school and he has hiked the Y twice before he met me. So basically, since I am a BYU grad, I figured I should do these things. So we went to Brick Oven, thanks to a wonderful gift certificate, and got their famous pizza. Dustin loved it but I am not a pizza connoisseur so it just tasted like any other pizza. But I am glad I had the experience.

Then we decided to hike the Y which was a BIG mistake. I am the most out of shape person EVER!! I should be on the show "The Biggest Loser" simply because my insides are about as unhealthy as the contestants on the show....I swear I am so out of shape. I eat fairly normal but I never exercise and that was brought to my attention once again when I attempted to hike the Y. I know alot of you are probably laughing right now because some of you run this small, less then 3 mile hike often, and think my little story is pathetic but I know how pathetic it is.....I had 2 year old toddlers and 9 months along pregnant women pass me on the trail. It probably did

not help that about half way up the trail, paramedics were helping a hiker and were pumping them with liquids and I knew I would be next! I felt like I was going to pass out

but in my defense it was the hottest part of the day. Oh well....I made it to the top and here are some of the photos:

I am trying to make it a family tradition that we get photos taken every year for our anniversary. Last year we had a friend take some urban shots and we loved them. This year, we had a professional photographer in our ward take them for us and we decided that we would take the nature avenue. I dont have the photos yet but she put a sneek preview up if you would like to take a gander: http://www.victoriabainesharris.com/

Also, my dad sent my pictures from his trip to Utah from Dallas and I though I would share them but I dont have them uploaded yet so I will get those up soon! AND MY DIPLOMA CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY!! It is official now! Now I can delete all my school work from my computer and clear up some room for home videos. For all who dont know, I am putting my childhood videos from VHS to DVD. I love it....it is such a blast to look at old videos. Oh and might I add, I am so excited that Leno is coming on at 9 o'clock for us! I have been watching him for 10 years and now I dont have to loose sleep to watch him! yay!

August/2 year Anniversary

2009-09-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

If Dustin and I thought July was busy, we had no idea what was coming. The first week of August was the most insane. For the first couple of days in August we starting packing up EVERYTHING. Keep in mind that Dustin flew up to Utah so that we could bring the car back to Kansas (packed with all our goodies) back in June, and somehow we now had to fit everything back into the car (and everything else we accumulated in Kansas). It was a chore. We first had to deconstruct the mini room that Dustin built for us which actually only took a day (look to last post for pics). Also, Danielle (my sister-in-law) cleared out most of our furniture in our little room for her new apartment....so now that room is completely empty. Your welcome Julie :)

We then started the two day journey back to Utah. It was really nice to stop in Denver because we had a freaking awesome hotel. They had 30 ft. tall ceilings, large flat screen, massive bed....it was great. We actually had a little bit of anxiety coming home because the last couple of times we have left our home to fend for itself it retaliates. One time our washer leaked into the basement apartment, another time we had potatoes rot through our cabinet....so to say the least....we were worried of what we would find this time. Thankfully, our house was just how we left it! Perfect! We LOVE our home. It was so nice to be back in our own space....drink out of the milk carton again, not have to bring your clothes into the bathroom but be able to get ready for the day outside of a tiny bathroom, and of course walk around in our unmentionables. It was nice to be home.

But we were not going to enjoy peace and relaxation for long. We had to spend the next two days unpacking and moving back in (kinda) and getting ready for graduation because my whole family was coming into town. We spent time cleaning the house and doing finishing decorating touches to each room. We bought curtains for each room in the entire house and a cool mirror for our front room. Now....2 years later....our house is completely decorated. And to top it off, our Anniversary was during the madness of getting everything together in time. So we spent our anniversary cleaning and I had a job interview that day. FYI: I spent the last 2 weeks in Kansas searching for a job with no real leads except this one so I had to do the interview on my anniversary.....no if ands or buts. So to say the least, we got home and got to work.

Soon after my entire family arrived. My sister flew into Colorado with my neph

ew Hayden and drove with my dad and stepmom to Utah and then my mom, stepfather and brother flew directly into SLC.

It was so nice to have my entire family be here for the big day. It took a long time for

me to realize the impact of a graduation. The day for me was exciting more so because my family was there supporting me instead of excitement from what I have accomplished. But here are some photos from that day. P.S. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR TAKING THE TIME AND MONEY TO COME! I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

So while all this was going on, I got a call from that interview and got the job!! There was a little bit of miscommunication for a couple days of whether I had the job or not, but it all worked out in the end. So I have been working there ever since. I graduated on Friday and started work on Monday. It is so bizarre to come home and have no homework. Though I have nothing pressing to do, I always feel like I do so it is still not complete relaxation yet for me. But my job is good....I work in a really laid back environment....and I am able to play mario kart whenever I want. Its not the best job in the world but it will definitely be fine for the next 8 months until Dustin finish's school.

Now as for Dustin, he started school on August 24th and its going pretty well thus far. He is only taking 12 credits which is a very light load for him but his time is then consumed by his TA job for a class called Legal Interviewing and Counseling. He also spends a ton of time job searching so to say the least, I have not noticed a change in his free time. It is like he is taking 18 credits. Poor guy. He works so hard.

I think that is about it for August. And just so you know, Dustin and I did celebrate our two year anniversary later on by going out to dinner at Macaroni Grill because it is tradition. So yeah, that is it in a nutshell. Now I have to just get going on September.....

The month of July

2009-09-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

Basically all of July and August was CRAZY for us. But lets go ahead and start at the very beginning, the very best place to start. First off, I was in Utah for part of the summer finishing up my spring term while Dustin started his internship in Kansas. This separation was sucky but we made it through. Back in June I was able to join Dustin in Kansas because he got a one way ticket home so that we could drive the car back to Kansas. We basically stuffed the car full and headed to Kansas. We stayed in a super trendy hotel in Denver so we would not have to drive all the way through....which was nice. So okay....back to July....(thought you might just need some background)

So I said I was going to post 4th of July pics but never got around to it, so here they are. There is some of the food we spent all day cooking and then there is Dustin and I sitting in the car, playing a game on Dustin's phone, while we waited for the fireworks to start. We went to the local mall to watch the show and played my new favorite game brick breaker....dont ask....but might I say I hold the high score.

The rest of July was spent finishing up loose ends. Dustin was finishing up his internship with the federal government doing bankruptcy law and I finished my last couple independent study courses. Dustin loved his job and I was just so grateful I was able to finish school in time to graduate. But we did make time for relaxing also. One weekend we spent the evening with Damon and his soon to be bride at the Kansas City Plaza. It was so great to just get out and enjoy the city.....to bad I did not wear better shoes and got my first blisters....ever...I was not missing out. So here are a few pictures from our adventure.

This about wraps up our time in Kansas. We are grateful that Dustin's mom, Julie, for letting us stay in her house for the summer. It was also nice to be there for Damon's first girlfriend and all the adventures that come with it. We are so happy for this and hope that all wedding plans continue to go smoothly. The last few photos I am going to include are from the make shift room that we made for ourselves in Julie's family room. Dustin was able to build a styrofoam wall, and yes, pink was all that was available, and we were able to have our own little room. Here is a preview:

Long Awaited Update

2009-07-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. It has been a busy month and I have just not been able to find the time to write. So here is what is going on with us: Dustin has been loving his job in Kansas City and loves working for the government. Apparently, this job is a bigger deal than we thought. What I mean is, it looks really good on his resume. We are grateful that we found it and Dustin LOVES not having billable hours! yay! Also, he is learning that he does not mind a FEW specific aspects of litigations....so I guess that may open the doors to more job opportunities. Who knows! But all in all he really enjoys his job and likes getting home at 4:30 everyday (and I like it also).

As for me, my life has been consumed by school, school, and more school. I had two courses to finish in the first four weeks I was here in Kansas and I did it. It was hard work and I was on quite the time crunch but I am proud of myself for getting it done. I just finished it last week and when I found out my final grades I was ecstatic because that means I am graduating on August 13th!!! I was so nervous about these courses because if I was not able to get them done in time, then I would not graduate and my entire family had already made plans to come soooo it could of been a disaster, BUT I did it! YAY! Dustin and I were screaming for a long time because we were so excited. I have to be honest though...I am going to miss school. I love school and I dont love working 8-5. It probably wont hit me until I walk across the stage and have a post-grad job. I am also super nervous about finding a job in this economy but I am dedicated to find something.

Job searching is the worst and Dustin can attest to that. He is the hardest worker I know. After he works his 8 hour job he comes how to job search. He is such a great husband and provider. I love him for all his hard work and dedication. I am excited for him though because he has an interview in D.C. this next week which means vacation! Well....kinda. We are not going to be in the area long but we will try and see as much as we can while we are there.

And I am so sad that I did not ever write a post for my favorite holiday, THE FOURTH OF JULY!!! My family usually makes a big deal about it but did not this year so I guess it was a good thing I spent it in Kansas. Dustin, being the sweetheart he is, wanted to make it a big deal so he spend many hours barbecuing and I made dessert and then we eventually went and saw fireworks. All in all it was a great day. I love that my husband made it special for me just because he knows it is my favorite. I will post some pics later though.

Well that seems to be all the updating for now. Dustin just has this last week of work, and then we go to D.C., and then we drive back to Utah, Dustin will start school, and I will graduate. Also, we are super excited to get back to our own home and our own space, not that we have had a bad time here, we are just excited to sleep in our own bed.

Titillating Technological Tidbits

2009-07-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

I doesn't take me a long time to figure out electronic gadgets; however, understanding every little in and out of my blackberry has been quite the adventure for the past year or so. As some of our stalkers know, I wrote music and lyrics in a former life. Occasionally an idea or impulse arises and I have to record it somehow so that I won't forget. Yesterday morning I woke with a song in my head (a little Sherwood reference there). I sung it to myself in the shower and while getting ready for work. After I got into the car, I took out my blackberry and sung the idea and spoke some notes into my Voicenotes program. After I was finished, I backed out of the program and drove to work. My blackberry is in my jacket pocket of my suit all day long and, as I found out later, Voicenotes is a program which you must QUIT, not simply back out of. Because I did not properly exit the program it stayed active all day and made a recording any time that the talking around me was loud enough. As a result I have about three hours of recorded conversations involving investigations and courtroom chat. Additionally, I only noticed this after my battery was almost dead for the second time in two days (it usually only needs to be charged two times a week). I guess the point of this story is to warn all of you that the FBI may haul me off for investigation at any time. Luckily, I have already deleted the recordings without disseminating them to anyone else.

Still, I love technology...

I LOVE T.V.

2009-06-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

So I have to give my thoughts on the Bachelorette, and Here come the Newlyweds because Dustin hates those shows and so he could care less what goes on....so I have to tell someone. Lets start with the Bachelorette: first off, I think Jillian is super cute and I really hope she is happy when all this is over, but from the previews, it does not look to promising. It looks like alot of drama and crap. I like the drama during the season, I guess, but not on the last episode when things are suppose to be happy. But I guess we will see. So lets break down the boys:

Wes: ohhh how I hate this guy now. I will be honest, I really liked him in the beginning and I was sad when they said he might have a girlfriend, but as time goes on, and especially since this last episode yesterday, he is scum. Okay, yes, he is a good singer, and I thought it was cute that he serenaded her but I want him to get kicked off soooo bad. I want Jill to see all the footage of him and see his real side and then punch him in the face. How dare he....especially because of the crap that happened last season....she just needs a good guy. When he does get kicked off....no one better buy his stuff because of how he got there. Poor guy has no heart or mother.

Jake: I have not really been a huge fan of Jake this whole season. I mean, he is fine, sweet, nice, gentleman like, whatever, but he just doesn't do it for me. He is also to mushy and lovey dovey. It is just this weird thing I get from him. I definitely think that he is sincere but just too delicate. I will be honest though, I was sad to see him leave yesterday simply because Wes is there. At least give the guy another week and chance and not Wes. Oh well.

Jesse: who the freak is Jesse? Whenever I hear his name I can never remember his face and I dont remember much of him with Jill so I just cant imagine them together. Lets just say he could get booted off and I would not care.

Michael: I really like this guy as I have said before. I was sooo shocked that she kept him. He is so funny and fun loving! He is kind of young but just so sweet and fun. I am worried he wont last long because they haven't gotten into deep topics but I hope that changes. I thought it was so sweet how he cried when Robby left. He just has that humor, sweet emotional side, while still being manly. P.S. I am not going to talk about Robby because I feel he falls in the Jesse category and he is also gone so it does not matter.

Kiptyn: I know that he is going to win. Jill never says anything bad about him but I dont think he is attractive at all. He is nice I guess, but he is what, 5'5, a buck 150? They have the most chemistry and I think he is going to win. I just dont see anything special in him. Just a normal joe blow.

Reid: now he has been one of my favorites with Michael for some time now until I saw him on his one one one date with Jill. He was sweet and nice but yes he was neurotic. And she said that they dont have alot in common and I dont think she should brush that aside. I unfortunately dont think the whole "opposites attract" thing will last long here. Even though I see them together and they are so cute.

Lastly, Tanner P.: why has he stayed on so long. I thought he would be one of the joke guys we get ride of in the first few episodes. This foot fetish thing is gross and I cant even imagine them kissing. He is too metro and awkward. I am grateful that he stayed for some time and was able to warn Jillian but that got her no where. Stupid Wes is still on. I just wish he would of actually thrown him under the bus.

So that is my synopsis. Some of you might be screaming at your screens right now thinking I am crazy but that is where I stand. I like Michael but I dont think he will win because he is "not serious enough" which is sad, and Reid wont last because he is too opposite. So there is no clear guy that I just love through and through but it will be fun to continue watching.

Here Comes the Newlyweds comes on right after the Bachelorette and so I naturally got sucked into it. I mainly just watch it because it cracks me up. I love the Asian couple because they were so funny so it was sad to see them get voted off last night. I also watch it because there is a Mormon couple on there and I really want them to win. I want them or the Newberry's. I dont really have strong opinions on this show....it is more so just for fun :)

This past week

2009-06-23T16:44:00.001-07:00

Sorry everyone for not blogging this past week....I finally have things to do in my evenings now :) But this past week has been good. Last Thursday, the day I flew out, I took an exam that morning in the testing center (my last one! yay!) and got the grade I needed which was good. I then ran home, cleaned the house, finished packing, pawned all my food on others and got ready for flight. Blaine, Dustin's good friend, was kind enough to take me to the airport that day. Luckily I had prepared for the worst, because it all happened. I made sure to leave early in case of bad weather and traffic, and just my luck, both were present. Another reason I wanted to get to the airport early was because for the first time in my life I was not checking a bag and everything had to go though TSA. so I gave myself time for things to go wrong.

So I get my stuff in order, get to the cranky TSA people and they wanted to throw a bunch of my stuff away and I thought, "no thank you" so I ended up having to check my one and only bag. If I knew I was going to be checking bags then I would not of worked so dang hard to fill my life into that one carry-on. So by the time I checked my bag and got back to the TSA people I was not a happy camper. But I got on my flight and all was well. The second half of my flight went by alot quicker because the pregnant lady next to me chatted it up for the entire flight. It was nice.

Luckily, I was on the second row of the plane which meant that I got off the plane alot quicker. I got into Kansas City on time but had to wait forever to get my stupid checked bag. Seeing Dustin was very normal. He is alot skinner though. He has lost what seems like alot of weight. It took us a good 2 hours to get back into our normal groove again. So by the time we went to bed on Thursday it was 2 a.m. We were exhausted.

The week since then has been pretty uneventful. We both took the weekend off and played. We didn't go and do anything but it was just nice to spend time together. Then on Monday I started my Independent Study course which has gone by alot faster then I thought it would I am already half way done with 1 course and that only took me 2 full work days. Dustin is also enjoying his job. Dustin likes our financial situation more and more everyday after dealing with Bankruptcy all day every day.

I also actually am enjoying being in someone else's home. It is actually nice to know you are not responsible for your surroundings. I mean, there are some adjustments that I have needed to learn, but all in all it has been a pretty smooth transition. Plus, Dustin has build a temporary wall in the living room so now we have more of a private space. I will have to post pictures when I get my camera this weekend. This Thursday I fly back to Utah, Dustin comes back on Friday, I take 2 Independent Study midterms, Dustin goes to our local doctor, and then we drive out the next day with our car so that we both have a car here. It will be quite a nice convenience. Also, I can bring more things! I can bring my camera, temple clothes, pillows, etc. I am really excited to see the inside of the Nauvoo and Winter Quarters temples while we are here, especially since I just took church history this spring term.

But we are doing well. We are busy busy bee's. More so Dustin than me. I dont know how he made time to talk to me on webcam when I was in Utah. He always has something to do: work during the day, work for law school at night, apply for jobs, etc. I will try and blog more often since I know everyone has been dying to know about what the Kelley's are up to :)

Tooooo much to do

2009-06-16T20:46:00.001-07:00

This post will be short. I woke up before my alarm which was weird, actually got ready for the day before 2 p.m., ran a few errands, cleaned the entire house and emptied the fridge, got little homework done, I am very stressed out, and have zero motivation to study. I am so frazzled about leaving tomorrow that I cant focus on my school work. I have so much to do and I feel like time is running out. I also have to fit everything into one carry-on!! Kill me now! So lets pray that my final goes well tomorrow, I can pack in time, fit everything into my suitcase, make it to the airport on time, and that the weather will miraculously get better and my plane wont get me in Kansas any later then 11:20 p.m. Ohhhh tomorrow will be a beast.

I love Monday nights

2009-06-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Today I had to set my alarm again because I had an appointment and I am starting to hate that stupid alarm. But I went to my appointment which went well, and then I came home and watched the clean flicks version of "Good Will Hunting." It was a pretty good movie. Then I got my homework together for my night class and then ran off to that class. Class was fine. It is my last on-campus BYU course EVER!! That was a memorable moment. Kind of sad. I dont like change.

I then ran home so I could talk to my baby nephew Hayden who is almost 10 months! ahhh! He is getting so big and he is so cute. Then I was able to say hello to my husband on webcam and boy do I miss him. It is actually getting alot harder the closer I get to being with him. I am more anxious and I really miss him. I just want the anticipation to be over. I just want to be there and get into the grove of things. Then, the thing that always helps distress me, is my tv shows. I watched the Bachelorette and my 2 favorite guys advanced so I am happy. Then I watched, "Here come the newlyweds" and the Mormon couple got immunity so that was also super exciting. Now I need to run to the grocery store, study like crazy, and go to bed. Is it wednesday yet?

The sun always comes out on Sunday's

2009-06-14T18:23:00.001-07:00

Having my alarm set to wake up at a certain time was a little rough this morning. I tried going to bed at midnight but could not fall asleep until about one a.m. After a good night's rest, I woke up for church which is no longer at 8 a.m. Yay!!! We have now moved to 11 which I think is a good time. I think 10 would be perfect though. :) Also, we have sacrament first now which is really weird. Ever since I have been married I have had R.S. first, so when we had sacrament first I felt like I was back in McKinney in a family ward. Weird! It also brought back the family ward memories of church seeming like it was 2 hours too long. Dont worry, this is probably just a funk I am in.

But Church was great of course. I sat behind the Homewoods, which is a strategic move because I think their little girl Elizabeth is so darn cute. I just need to figure out a way to get her long baby eyelashes. Then the rest of church was kinda sad because everyone is going to be gone by the time I get back so I had to say alot of goodbyes. Good luck everyone that is moving!! Also, I just got a new V.T. companion who I am way stoked about....but just my luck.....I leave on Wednesday. I eventually made it home just in time for my V.T.'s to come and visit me. I then ate some lunch and have been writing my "Theory of Change" paper all night. It is a pretty long paper I have to write about what type of therapy I would want to use when I am a therapist to help aid my clients in changing. I am actually really enjoying writing it.

I was hoping to take a break at 6 to watch Funniest Home Video's to realize that it is not on during the summer time. This made me super sad. I love that show. Which reminds me that I need to watch Wipeout online, because I missed it this past Wednesday. And I am excited for The Bachelorette tomorrow and I wonder who has a girlfriend and is going home. I think it is going to be Wes just because of all the hype he has been getting. To be quite honest, he does not really bother me. I guess I will have to just wait and see.

I am getting soooo excited for Wed. I got off the webcam with Dustin tonight and he is already counting down the hours! 70 or something like that!! yay!! Plus, I was super productive today which was great. Sundays are always the best days!

Last Saturday without the Hubby!!

2009-06-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

After watching all my normal late night shows last night, I snuggled up and fell asleep at one. It worries me that I am not even getting tired until one. I need to get on a better sleep schedule. Speaking of sleep schedule....I woke up a little before eleven. Ohhhh I love sleeping in but now I have gotten into this bad habit of staying in bed for about an hour doing all my computer things. Oh well.

Today I had high hopes of being productive but I was not too successful. I wanted to get alot of homework stuff done but I did so much yesterday that I had little motivation for today. I then had a Senior singing recital thing for my friend Amy that I went to this afternoon and she did great! Way to go Amy!! Then it was just back to the grind of work. Luckily, my friend Penny gave me something to do tonight. She invited me over for dinner which is always yummy and then I was able to watch her baby girl while they went to go see a movie. After having a baby in my house last night (thanks Katy) I was eager to babysit more. So all in all, it was a good day!

Day off!

2009-06-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

So today is my first real day off in a long time. This is the first time in nearly a month that I have no where I need to be, no appointments, nothing, which in turn gave me the freedom to plan some fun. So I woke up this morning at 10, which was lovely, and just laid in bed for a long time chatting with friends and doing my normal morning computer routine.

I then ate breakfast and began my homework. Sometime I like not having a schedule and other times I hate it. I love being able to do whatever I want when I want but I also like the structure of deadlines. So to say the least, homework moved slowly. I then cleaned the house and got it all ready for girls night tonight! yay! I am having the old relief society presidency come over because one of us is already going to another ward, another is moving to California, and I am going to Kansas....so we need to get together one last time. So while I was doing my homework this afternoon, I decided I would watch a movie and now I regret it. I watched a very weird and awkward movie called "Henry Poole is Here." After that put me in an erie mood I was stupid enough to watch Oprah about online predator. Why do I do these things to myself?

So my day was pretty uneventful. Just cleaned, did homework, finally showered, and got ready for the girls night. The girls night was really great though. We just talked, munched on junk food and watched my favorite movie The Holiday!!! Oh sooo good! I love those girls and they just made my night! I love you guys :)

You girls know what I mean....

2009-06-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

So last night was rough. I went to bed at 11 p.m. but I could not go to sleep to save my life. My body was tired but my mind would not shut down. So I tossed and turned for a very long time which in turn made me nearly oversleep my first class. I could not miss religion this morning so I finally woke up 20 min. before it started and ran out the door in a hurry. So not a fun morning. So I got to class and felt so achy and tired which could only mean one thing.....and yes.....you girls know what I am talking about. So basically, my entire religion class I dreamed about medication and a warm heat pack. But that dream will not come true for at least another 4 hours.

So after my last day of religion class (yay!) I went to Wendy's for some comfort food, plus I missed breakfast this morning and I was dying. I then headed off to my last day of work! I am so excited to be done. So I basically inputted copyright information into the database and cleaned out my desk and was able to throw away so many things. I love throwing things away! Also, I started saying goodbye to everyone and got really sad. I have made some wonderful friends at I.S. and am so sad that I cant just turn around and talk to them. So thank you girls for your love and support. I will miss you!!

Then I went home for an hour and ran straight to the heat pack and just lied on the couch waiting for my hubby to appear out of no where and massage my calf's (they always ache the worse) but of course he was not there. So I mustered up energy to go to class to drop off a paper and have a quick chat with my teacher about my 12 page paper. Ugh! But at least I was able to begin my evening at 5 instead of 7 tonight! I then worked on one of my papers while watching re-runs of Frasier and Friends. So though the day started out a little rough, all in all it ended well. Let the weekend begin!

One week from today!!

2009-06-10T10:57:00.001-07:00

Almost exactly one week from this moment I will be arriving in Kansas and Dustin will be picking me up at the airport!! Yay! It absolutely has not hit me yet that I am going. This is not an easy transition for me. I like sleeping in my own bed (I think people underestimate how much I love it), I have never lived with in-laws, I have never done online courses, and a bunch of other things. So this is a very nerve racking, but knowing that Dustin will be there with me makes it all worth it. I have even bought my Independent Study Courses and I have the text books for them so I am all ready to go.

First off, it is so gross outside and has been for sometime now. This is why I do not live in Seattle. I hate it when it is overcast all the time because I feel like being lazy and I feel it is a good day wasted. But I eventually crawled out of bed this morning to go to work with the thought in my head that I am so close to being done. But work was sooooo boring. I wanted to just go home. I am a little sad because I really like consistency in my life and I wish I knew where I was going to be in a couple months, job wise. Oh well. Nature of the beast. Also, it is so weird to be able to count on one hand all the things you have left to do in school. I have a paper in clinical, a paper for childhood, a final in childhood, a religion paper, and a religion final. Ohhh please have this week go by fast.

One little pleasure I am doing this weekend is having the old Relief Society Presidency, that I was in, come over to my house on Friday for a girls night. I am so excited to just spend time with some of my favorite people before I leave. Okay....maybe I did not make it clear in my blog yesterday how sad I am that I am missing Wipeout tonight. Sad sad day. But I do have good news.....I found out that Johnny Depp is going to be the Riddler in the next Batman movie, and I am a fan of his so I am excited. Also Seymour Hoffman is suppose to be the Penguin which I think fits him really well.

Anyways....so back to my day....after work I went to class which was great because we got out way early which means I could get to my Uncle's house earlier. My Uncle Jay invited me over to his house because he just discovered Skype and he needed some computer help, and since I know a thing or two I was able to help them out. I love being over at people's homes and they were sweet enough to give me some dinner, so I had a nice time. I then hurried over to Walmart because I needed milk. Of course. The sad news is that I had to get new milk because I let the other one spoil. I never knew I would experience spoiled milk. In my defense it is not really spoiled, its just that the expiration date has appeared and I have a really sensitive stomach so I dont want to risk anything.

Then once I got home I did my last religion paper! Hallelujah!! This class has been nice but I think it has been a little too much work for just 2 credits. Just a random side note, I realize I am tired starting at about 6 p.m. I feel like an old person. I realized this because Dustin is not here to keep me preoccupied and awake. So I am going to bed. Goodnight.

P.S. The image at the top was from my trip to Idaho. Those 3 girls were some fabulous old roomies.

Only a couple days left of work!

2009-06-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

So I was up pretty late last night studying and talking to my mom so I decided I would take the morning off. And by taking the morning off I simply mean not going to one of my classes. Luckily they don't take attendance so it is not a big deal at all. It is really weird that there is less then a week of school left! That is crazy. Also, my last day of work is this Thursday so I only have 2 more days after this!! Yay!! I don't hate my job but I don't love it either.

So after my leisurely morning, I headed off to work and my boss basically took the day off which is wonderful because then I had time to study for my exam tonight. After work I went home and got my presentation together for my Clinical class. Then my friend Danielle called and I went over to her house for cookies and a quick chat. My presentation went well in class. It was nice because she cancelled the final which means all I have is this paper so that is great. After class I went and took a test and I could of sworn I got an A on because I studied for 7 hours and lets just say that I did not get that grade. I was so sad!! It ruined my night. I worked so hard to get an A.

Also, I caught the end of the bachelorette last night and Reid is still on which makes me happy. I like him and Micheal. They just seem so cute with Jilliane. And while we are on T.V. shows....wipeout is tomorrow and it is a 2 hour episode with "twice the contestants and twice the obstacles." And I am super sad that I cant watch it because I have to help a family member with some technology things. I guess I will just have to watch it online. Well, these are the only 2 shows I really watch besides late night shows....and might I just say that I miss Jay Leno. I have been watching him for nearly a decade now and I dont like that he is not back on until the fall. Oh well.

Just so everyone is updated, I leave for Kansas next Wednesday, which is nearly a week away!!! Yay!! Also, I decided to stay there with Dustin for the rest of the summer, so about 2 months and I am just going to finish my last 2 college courses online through Independent Study. So I am excited for that!!

Some heart warming news is that my brother, who is the baby of the family, graduated High School yesterday and I am so proud of him. I wished I could be there but I nearly cried just looking at all the graduation photos! Way to go Carson!! I am so proud of you! The picture is of my brother and my sister Kimrea.

So the week begins

2009-06-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

I first want to thank Brandi for putting me up this past weekend! It was great to see her and her lovely house. Monday has been a beast. I woke up pretty happy after being in my own bed :) I then had an appointment at 11 that went great and then I ran home and grabbed some food before going to the gynecologist to get my yearly pap smear (sp). Ohhhh they suck....I hate them but at least my doctor was great this time.

Then I went and got my bangs cut, went to the bank, and then went to class. I then hurried home and did my 2 papers and studied for my test.....so much to do!! It is definitely getting down to finals time. And I am sad that I am so busy because I really wanted to watch the Bachelorette tonight. Just so you know, I am pulling for Reid because he is nice and quiet. Sorry my blog is so short but I am busy and have much to do.

P.S. I miss my hubby so I wanted to post a picture of how cute he is!!

I am surprised I survived today!

2009-06-05T23:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I do have internet....but it is one in the morning and this has been the longest day of my life so I am just going to give bullet points now so I don't forget but expand upon them later.

-Woke up at 8

-Got oil changed at 8:05 until freaking 9 a.m. after they told me it would take 15 min

-Ran home and got ready.....very stressful

-Pick up my friend

-drove to Rexburg but got severely lost and so I got to Rexburg in 6 freaking hours. I will have to tell you all later how BAD I am at directions.

-got to Rexburg way late and had to rush seeing everyone

-had to find a way back to Idaho Falls without getting lost again so I followed a friend

-Nearly died in a sand storm and hail and rain.....I really though I would die

-Made it to I.F. by 8 that night and had my first real meal of the day

-Ran around town and dropped off a skirt for my friend

-Talked to friends until 1:00

-Now I am going to bed after a very frustrating.....nothing going right....day. But I am happy to be here and happy to sleep.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-06-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

I went to bed last night at a pretty decent time but could not fall asleep until 1 a.m. Boo! So I decided I would sleep in a little more this morning and just wear a hat today. So I woke up, got ready and ran to class. Religion class was very interesting because we had a Presbyterian guy come in and talk about Brigham Young. It was fun...until I got my test grade back and got a 54! I nearly started crying. So I went up to my professor after and we talked about it and my grade will improve. I told him not to do me any favors and I was definitely not whining to him but he understood where I was coming from so it should all work out.

Then I went to work late because I was talking to my professor for so long. Work was great because the database died so I was able to get other things done, like my "to do list" for today to get ready for Rexburg tomorrow. It is so long. I need to clean the house, pack, do laundry, check the car, and a billion other things. Luckily my night class was canceled for tonight but I am still hoping to get a lot of homework done tonight because when I get back on Monday I am totally booked.

I will be honest....I am a little nervous about driving long distance without the hubby to fix the car in case it breaks. But I am so glad that I have a riding buddy that I know and who can keep me awake. Just so you know.....everyone who actually gets this far in my blog....that I dont know about internet this weekend so my daily blogs might be put on hold.

Wipeout day!

2009-06-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last night, after talking to Dustin my dad called me and I was freaking on the phone for 2 hours until nearly 1 a.m. Dont get me wrong, I like talking to my family and it was fun to randomlly look up "Who's Line is it Anyway's" clips but I just had a paper to write that kept me up pretty darn late. Oh well, I got to sleep in pretty late this morning so I am doing pretty great. Then, when I was getting ready, my package came! I ordered my summer textbooks from Amazon and one of them came today! Yay for being on top of things :)

Then I went to work and actually had a pretty good time. I finshed a major project that I have been working on for about a month or more and I am up to date on all my copyright projects. Unfortunantly I finished all of that in my first hour of work so the rest of the time was kinda boring....so I did homework. I also came to a weird realization today while at work. I feel that when Dustin is here in Utah I run as if I had a motor and I try to get everything done so quickly so I can spend time with him. But when he is gone, it is a weird feeling to not want to rush home and I can do things at my own pace.

I then went to my child development class and couldn't wait to get done because tonight is one of my favorite shows......WIPEOUT! I love this show. I did not grow up thinking that people falling down and hurting themselves was funny, but after watching enough Funniest Home Videos, I have come to love watching people WIPEOUT! Ohhhhh good times. I then went grocery shopping for the first time that I can remember without my hubby. Sad day. I then did my last paper that was due this week. talked to my hubby, and tried to go to bed at a reasonable time.

I am soooo burnt out!!

2009-06-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I was up until 2:00 a.m. last night getting everything done that I needed too. I studied a little bit for my test but was so over the whole thing that I just took it. I know I didn't do great and I only have my self to blame. I always procrastinate till the last minute. So I guess I will have to be satisfied with a B in this class instead of an A. I then got about 5 hours sleep and then woke up for class. I was so tired! When I dont get enough sleep I feel sick and I definelty feel yucky today. I know, I know....only myself to blame. I am just so burnt out. I have been going to school for such a long stretch with basically no breaks, plus I graduate in August so my stamina is wearing thin.

On my way to my church history class I ran into my TA and we chatted it up for a while and I am hoping that he will go easy on my exam. He is a good guy so I hope he does what is right ;) In my religion class my teacher always asks what is exciting in our lives so I told him about the church history play I went to last night and the special risque after show. I still cant stop laughing about the whole incident. If you really want to know then just ask but I am not going to post the whole story on my blog.

Then I went to work and just did same old stuff and tried really hard not to fall asleep. I also gave my boss my 2 weeks notice that I can no longer work there for the rest of the summer. I figured that working and going to school full time in the summer is just too much for me. Not working is going to have to be my little break in life. She was sad I was no longer going to be her assistant but after she told me what I would of been doing for the next 2 months, I didn't feel so bad anymore.

I then went home and gave myself an hour to relax and do nothing else before my night class, because I knew I was going to be writing a paper tonight. I then went off to class and found out that the MTC was hit hard with swine flu and families cant go in the building anymore. I don't know details but I don't think it is anything serious. I actually really enjoyed class tonight because it focused on child therapy and I am learning that I like it. Maybe I will end up being a school counselor.

I then went home and ate dinner, relaxed, wrote my paper, and talked to the hubby! Also, I think I found a ride for this weekend. I was hoping on heading down to Rexburg but I would not go without a passenger and I now my friend Julie can go with me which means I can come to Idaho this weekend!

June already

2009-06-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today was pretty darn busy. It started out a little rough when I got bad news last night about my family and then bad news about one of my friends early this morning....but it should all work out. At least I hope. But I was not going to let it effect me so I got up early and got ready for the day. (early being 9:00 a.m.) I then had back to back appointments at 11 and then 12 and they were both very productive.

I then got home and worked really hard because of my test and the 2 papers I have to do tonight. I studied from 1-4 and then headed off to my night class. My night class is rather boring so I left half way through so I could go home and study some more. I studied for a bit and then finally talked to Dustin. He had a good day at work. He basically studied about Bankruptcy stuff all day, so kinda boring, but good.

I then told my friend Amy that I would go with her to see a play that her husband is in about Emma Smith. We went to a theater near downtown Provo and watched the 3 hour play! Yes, you read that right, 3 hours! But it was good and it was nice to see a play. I have not seen one in forever. The place was a small hole in the wall place but it was so cute. It was nice to do something I dont normally do. Plus we got a pretty risque after show that the owner thought we should pay extra for....so it was good times. And now I have to finish my papers and take my test at 11:00 p.m. Ahhhhhh

Last day of May...

2009-05-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

As you know, I got 2 hours of sleep the night before so last night I was so tired that I went to bed before midnight which is almost unheard of. So 6:30 rolls around and I try to get up for church but my body is so exhausted from lack of sleep. I cant do it. I cant get up. When I don't get enough sleep my body starts to get sick so I figured "I want to be healthy." So sorry everyone at church.....I promise I am not going inactive....no worries.

Once my body was finally ready, I got up and started my homework! I have so much freaking homework. I have a test to take Monday, 2 paper to write for Tuesday and 1 for Wednesday, and a couple big "end of the term" projects I should get started on. To say the least, I am burnt out. I have basically been going to school nonstop for nearly 1.5 years. I cant wait to graduate.

I was excited for a break to talk to Dustin about his trip since he has left but he has no privacy where he is staying, so to say the least, our conversations consist of yes or no questions. It sucks really bad! Plus, his internet was screwy and we definitely need to get him a new webcam. So I guess our new mission is to find him a private space.

I eventually got ready for the day because my friend Megan invited me to join her for dinner over at her cousin's house for Sunday dinner. She is in the same boat as me, except her husband is in Washington....so we were hoping to get our minds off of that for a while. While getting ready for dinner, I figured I would finally watch Mama Mia since everyone talks about it....and I did not like it!!! This modern day musical was super awkward and just not for me. I could hardly make it past the first 30 min. but I guess the more I watched it the more used to the awkwardness I got.

So then I headed over the Megan's house to then head over to her cousin's house. I had such a blast. It was nice to be in a house that is active and fun. Dinner was great and the company was wonderful! It was so sweet of them. Now I just have to get back to being stressed out about homework.

He's gone....

2009-05-30T18:52:00.001-07:00

So last night was pretty rough. I was nervous/sad that Dustin was leaving so I got 2 hours of sleep but Dustin was luckily able to squeeze in 4 hours. We woke up, got ready, dropped off Dustin's time card at the law school and then headed off to the airport. We then parked at the wrong terminal and had to find Dustin's terminal but everything turned out fine....except for the 3 dollars I had to pay for parking there for less then an hour! Rip off! He made his plane on time which was good because he had less than a half hour layover before needing to get on his next flight!

I eventually made it home, and of course, on the first day Dustin leaves, there is a bug in my shower and on my towel!! To say the least, I was screaming. Gross. But I have to be honest, Dustin is not much better at killing insects than I am :) So for the rest of the day, my friend Danielle was sweet enough to occupy my time so we spent time learning about my new camera, looking at photos, sewing, and just having girl talk. So thanks Danielle for putting up with me for nearly 8 hours!! I feel like this day has been forever long....but good. I am hanging in there. I sure am excited to sleep tonight after I talk to my hubbie on webcam!! Yay technology!

What I did today....

2009-05-29T13:10:00.001-07:00

So, now that Dustin is leaving tomorrow to Kansas for his job, I decided that I am going to try and write daily blogs to keep myself busy and my readers/stalkers bored. First off, Dustin's background check went through successfully, so he is officially starting work on Monday! Yay!

This morning I woke up very cranky because I heard loud banging after having a migraine all night. So I woke up and took 2 migraine pills and now I am rather shaky....oops. At least my migraine is gone. :) Then by mid-afternoon I figured it was time to take a shower for the day, so I showered while singing Christmas songs.....dont ask me why.

All day, and for the last couple days, Dustin has been packing like a mad man and getting everything together. It is kinda weird to not be packing at the last moment. I like that he has been packing for days because it helps me better get used to the idea that he is leaving. I have tried to book the next couple of days for myself just to keep me preoccupied from the fact that he is gone.

Later that day we decided to go on a date since we wont be together for the next couple of date nights, so we went to Chili's and then went and bought me a camera bag. I love my camera bag!! It was $60 and I nearly got it for half that price. YAY!! And it is so well made and a well trusted brand.

The rest of the night we watched 30 rock and I tried not to cry too hard that Dustin is leaving. But I do want to thank everyone who has been so supportive! I love you all.

My first photos with my new camera!!

2009-05-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know, Dustin saved up to get me a professional camera for my birthday because I always talk about how I want to start doing photography again. So my camera finally came yesterday morning and I was ecstatic!! Unfortunately, I had work and school yesterday so I had to wait until 7 last night to play with it. So I dragged Dustin along to a park/amphitheater so I could take some pictures while he did his homework. So here are some of the pictures.....dont judge them because I have not held a professional camera since High School and I haven't read the manual to brush up on everything I have forgotten....so I am a little rusty.

Sad day

2009-05-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I was sick and was not able to make it to church, and while I was gone I got released from being the second counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. This was a little bit of a shock because it happened so fast, but I knew it was coming. But today it hit me. Today was a normal day. Work and school were good. But today was the day I had to give my presidency binder up and passed the baton to the next second counselor. Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic for the new presidency and I think they will be great, but now I just don't know what to do with myself. I loved that calling. It was stressful at times but I loved it. I loved the girls in the presidency with me and I loved the girls in the ward. I just loved it all :)

Dustin Paul Kelley

2009-05-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

I am convinced, and know for a fact, that I have the most amazing husband anyone could ask for. He is the most loving, tender, (hott), understanding, patient, amazing man I could of ever married. As most of you know, my health has been in the toilet for almost a year now, and I have such a patient husband to put up with all my whining. He is so thoughtful all the time.....for example....he knows that I used to do professional photography and how I always talk about doing it again so for my birthday he bought me my first professional camera!!! What a sweetheart!! He has been secretly saving up for this big investment and I don't know of a sweeter thing. I guess I really just want the world to know that I love him more than I ever thought I could love another person. He is my everything! Don't know how I got on this tangent, must of been from watching him sleep.

PUPPIES!!

2009-05-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I must confess, I have an obsession with puppies! Not all puppies though. I like baby beagles, labs, and huskies.....and those kinds of dogs. I don't like fluffy fur balls which in turn makes me a short haired fan. So my love for puppies, not dogs, but puppies has softened Dustin quite a bit. We passed the pet store today so of course I made Dustin stop. We went in and found a baby pek-a-chi, which is a mix of a Pekingse and a Chiwawa. Now we dont like either one of these dogs but we loved this little puppy. And by the time we left, which was almost an hour later, Dustin was wondering if we should move apartments so that we could buy this dog. I never thought those words would come out of his mouth. He did not grow up with dogs and is not a dog fan, but we both loved this short haired, 1 pound puppy. I have included a picture of what she kinda looked like! And for the purpose of this blog, we will call her Roxy.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

2009-04-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by apologizing for being soooo slow at blogging. I am obsessed with everyone else's that I forget to write on my own. So let's back track a couple weeks....

Dustin, like he said, went underground for a couple weeks before his finals and studied hard! The poor kid worked himself to death, but we are thinking it will pay off. He feels good about his finals, but when it comes to law school, you never know. But we won't get grades for a couple of months so the suspense is going to have to build. Luckily, I have received most of my grades from this past winter semester and I feel I did all right. I got some A's and some B's. I am just so happy to be done with another semester and am getting closer to graduation. It was exciting to start my last semester yesterday! I am sooo close :)

So immediately after finals ended, we drove to Mesa Arizona for Dustin's best friend's wedding. It was so much fun to be able to see them go from dating, engaged to now married. The sealing was beautiful and the wedding festivities were amazing. Kayla, the bride, did such a good job on colors, decorations, flowers, dresses, etc. The whole thing was a success. It was especially great for Dustin, who was the Best Man, because he and Blaine have been best friends for so long.....so it was touching for Dustin.

On the way home from the wedding, we stopped in Vegas so that we could visit Devon, Dustin's brother. It was great to see him and spend some more time in great weather. Poor Devon is without his wife and kid for the moment, so I think he enjoyed us as a distraction.

All this excitement had to happen within the 5 day break between winter and spring term, so we had to hurry home so I could begin school. It began yesterday, and to be quite honest, I love spring and summer term so I am looking forward to it! I have one religion class I am ridiculously stoked about.

Next on the list of topics is Dustin's summer plans. We have been extremely blessed because Dustin was able to end up with 3 jobs this summer. He is currently working for a firm in Cedar City, Utah which he actually has been working at for months now, and thankfully he enjoys it. He holds another job at the law school. This is just another reason we were meant to stay at BYU for Dustin's third year of law school and not be a visiting student in Kansas. He is a TA for Professor Farmer, who is their Legal Interviewing and Counseling guy. He is actually a psychologist and not a lawyer so I immediately like the guy even a little more, and obviously Dustin does too. This TA position starts now and will go all the way until April 2010 when Dustin graduates. YAY!

So now, his third job. He got a job in Kansas as a law clerk for the U.S. Office of the Trustee. He begins on June 1st and will make it back just in time for my graduation on August 13th. So this will be alot of great experiences for him and I will try and fly to see him as often as I can. I purposely did not register for Monday and Friday classes so that I can fly down and have a long weekend with him.

Last of all, I am excited because IT IS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!! I am 22 and am feeling old. At least 21 sounded cool because you were allowed to do certain things at that age, but not 22 is just like any other year. But my family sent me gifts which makes it seem all the more exciting.

Taking the Dive...

2009-04-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

At the end of every semester, all across the country, law students remove themselves from the world. For me, that time starts today. I am about to attend my last law school class for the semester. That means it is officially finals time. Normally this type of behavior would have started earlier in April; however, I was lucky enough to have a week off before my brutal week of finals. Although Meredith will also be busy with school, I encourage all of you to occupy some of her time so that she won't feel my absence too keenly.

Before I go underground, I will provide a short update. Meredith and I have decided (almost certainly) to remain at BYU for my third and final year. There was some talk about being a visiting student at KU; however, the balance shifted and it is now more advantageous to remain. As for summer plans, Meredith earned a full-tuition scholarship for the spring/summer terms and will take classes full time. This means that SHE WILL BE GRADUATING IN AUGUST (an interesting little tidbit for our stalkers)!!!!! As for me, I have an offer in Kansas City and am waiting for word on several more across the nation. As a result, I will probably not be in Utah for a portion of the summer. I will try to remember to post my final decision on jobs when it happens.

Dustin's Birthday!!

2009-03-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Dustin's Birthday was this past Thursday and we decided to make a big deal out of it so this year we went out and got massages, ate at a fancy restaurant called Chef's Table, and participated in the Festival of Colors. Here are just a few pictures from dinner and some of our friends who joined us for the festivities. Also, just in case you are wondering why his cake is pink, it is because he loves strawberry, and well, strawberry only comes in pink.

BRANDI COMES TO UTAH!

2009-03-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

So Brandi and I have been apart for some time now but have tried our hardest to keep in touch via phone (and blog). Oh, and for those of you stalkers who don't know who Brandi is, she is my old roomie from Rexburg. Well, she was able to get tickets to the Draper Temple Open House today which means she had to leave little Idaho to come HERE! Yay! So I finally got to see one of my best friends today after a long face-to-face hiatus. (here we are)

So, once we did our little happy running in place dance, we went to the temple. It was beautiful, of course! What I really loved was having Brandi's sister Channing come through with us and randomly ask questions about the temple. I love inquiring minds :) Though my time with Brandi was short, it was much needed. I am so glad she was able to come down and I kinda miss her already. Here are just a few pics from our outing today. (Brandi and her sister Channing and then Brandi and her hubby Drew)

So Dustin was unable to come because he had already made plans with his best friend Blaine, so after the temple I met up with them to eat. We ended up staying in the food area and talking for 3 hours. Fun times!

An Eventful 24 Hours

2009-03-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

The fun never ends. Thursdays are usually pretty slow for Meredith and me; however, yesterday was a definite exception to that tradition. March 5th is the day that two of my good friends were born: Drew and Joe (Uh oh, another name for the stalkers). I have known Joe for over ten years, and I think that we have done something every year for it. Sometimes it is just a phone call, but I rarely forget. I have known Drew since August of 2007 ,when we both started law school.

About a week ago, Drew's wife started planning a dinner get-together for Drew and some close friends. Meredith and I committed early in the week to participate in the dinner. On Tuesday, Joe's wife called and said that she was organizing a surprise gathering of Joe's friends and family for the same night. It worked out that we were able to attend both. Meredith went to work and I went to school around noon. Meredith left to get a haircut at 4.00pm and then came and got me at 5.00pm after class.

We went to dinner at Iggy's at 6.15 with Drew and company. It was nice. We ate, talked and laughed at him. As a side note, every year the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma sends out a birthday card at the beginning of your birthday month. I always receive mine around the 2nd or 3rd. Last year I gave my card to Drew for his birthday. It is a big joke that I am "Chief O'Kelley" and so anything Native American that I receive is somewhat humorous. I also gave him my card this year, with a picture of the actual Chief taped in it.

We left Iggy's at 7.30 so that we could get to Joe's on time to surprise him. We gave him a card that was probably meant to be given to a husband from a wife. It was quite mushy and sentimental. It made us all laugh. We played games and ate treats until 11.15 or so, and then headed home to get some sleep. We needed a lot so that we would be at our best for our appointment the next morning.

WESLEY!!!!!

Okay, ever since our unsuccessful encounter with pregnancy Meredith and I have been a little baby crazy. Meredith offers to babysit for most of our friends, but we don't get many that take us up on the offer. We thoroughly enjoyed taking care of Meredith's nephew, Hayden, over Christmas Break and we have some limited exposure to other children at church. A day or two ago, Meredith's friend, Eliza, called and asked if we could babysit Friday morning. We obviously agreed to do it. I hadn't met Wesley before today, so I didn't know what to expect. He arrived a little before 9 and left around 12 and we had a blast the entire time. He is a smart little kid. Meredith tells me that I always talk to babies/toddlers like they are actual people and I did that today also. When I went into the office to make a phone call, Wesley followed me in. Because he was standing there waiting for me to play with him, I explained that I had to make a phone call and I would play with him afterwards. He looked at me, sort of nodded his head and then sat down to wait for me to finish my stuff. So cute!

Additionally, at about 9.15, I got a call from a law firm in Cedar City, UT offering me a part-time law clerk position. I accepted. The firm has practices in business organization, securities, real estate and tax. These are a lot of areas that I am interested in. It is some litigation; however, any exposure to these practice areas will be beneficial. As an extra perk, I get to work from home because they are located 3 hours away. I am excited to start on Monday, but this probably doesn't ease my job search for the summer.

Since this is kind of an update post, Meredith has asked me to also post some pictures of her new hair style. Please, feel free to comment away. She had over three inches off. Did you even think that was possible? She also discovered that her bangs appear much fuller if they are swept to the right, instead of the left as she has previously had it. I have to admit, I like it quite a bit more than the A-line haircut that she has had for the last 18 months. I liked that one also, I just like this one more.

Hick Date

2009-02-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

The first semester of law school Meredith and I went on a "hick date" with three couples from law school. We drove to Heber, ate at Dairy King (that isn't a typo) and went bowling at a charming little alley. This past week, the boys (that is what Meredith calls my law school group) decided we need to replicate that date. Because one of the wives now had a job in SLC, we decided to keep this "hick date" a little closer to home. The images and accompanying explanations may be disturbing. It is recommended that only those age 14 and older continue reading this post. Last names have been withheld to prevent our stalkers from jumping over to another couple...

Hick Date Credits (Listed in the Order of Appearance):

Emily, aka Pumpkin Tits
We honestly have no idea where this nickname comes from. Her husband, Miles, first revealed it last October during a group overnight in a cabin in the mountains. Needless to say, Emily was less than thrilled to have her nickname flashed up on the board. Emily ended up winning the second game narrowly over Miles. As you can see, her form is excellent and it came through for her in the second game. Emily played a focused game while bowling; however, according to Meredith, Emily did participate in the wilder activities. None were captured by our photographers.

Miles, aka Slaur
Again, the origination of this nickname is shrouded in mystery. Miles was the powerhouse player, finishing in first place the first game and second place the second. Miles has a careful, methodical approach which allows him to harness his great power. Miles plays his game seriously, never giving succumbing to whimsy or showmanship. Miles is also one who encourages others, never insulting or booing. Perhaps most attentive to the games of others, Miles was always there with an encouraging word after a less-than-successful attempt. Because of his placement on the end of the seating, there are few pictures of this elusive participant. It looks like Miles is simply placing the ball on the ground, but at the end of this bowl there were no pins left standing.

Dustin, aka The Hulk
I am by far the biggest person in this group. The others guys are kind of slight in build - something I have never had - and run or bike more than they lift. I am not the tallest, but even at my skinniest I carry more weight around than these guys do. Thus, the nickname. The bowling alley had almost brand-new equipment that made bowling that much more entertaining. One of these features tracked the speed of each bowl. Because of this, many of my bowls in the first game were made to reach the highest speed possible. Unfortunately, no bowl from any participant was able to break 20.9 mph. We think that there was a cap on the speed that the screen would display because I definitely threw some 20.9s faster than others. I ended up getting the lowest score on the first game, a 69. The second game I focused and used a combination of right and left-handed throws (right for power and left for accuracy). This allowed me to finish 3rd in the second game. I do not have great form. My only advantage was the ability to send pins flying in all directions at alarming rates of speed.

Meredith, aka The Rail
I think this nickname is obvious; however, I think it makes a nice contrast to mine. Meredith takes a laid back approach to bowling. She used an 8 pound ball - one of the lightest if not the lightest ball any of us used. Even using a light ball, it was probably too heavy for her to bowl with (demonstrated by the video below). It is so cute that she practically just drops the ball at the end of her swing. Despite this difficulty, Meredith took home the silver for the first game. Unfortunately, her strength didn't last and she placed last in the second. Meredith is credited with some of the photography and cinematography for this post. As for the extra-curricular activities, Meredith was purposefully absent from the shenanigans that were instigated by others.
In addition to braving the adventures of bowling and the potential embarrassment in associating with these people, Meredith also gritted her teeth and continued bowling despite the war it was waging on her nails. Meredith isn't really that particular about her nails; however, she had just gotten them to the length and "roundness" that she felt was perfect earlier this week. She lost three nails on her right hand in the name of camaraderie.

Meg, aka Kim Jong Kill
Meg is part Korean. Her husband is in law school and a political science undergrad major. I believe that the formulation of her nickname stems from this. Meg is a fairly quiet participant in most of the activities that we do as a group. When her attempt didn't go as planned, we got a one-armed swing in front of her body. When the attempt was good, it was a double-armed swing. Although Meg wasn't a power player, her presence kept her husband, Drew, from getting too wild. She and Meredith sat quietly together and observed the embarrassing antics of their husbands while managing not to get embarrassed. There are rumors that someday these two women will be rewarded for their patience.

Drew, aka Sloth
I believe that the story was told regarding this nickname; however, I didn't hear it. From what I gather, it has something to do with Meg's family and the character Sloth from the movie "Goonies." Drew is the "prankster" of the group. He and Spencer have known each other for many years and, as a result, Drew torments Spencer at every opportunity. Drew was constantly laughing at Spencer's bowling form, Spencer's random acts of dancing and frequently directing the group on how to respond to participant's bowling attempts. These ranged from clapping for gutter balls to booing for any attempt made by a certain person. Drew was also a competitor in the speed challenge, coming up with a speed of 20.9 mph. Again, we believe that the speed display was capped at this speed, since it seems unlikely that two different people using the same ball would throw at the same speed consistently. At times, Drew's antic interfered with another participant's game. In particular, our photographers captured a disturbing image involving one of Spencer's more creative bowls and one of Drew's more aggresive pranks. As for involvement in the extra-curricular activities, Drew was one of the most active. While Dustin demonstrated possible moves that could be done, Drew would take them to the next level and perform them for all who would watch. I believe that Drew finished middle-of-the-pack in both games.

Cate, aka Mrs. Carlos Boozer
Cate thinks that Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz is hot stuff. This is something that comes up almost every time that all four couples get together. I guess what I am saying is that the nickname just seemed to fit. Cate was the only one who got into the spirit of the date by wearing a hick-ish outfit. Cate was a fierce bowler who approached each attempt with the goal of getting a strike. Careful, calculated and powerful, Cate had a solid performance in both games that allowed her to finish third overall. There was much commentary and amazement at the angle of her back ankle at the end of each bowl. The participants had never seen such an extreme angle achieved outside of sports injuries. Although Cate did participate in some of the crazy antics, she was mostly engrossed in conversation with Emily. This probably saved her a lot of embarrassment, as her husband, Spencer, was randomly breaking out into song, dance and a number of other noticeable activities.

Spencer, aka Thunder Tights
This nickname was created on the spot. Someone suggested Thunder Thighs and I made a joke that I had seen him running in spandex and it might be an appropriate name. Miles then made a unilateral decision to change the nickname to Thunder Tights. Spencer put in an odd performance. There is really no other way to describe his game. Spencer frequently approaches bowling and throws with his right hand off his right foot. Since Drew was getting too much laughter out of this method, I suggested that Spencer throw off his left foot. This ended up making all of us laugh, as Spencer had a difficult time in coordinating his body to the new method. He continued to experiment with different methods throughout the night, giving him a finish that was near the bottom both times. Luckily, he was distracted from this fact by his own involvement with singing and dancing. This publication votes Spencer the Most Entertaining Aspect of Hick Date.

The Big Picture

2009-02-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Just to clarify, this post has nothing to do with photography, painting or other forms of art. I apologize that I got your hopes up that I had something interesting to say.

As most of you know, I am in my second year of law school at BYU. It has been an adventure from the start. I must confess that I haven't enjoyed the "entire law school experience." The law is generally (and this definitely a generalization) divided into litigation and transactions. Law school is very focused on making people litigators, or those who deal with trials and go to court. I have never been interested in being a litigator. There is some appeal to Appellate work as it deals mostly with the legal questions only and not questions of fact; however, it wasn't enough to convince me to become a litigator.

I entered the law with the desire to do transactional work. My favorite aspect of undergrad was economics. I know that makes me a nerd and I don't care. The combination of predictions, numbers and business made it the perfect way to hold my interest while also engaging my brain. In the second-to-last semester of undergrad I took a class called "Law and Economics." At this point I had not really thought about attending law school, but I thought that I would give it a try. This is probably what finally pushed me to research and register for the LSAT. The majority of our time was spent on contracts and efficient compensation when dealing with damages and precautionary measures. I love contracts. I love efficiency. I love Meredith. I took Contracts during my first semester of law school and it remains my highest grade to this point (although there really isn't much room to improve on that grade).

The problem with law school being so focused on litigation is that there isn't much for the transactions people to do. All of the competitions are about oral arguments and brief writing. It is difficult to do any transactional work until you are actually practicing and, even then, you will probably end up doing "due diligence," reading documents involved in the transaction, for the first couple of years of practice. As a result, it is more difficult to find a job as a 2L in transactional work than it is to find work in litigation. During the Fall semester I had plenty of interviews for transactional work; however, the economy took a really hard turn right after these interviews. As a result, law firms in general have scaled back hiring. Transactional attorneys have been hit really hard because their jobs depend on companies actually having money, through cash or credit, to make deals with other companies. Plenty of firms are laying off transactional attorneys which obviously means that they aren't really hiring 2Ls at this time.

Since last October I have been searching for a job in any area of law that I can. I have met with some success, most of it being in Kansas City. Unfortunately, I am not the kind of person who can "act" in a job interview. These interviews that I obtained were 100% litigation, sometimes in areas of law that I hold absolutely no interest in. I can only assume that my lack of enthusiasm for the work I was interviewing for came through during the interview. I had one interview with the Federal Immigration Court in Dallas, TX which actually appealed to me. I hadn't had any exposure to immigration law and I thought that it might be interesting. I was still excited about the opportunity after the interview; however, the position was unpaid. This wasn't a huge deal because I could still get school credit and experience. Recently, however, I have finally found some clarity and comfort regarding my job search.

I flew into Kansas City on President's Day because I had an interview with a firm in Overland Park the next day. I was extremely excited for the interview because the website said that the firm practiced a number of transactional areas as well as some litigation. I thought that exposure to both would be MUCH better than all litigation. The interview went really well. I enjoyed the company of everyone that I met with and they seemed to enjoy me. The founding partner was extremely honest with me. He told me that my chances were good, but that they were interviewing someone with better academic qualifications the next day. He told me that it wasn't certain that there were even hiring anyone. He said that my chances were good: my resume was impressive, my grades were good, I am a minority and everyone I met with liked me a lot. This was encouraging. The only negative of this entire interview was that the majority of their practice was tort defense. As an economist, I feel that tort reform is necessary in the US. Tort defense is a noble sort of way to fight against excessive tort litigation; however, tort litigation is one of my least favorite things in the law. The firm does do transactional work, but it is only two or three attorneys out of the 25 in the firm. The founding partner said that I would probably do a couple transactional projects, but the majority of my work would be from the rest of the firm. Still, I was pretty excited. I was told to keep in contact with the firm and let them know about any changes in my plans. They wouldn't be making a decision for another 3-4 weeks, so there was plenty of room for plans to change.

So I flew back to SLC after a couple of days in Kansas. I don't have a lot of time to spend with Meredith because I spend so much of my non-school time searching for a job. As a result, I watch movies with my laptop in front of me sending out resumes, corresponding with networking contacts and looking through websites to find a job. As the next couple of days passed, I became more and more discontent with the fact that I would have to be a litigator because the economy chose to tank at this time. I do what I can to get good grades, interview well and find a job that will support my family; however, I just couldn't believe that I would have to spend years in a career that I hated in order to pay off my student loans. When choosing law schools, BYU was the last place that I wanted to go. I didn't even want to apply but did because of several external influences. My final choice in April of 2007 came down to BYU or KU. BYU was significantly higher in the rankings and slightly more expensive but had a better reputation for placing people in Big Law. KU had a wider, more interesting offering of classes and was in an area closer to home. At his point I wasn't sure if I wanted to practice on the East Coast or go back to the Midwest, so I prayed about my decision. I got the overwhelming feeling to go to BYU. Logic and spiritual guidance pointed towards BYU, so I made the decision to go. Meredith and I have since decided that we would like to return to the Midwest, barring any outstanding offer from another area. This has limited the job fields available.

Anyways, back to the job search. On Sunday I kind of went crazy. I somehow stumbled across a government job working as a law clerk for a government agency that regulates financial markets. I have known for quite a while that the best way to work with contracts and my other interests was to work in financial aspects of law. I find myself interested in banking law, securities, corporate transactions and others areas that are closely related. Earlier this academic year I had the desire to work for the Securities Exchange Commission, but I had missed the application deadline. Finding this government job posting led me to several other postings that offered jobs in exactly what I wanted to do. This is when I realized that, similarly to my choosing a law school, I did not know where to research for job possibilities or how to do it when I had really needed it. Finding these jobs on Sunday made me realize that there were plenty of options in government to work in the areas that I wanted. Also, I had always heard that the pay was dreadful. In comparison to Big Law it might be dreadful (about 45% of Big Law pay) but it would be enough to accomplish the financial goals that Meredith and I had. That night, I couldn't sleep and got up to search for more jobs. I applied to anything and everything that involved contracts or financial markets. It was entertaining, but I don't think anything will come of it.

Later in the week I spoke with one of my professors. It was a fairly long conversation, but the main thrust was that he had felt in law school that if he couldn't do what he wanted, he would look outside of the law. This was a sort of revelation for me. I had always known this realization but had never articulated it to myself. I don't want to practice law if I can't practice it in the areas that I want. I can use my JD in other areas, though it may not be practicing law. The day before this realization I had been made an offer by the Immigration Court of Dallas. I had asked for a couple of days to discuss it with Meredith and think about it. After discussions and realizations, we decided to reject the offer. We went to the temple to seek confirmation of a number of things, including our decision to reject the offer. It isn't very comforting to reject the only offer for legal experience that you have on the table, but we felt it was the right thing to do logically and spiritually.

Do what you love and the money will follow. I can't say that I am happy with my current employment situation, but I am happy with my current direction. It has been tough road so far and will probably continue to be so for some time. I guess this will help Meredith and me to grow together. It will be interesting to see how this new direction plays out.

Best Valentine's Ever!

2009-02-15T10:18:00.000-08:00

Dustin is so good to me. The Valentine’s festivities actually started 2 days before February 14th. I have wanted a new robe that wasn't a huge cotton bathrobe that makes you look twice your actual size. So Dustin went searching and was able to find a gorgeous silk robe and I love it! Just what I wanted! So then comes Valentine’s Day. I knew this day was going to be a little hard for me because, though it is nice to get gifts, I am definitely not a "gifts person." I already felt guilty about getting the robe earlier, though it was such a sweet thing to do. I just always hate it when people spend money on me. I always think that money could be better spent. Anyways, the only gift I actually wanted was a dozen red roses. They have always been my favorite flower, Dustin and I have a little history with a dozen red roses, and they are so perfect for Valentine’s Day.

So we slept in and took the day slowly. We have been planning for the past week to make a four course French

meal. We spent a lot of time, and a bit of money, to go all out for this dinner. So after cleaning the house and watching a chick flick, we began to think about making dinner. But wait, before we begin, Dustin HAS to go check the mail. He comes back with a letter for me, from him, that he sent though the mail. It was a beautiful long love note! It was so unlike him to do something like that but I couldn't have been happier.

Then, when we started getting things together for the dinner, we remembered that we did not have wine glasses for our white and red non-alcoholic wine. So Dustin ran off and grabbed some wine glasses while I finished getting ready. While he was gone, I got a knock on the door and it was a delivery for me from a floral company. So I ran to the kitchen, grabbed some scissors and opened it up, and there it was! My dozen red roses and they were beautiful.

So after he got back from the store, I told him that this had better be the end of the surprises. I think an elegant robe, a love letter, roses, and the four course meal were enough. He assured me the surprises were over. So then we began preparing dinner at 3:30. We had to begin with the dessert first, which was Crème Brulee, because it needs to chill for some time. I won’t bore you with the details of making a French dinner, but it was definitely an adventure. After making the dessert we had a fromage, which is a spread of French cheeses with a baguette. To make a long story short, there is only one of the cheeses we will actually continue to eat. The other ones were simply for the experience. So after the fromage, we had a spinach salad with strawberries, almond slivers and poppyseed dressing. Apparently, in France, they have spinach-based salads and dressings with a kick!

The third course was definitely the biggest. Dustin made filet mignon and some blanched vegetables. Yeah, we had to look up what blanched meant...it was quite the ordeal just for vegetables. While he did that, I made rosemary roasted red potatoes and some béarnaise sauce to pour over the filet mignon. After that, we were finally done with the main course. It tasted so good and was rather filling.

By this time, it was 7 o'clock and we were thinking that since we had just eaten so much, we would wait a while before we would have some Crème Brulee. Well, 8 o'clock comes around and we decide it is dessert time. We went ahead and crystallized the top of the dessert with our broiler, since we didn't have a torch, and it actually turned out very well. All in all, the entire dinner was a success.

I feel so lucky to have a man who takes such good care of me. I truly had an amazing Valentine’s Day! Thanks sweetie!

There is a first time for everything

2009-02-10T18:24:00.000-08:00

So today, while sitting in my LDS Perspectives in Psychology class, I thought to myself "I wonder when the midterm is going to be for this class." So I checked my syllabus and realized that I have already missed the first exam and the second one opens tomorrow in the testing center! I wanted to die. I can't believe i missed/forgot about a test. I guess this was bound to happen some time in my college profession. So now, not only do I have to take the second exam but I have two others, a 7 page paper and a 3 page paper and tons of homework all within a weeks time. To make things a little more complicated, Dustin goes out of town next week and so I want to spend as much time with him as possible before he leave. This means that I will have little motivation to do all that I need to. I guess the break I am looking forward to is Valentine's Day this Saturday with my honey. Lets just hope I stay sane and have all my hair when Dustin returns back home.

Cardboard Spice Rack

2009-02-06T10:16:00.000-08:00

For the last year and a half of our marriage, Dustin and I are always frustrated when we go to find a certain spice for cooking. They are always hard to reach, for me, and usually in a jumbled mess. So we decided a week ago that we would go on a search for a spice rack. One that would keep us organized. So we started our research online and found them to be expensive and not exactly what we needed. We needed one that had cubbies and would fit in our tiny cabinet. So then one night, while I am talking to my family online, I see Dustin pull out cardboard, duct tape and a swiss army knife. 30 minutes later he has constructed an entire tier of cardboard cubbies. I was so interested in where this was going that I signed off with my family and decided I would help. So 2 hours later, we had 3 different sections of 4 tiered cubbies for our spices. We are so proud of our custom designed spice rack. Though it is a little wobble and simply held together by duct tape, we now have an organized (and reachable might I add) way to store our spices.

I'm Healed

2009-02-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

So I woke up this morning and realized that I have been healed. For the past 10 days I have been fighting something that combined flu-like symptoms with a sinus infection. I just thought you (stalkers) would all like to know that know that I am healed I get to catch up on the past week of law school work. This means I need to read about 700 pages before tomorrow at 10am. Wish me luck!

Getting there!

2009-01-31T10:50:00.000-08:00

So Dustin and I, mostly me, have been sick for the last 6 months. I have been dealing with my molar pregnancy issues and all the wonderful pregnancy stuff that comes with it, multiple infections, stomach bugs, you name it and one of us has had it. But I think the worst is over. I got my HCG levels back today and I am down to 4!!! I am finally down to a "normal" number and dont have to get my blood drawn every week anymore. YEA! 3 of my infections are gone and I am only dealing with the after effects of one sinus infection. I am almost 100% healthy again. Poor Dustin has been so incredibly patient and wonderful with my moaning and groaning and now he is the one that is sick. He came down with some type of flu, or sinus infection thing last night and the poor guy just needs a break. But give us a couple weeks and we should be back to "normal"

In the Beginning There Was Nothing

2009-01-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hello! This will eventually turn into a wealth of information concerning Dustin & Meredith Kelley. We are excited to share tons of personal information with friends, family and any internet stalkers. We hope you guys enjoy this as much as we have enjoyed changing the colors of the background and fonts. Thanks for stoppin' by!