on second thought, I love taffy too much

So I just realized that this is a really dull post and apologize in advance. Here's my favorite youtube video to sweeten the deal.

Oh shoot, now I want a kitten.

Well here's where it gets boring but keep reading if you're up to it.

Yesterday I bought the tickets, so it's official. I'm going home for Thanksgiving. Something that I haven't done for 5 years. You heard me, 5 years.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading my sister's blog - cuz that's how we communicate (don't judge) - and she mentioned that she was going to home for Thanksgiving. And that got me thinking. What if I went home for Thanksgiving this year? And after thinking it over and talking to my Mom, I figured, Why not?

I love being in a place in life where I can do this sort of thing - nothing tying me down or holding me back. I think I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

The only down side is that I won't  be going to New Hampshire for Thanksgiving this year. I do love spending Thanksgiving with my doting Aunt and Uncle in New England - they are so good to me and indulge me in my favorite Thanksgiving tradition, the dog show.

So look out, Utah, I'm coming. And I expect 2 turkeys, gloriously fluffy mashed potatoes and Grandma's cranberry relish. And I'm reserving the tv in the family room now - for the dog show of course.

all tied up

So I know that I've made it perfectly clear that I think autumn is lover-ly. But in case you need another reason to love the season,

Scarves!

Oh, so pretty and versatile. Not only do they take off the edge off of a crisp autumn day or an over air conditioned room, but they delicately cover my decolletage and can add a little somethin-somethin to an outfit. Also, the right scarf can also function as a neck pillow - give it a try next time you're trying to sleep sitting up (like on a plane or at church).

Here's a nifty video I found on Creature Comforts with some interesting ways to tie a scarf. This definitely gave me a few new ideas.

look what I found

I've been shopping for new bedding for weeks and found little to get excited about. I don't have a lot to spend, but even if I did, I don't know what I'd spend it on. There is simply nothing out there that excites me. I'd been browsing at Pottery Barn, West Elm, Target, Ikea, Crate and Barrel, Garnet Hill, the Company Store - and they all left me underwhelmed.

It's not that there's nothing good out there just couldn't find what I was looking for. I wanted something with character, something to go with my freshly painted walls, new bed and the wool blanket that I bought in Scotland (it's one of my few possessions that has come along with me on all my moves).

I kept thinking that I need an awesome quilt, but hadn't come across any in my searching.

There was a time when the idea of making a quilt lit a fire in me. I loved picking out the fabrics and pattern. I loved the process: cutting and sewing and assembling and stitching. It really is a glorious process. But then it happened. I burned out. It may have been around the time that I lost my job at a quilt store, but I'm not entirely sure. All I know that I've lost that passion and the idea of making a quilt is sickening to me now.

I still love the finished product and craved a quilt for my bed. And then one day as I was browsing on etsy... light bulb! Out of curiosity, I started searching for antique quilts and guess what, there are some real beauts. And what i was surprised to learn, is that some of them are really quite affordable. Well the ones that are a little worn are anyway, and there is something really lovely about well worn quilt - gives it character. 

So after mulling it over for a couple of days, I just ordered this one:

And I'm crossing my fingers that it's as lovely in person as it is in it's pictures. It may need a little TLC but I'm up to task - mending I can do.

Here are a few others that I just adore and are still for sale.

sunburst

circa 1930

bright star

on this day

Facebook just informed me that on this day in 2009, I posted:

moving to Alaska TOMORROW! better get packin'

Funny how 2 years can feel like a lifetime but I remember so well the wreck I was. It had been such a eventful, stressful and chaotic summer: wedding, graduation, moving home, funeral, studying for the bar, taking the bar, funeral, wedding. In a way I think I needed Alaska. (thought you'd never hear that, did ya?) I needed space to recover and digest it all.

I tell people that if it hadn't been for the recession, I would never have gone to Alaska. But there's more to it than that. Sure, the fall of 2008 was a pretty scary time to be looking for a job, but it goes back to the fall of 2005. I stood at a crossroads of sorts. I felt pretty strongly that I should go to law school but I was terrified of taking on so much debt. I worried about how I'd ever repay it and how the financial burden would shape my future. And then there was this moment, when I thought to myself, if you can do law school, you can repay the debt. It was then that I decided to put my financial future in God's hands. I felt that he wanted me to go to law school and if that required that I assume debt then surely he'd provide a way for me to repay it.

And so, in 2008 when the economy was in the toilet, I wasn't so much worried about finding a job. Okay, I was a little worried, but I knew that everything would work out, I just didn't know how. I also knew that if I was going to place my trust in God, I had to trust him all the way. That meant applying for jobs in Alaska when the director of career services advised me to do so. As I mailed my applications to Alaska, I was terrified that I'd get a job. I was terrified that I'd somehow get stuck in Alaska and never be able to leave.*

When I got a phone call weeks later offering me a clerkship in Fairbanks I freaked out a little - in fact I screamed as a hung up the phone. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, but I knew that I would take the job. And I'm glad that I did.


*Oh, past self, there is so much I'd like to tell you - but most importantly, don't worry, you won't get stuck in Alaska. And don't let yourself fall in love with that one guy, you'll know him when you meet him.

doh!

When I first started looking for work in DC, I was told that the first thing I should do is get my application for the DC bar in as soon as possible.  And so I started working on it.  And then I got a job and put the application on the back burner.  A few months later I found myself unemployed for a few weeks and thought about the application but never got around to it.  Again I find myself unemployed and after a few weeks, I finally open up the folder that I so neatly filed away in September.  

I start reading through the directions.  Page 1, I find neatly prepared in the folder.  Page 2, a form that I had to request from my law school, is still in the envelope but in the folder like it should be.  Page 3, also neatly prepared.  I'm thinking, hey, I'm on a roll, I'll have this sucker done in no time.  Page 4, MPRE scores (ethics test) - I panic, I have no idea where those test scores are, maybe in Utah, I check my files, nope.  I go to my computer and start googling, prepared to request a new copy - light bulb: check your emails.  I search MPRE (name of the test) and the first thing that comes up is an email from myself, subject: MPRE.  I open up the email and it says "just in case you need it" and the very form that I need is attached.  It was a surreal moment, probably the closest to time travel that I may ever experience.  I thank my past self profusely as I print out the form.  

I'm thinking, this is in the bag, well done, past self.  Until, Page 5, Certificate of Good Standing.  Uh-oh.  This I don't have and I'm pretty sure I never got this far the first time around.  I go to the Utah State Bar Association website and find a link - oh good, there's a form.  Oh good, I have to mail it in and it's going to take 5-7 business days (which means it could take up to 2 weeks with shipping time on each end) - fail!  Thanks a lot, past self.  I rush off to the post office, hoping they're open til 6 - they're not.  On my walk home - light bulb: fax it in the morning.     

superglue to the rescue

Yesterday my glasses broke.  Well, actually, they just came unscrewed but try as I might I fiddled and turned and twisted that screw and that screw just wouldn't hold.  My co-worker assured me that I could tape them together with masking tape, but just to be clear, I'd look like a moron.  Not wanting to look like a moron, I decided against taping them and today, I made due with my broken glasses, carefully balancing them on my nose by positioning my head just so or holding them onto my face.  While I may not have looked moronic, it was certainly ridiculous.  

So tonight, armed with an eyeglass repair kit and superglue, I glued that silly little screw in place.   Ahhh, sweet relief to my aching eyes, my glasses are back in working order.

And so I add another item to the list of things I've fixed with superglue:

broken fingernail
shoe
cut finger
computer (that was actually quite recently and may have something to do with why my computer won't work worth beans these days)
and glasses

Isn't superglue the best?