Just be happy

I love mornings at my house. It is a race to get everything done- because I want my own time to run and play with my baby- and because I have a daily chore list around the farm - and because I pack my own lunch. You get the idea. I pack a lot in. 

I also love my job. I love the complex situations I get to deal with. 

And then I love the evening. The fight at dinner time that we make "happy plates". The occasional "break" (time outs) so we can all get along. The howling with the baby so she develops verbal skills. 

I love it all. Sure it's a mess. But I choose to be happy. To put the people in my life first. 

And that's what life is about. Enjoying the journey- the puke, poops, and tears. The messes. The whole deal. It makes me happy. 

Mother's Day 2013

What I wanted:

• rest & sleep
• feeling like I make a difference in my Church callings
• Good food
• A little exercise
• time with family, friends, and laughter

What I got:

• I slept in and got a nap in after church (never happens!)
• A young girl who hasn't been to church in over a year came today (on no account of my own, beyond my being mindful of her and praying on her behalf...still, it's something)
• Eggs Benedict in Bed, Russ' Split Pea Soup for Lunch, and the Spanglish sandwich for Dinner. (plus blue bell ice cream!)
• Family walk for a mile and a half! Better than nuttin' on Sunday
• Dinner with my family and friends, laughing together when one of the babies licked a chip off the ground where the dog had just licked. 

So perfect. Finishing it off with an episode of Fringe.

Random Thoughts

A few thoughts on my mind since I last blogged (which was like 2 hours ago):

Conversation with one of my seminary students, who also mows my lawn & babysits for me and stuff:

Me: Can you mow the lawn today (Saturday)
Him: No, but I can tomorrow.
Me: No, tomorrow is Sunday.
Him: I'll just bring my family with me and then do it.
Me: No. It's not just about being with your family. It's about keeping the sabbath day holy.
Him: .... (looks puzzled)
Me: On the seventh day God rested. He wasn't secretly making flowers somewhere. He was resting.

Him: (gets it) Oh, yeah. Well maybe he was, you just need to read inbetween the lines and it says he was.

*Cracks me up!*

--------------------------------------

Best Movie I've seen this year? Hmmm... I think "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Just watched it again (it's short)

The movie is beautiful poetry.

Here's my favorite line from it:

Hushpuppy: When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces. When I look too hard, it goes away. And when it all goes quiet, I see they are right here. I see that I'm a little piece in a big, big universe. And that makes things right. 

February Flying By!

It seems that every week the Wilde household has had an emergency. Between illness, jury trials, and even the bizarre case of a friend in jail... life is just flashing by!

But there have been great moments of fun and joy. Our little P has 4 teeth and she's chewing on everything for more!

Aside from the buzz of life, things are good. If I could get my sinuses permanently cleared up, I could say that life is great.

In looking ahead, we are getting our garden ready for the coming year. The goal is to plant the first round of seeds on March 4th.

I had a dream last night about my grandmother and her garden. It left me with the most wonderful feeling in the morning and a strong desire to make a large garden like she had. I miss her. And I want to honor the good she did in this world by continuing it.

Well, those are my thoughts for tonight.

Enjoy the last 10 days of February!

These Orange Rolls are the best thing I've eaten this month.

Fighting the Good Fight

We all make choices in life. That affect the rest of our life. I realized at my conference today that my chosen profession means giving up some things. Well, at least how the world is now. But the world can change. Now I just face the likelihood of the consequences of my career path.

Here are what I think they are...

• Being poor. Well, maybe not poor exactly. But that Jetta I've wanted since I was a teenager? Yeah, it's probably not going to happen.
• Not a lot of appreciation or "Thank you's"
• Nightmares. Stuff you just can't get out of your head.
• Hmm... How do I put this one? Probably not going to be in Young Womens anytime ever.
• Overly Cautious when out in the community.
• Knowing too much about neighbors/family/friends.
• Quickly judging others about lying or telling the truth. Can't afford not to.
• Never being able to watch any Legal TV Show ever without getting angry about it. 
• Being overly protective of children, especially my own.

But... at the same time, there are benefits:

• Being able to say that I make my community a better place.
• Victories that can make you smile weeks after they happen.
• Having a quiet, sustaining spiritual life.
• Having motivations to run it out, always.
• Being overly cautious and protective. (it's good and bad)
• Having coworkers and a team to work with. Never standing alone.
• Having a intellectually stimulating job. Lots to think about and work out.
• Steady work schedule, most of the time.
• Being able to "do it all". Not many jobs let you bring your kid to work, work from home, or wear sweat pants to work. Very grateful for that!

There are good things and bad things about these serious choices we make. I think, in the end, the good will outweigh the bad. Perhaps the best part about this it that I am where I am supposed to be.

Life is good!

Because I Have Been Given Much...

has it really been almost a year since I've last posted?

Well, I couldn't let today pass me by without posting what I call a "Thankful-mony". It's like a testimony and an award speech wrapped into one.

So this Thanksgiving the Wilde's look back and see a year full of blessing, large and small. So many to count, that I cannot count them all. But let's hit the big ones...

Sadly, I am out of storage space to put pictures on here... So I'll just mention the things that have made me break down and cry a few times today, even though there are no pictures accompanying them.

1. That Phoenix made it out of the NICU and is doing so well.

2. That I graduated from law school, and I have moved on with life!

3. That I passed the Texas Bar Exam, and I am a licensed attorney! Hooray!

4. That I have an excellent job, a wonderful job, a job that enables me to have a lot of time with my family.

5. That I have Russ by my side, making this journey with me!

Life is good in the Wilde house. My cup runneth over with all the amazing things that have happened this year. I know that it is not every year- we have hard years ahead. But I never thought that we would receive all of these blessings. I thought for sure something would not work out. But we have been so blessed, and I will do my best to pass on the blessings I have received. 

I'm BAAACK!!!

Big Trial is over.

Next Stop: FINALS.

Next stop: Life.

Right Now: Happy.

More to Come!

So behind on my blog... but let me just say this tonight:

I LOVE SUMMER!!!

• Late night FroYo at the Twist & Shout
• House remodeling
• HP6 pt. 2
• Trips! (Bryan, Chicago, SLC)
• WEDDING!!!
• Russ's Birthday!
• Teaching ballet
• Yoga

Can't Wait for the fun. Oh wait! No need to wait. I started with a late night FroYo tonight with Jess & Ian and Rebex & Joseph.

Quote of the evening goes to Joseph:

"My favorite part of the Book of Mormon is the part about Sam and Frodo."

Weekend 1

Josh (my PC partner) is pacing back and forth in Roberto's apartment. Roberto is furiously finishing some tax documents (He's a CPA and a law student).

I am relaxing on the couch. Because we just sent our answer for big trial. The weekend is so close. And while I will be spending a large portion of it reviewing documents for big trial, I will also be in San Marcos. I'll be at my friend Michelle's graduation and I'll get to see Russ when he returns from the Father & Sons campout.

Life is Good when the weekend is pending...

Restart: Beginning with Sunday

I have piles to blog about. But I want to start by blogging about yesterday.

Yesterday was a fun-filled day at the Wilde household.

First, my dear friends for José and Sara Beth came to visit. It was a short visit, because José flew to D.C. today.  Still, we had a lot of fun cooking dinner together, playing games, and just talking. So. Much. Fun.

Secondly, I graduated for the LDS Institute of Religion! I had one class to finish from before my mission and I finally did it. I know this isn't one of those things everyone does, and that most people don't think this is a big deal. But I wanted to finish what I started many years ago. So even though I don't think it makes a huge difference, or that it'll really impress anyone but myself, I'm glad that I finished it!!!

Finally, I was able to celebrate my birthday with the ones closest to me (geographically and personally). I do wish I could celebrate with my siblings, parents, etc. But that's just not possible to do when we live so far apart. So I am grateful that my friends took time out of their day to be with me.

I remember looking into their eyes as they sang me 'Happy Birthday' and thinking, "I am so blessed to have so many friends that care!"

Thank you guys! Such a great day! (Plus Osama was caught and killed! Bonus!).

Well, here are some pictures of the events! More adventures to be blogged about tomorrow.

Next Stop: Finals

I finished my last mini-trial today. Now, all that is standing between me and my regular gym schedule and normal weekends are my finals. I'm so relieved I have survived this far. It has not been easy. I could NOT have done it without Russ.

My last trial ended with a humorous comment from my professor. He said:

"You are like a fetus lawyer"

I stare blankly at him.

"If we gave you your bar card today and sent you out to be a lawyer you would be...viable. You are almost a lawyer, you're almost done gestating and will soon be born."

Umm... Thank You???

A Happier Thought

Man, yesterday's blog was a downer wasn't it?

Ugh. Well today is April Fool's Day. So I should do a fake-preganancy post or a "We're moving to New York" joke or something. But I'll be honest. I'm not a fan of this holiday. Someone once told me, "There's truth in jest." And so I'd rather not mislead, and yet secretly not mislead, you.

But I would like to post something happy. So here are a few things I'm loving lately:

This is Judge Kinkeade. He's my Professional Responsibility professor.

He makes Practice Court fun and bearable.

Perhaps this year's Easter Dress?

So pretty.

If you want to buy it for me, click here.

Tonight's plans. Movie night. 

Recently re-rated PG-13!

Cheese. I love the cheese.

And looking forward to:

The 7th Time Celebrating

7 years ago today I went snowboarding with a boy I didn't know all that well. It was  Friday night. We were acquaintances. We had faked being engaged for about a month. Anyway from that first date we were inseparable! Russ asked me out the next night, Saturday night. On Sunday night he made me dinner (and kissed me!).

It went on from there. For 3 some odd years we dated. Then we got married (That anniversary is next month). But we still celebrate this date that started it all.... but this year is less than celebratory with law school and practice court.

So instead of celebrating our first date, let me tell you a story about how we celebrated this Valentine's Day.

From my last post, you can tell I was quite down about the day. After writing that post, I studied for about an hour. Then I heard a shuffle outside. This was weird because NO ONE really knows where my apartment is. Maybe 5 people know where I live. The shuffle led to a knock.
For a moment I thought: not answering it. No way. I'm not getting robbed tonight. I'm just going to sit here and be quiet until they go away.

But I decided I should at least check the eye hole. And I saw this:

Only outside, not in my front room. Anyway, I was ecstatic! 

This was so unexpected! I honestly had NO IDEA. 

But it totally made my week!!! 

He brought cupcakes from "Hey! Cupcake"

Well, 7 years ago it all started. Valentine's Day 2011 we still have some spontaneity to the relationship.

I look forward to celebrating the 8th time, next year. 

Love you Russ!

New Year! (Belated)

New Year's is always a very low-key celebration for Russ and I. We don't like to drive anywhere because it is "amateur drinking night." A lot of people on the roads are getting smashed at the bar for their first time ever and are driving reckless. Plus, we do a lot for all the other holidays in the year. We like to start the new year off at home and on our own.

But even though we keep it low-key, we like to be with our friend all the same. Sadly, this year all of our friends were either busy or traveling. So we had a little post-New Year's celebration to make up for the lonely New Years! Here's how it went:

Check out this food: Lamb, cous-cous, asparagus, and a Christmas Bacon Salad (blurred out)

Check out the Whitesides: Looking like regular royalty in those hats!

Check out this weird picture:
Somehow we thought that a pic. of the guys reading books would look cool.
Please note: it's kinda weird.

We played some Wii. It was fun.

Just the ladies

Another strange picture that I like to call:
"2011: the Year that everyone gets up close and personal to C"

We had a countdown and everything, reviewed the past year, and talked about this upcoming year. All in all it was a fantastic evening with some of the finest people I know! An especial thanks to the Eskanders for Hosting, Jess for cooking, and Hil for taking the pics!

One Down, 3 to Go

Tonight I finished my Advanced Legal Research Class. And I feel like this:

This is Sarah, one of my ballet students.
Her face = How I feel.

Just Another Manic Monday...

• Up since 5:30 am
• Drove 127 miles
• Found my apartment had flooded while I was gone.
• Attended classes
• Recited a case for Constitutional law (this one, in case you're curious)
• Witnessed for some student-attorney friends
• Went to the gym and got my butt kicked by J. in the RPM's class (dude calls you out in front of everybody)
• Went back to the law school. At dinner. Alone. 
• Studying in the library with my favorite 1L's.
• Looking forward to sleeping on my friend Kristen's couch tonight. Such a good friend.

Focus on the Positive:

• My friend James said I did 'really awesome' reciting my case in Const. Law
• My friend Sophelia told me I should receive the All-American Award. She's so sweet.
• I found my earring when it popped off changing clothes to go to the gym.
• I got to listen to my favorite morning show this morning while driving.
• J at the RPM's class told me I did a 'great job for it being my second class w/ him.
• My friend Kristen is letting me sleep on her couch so I don't have to sleep in my stinky apartment!
• This Train song played in my RPM class. Reminded me of how I'm in love with Russ. Then this Bruno Mars song played on the radio while I drove home from the gym. This reminded me of the great weekend we had together. And that it was 7 years ago this month I proposed to him. I'm even more in love now.

All in all I think today was a win. Life is Good.

Christmas: A Fond Memory in the 1st Week Back

Memories that warm my heart:

Some good news

A few days ago I promised explanation of my win and a picture. Well, here it is: Craig Stango and I won BLS's Client Counseling Competition. Basically you meet with fake clients and you are judged on how well you consult with them.

Craig and I tok 1st place! We were quite proud! Here we are on the web site!

It's a small picture. But nonetheless I'm proud! Here's the full story:

Sometimes you win...

After being in law school for a year and a half.... after months of being unsure if I belong here or not.... after moments of unsurety and just pushing through because I knew this is what I wanted... after a dozen or so crying phone calls to my husband....

I feel like I can say that I belong here.

And it feels good.

More explanation to come tomorrow (with a picture).

I Just Needed a SUNday.

Today has been FABULOUS. Here's why:

• Only 1 hour church today, so people were 'encouraged' to go to the Nativity Display at the Stake Ctr. 
• Friends over for lunch (about 10 of us total!)
• Eating Breakfast for lunch. YUM!
• White elephant gift exchange. I ended up with Bath & Body Works stuff and Russ got some fancy hot cocoa.
• Card games, cookie making, football watching, and group naps.
• Walking to get the mail with Russ
• Working on a scarf for Christmas
• Getting ready for Monday

It's been a great day. And it's not over yet, time to go to a friend's house for dinner to eat some deer meat!