Thoughts on the Bachelorette: London

For those of you who know me...you know that I LOVE THE BACHELORETTE!!!  I know...my boy hates the show (but I think deep down he loves it because he usually stays in the room when it is on).  I realize that most of the couples from the show do not end up together forever...but this crazy process of trying to find someone and some of the crazies that come on the show are the reason I love it.

Based on last night's episode, I absolutely adore Sean.  He seems pretty perfect and him and Emily would make pretty blonde babies for sure.  He seems grounded and manly.  Yet, he doesn't seem to have a ton of experience in the relationship area because he is "picky."  Now, picky is definitely not a bad thing, but I mean, Emily has had lots of ups and downs in relationships in the past...so I am unsure if Sean is ready.  But I do think he would be a great dad to Emily's daughter.

The group date was kind of ridiculous.  All of these mostly manly men dressing up and acting out Romeo and Juliet.  The only part of this that I remotely enjoyed was when Doug and Arie dressed up as nurses and were able to let go and have fun with it - that is something a good dad would be able to do.

On this group date, I was also SO HAPPY that Kalon finally was sent home.  Honestly, he would have been gone long ago if it was my choice because of all his condescending comments in the past - like telling Emily not to talk until he was finished talking.  But the fact that he referred to Emily's daughter as baggage - yeah that was way too far.  And I am so glad that Doug brought it to her attention.  Also, I completely understand why Emil was questioning all the guys.  A girl wants a man that will stand up for her when others say mean and awful things about her or her family - especially her daughter.  Emily is looking for a husband and a father to her child - if a guy cannot stand up to a guy like Kalon, then when would he stand up for her???

Jef grew on me during his one on one date with Emily.  Although he isn't as manly as I would like, Emily seems smitten with him and he says a lot of the right stuff to make her feel better after her terrible group date night.  He also is cute about how nervous he gets about kissing Emily for the first time which makes me think that it actually means something to him besides actually getting physical with a girl -- unlike Ryan who seemed like he just wanted to rub it in all the guys faces (especially Arie) that he got the kissing scene in Romeo and Juliet and then milked it for all it was worth.

So overall, pretty good episode.  I enjoyed watching Emily go off on Kalon and stick up for herself and her daughter.  My favorites right now for Emily are Sean, Jef, and Doug (at times he annoys me though).  I do still kind of like Arie and Chris, but they totally did not stand up for Emily this week which moved them down in my book.

What did you all think of last night's episode???

Colored Jeans...A Boy...and a Concert...

Colored Jeans...a Boy...and a Concert...make for a pretty perfect day.

Love me some red jeans!!! Outfit courtesy of The Limited

Love this boy!!!

Love going to concerts with this boy!!!  We spent Saturday just enjoying the day of softball and a Colbie Caillat and Gavin Degraw concert.

Pretty perfect day having fun and relaxing with my boy...would have been even better if I didn't have to spend part of my day with BARBRI...but still an awesome day!!!

Bar Review Blues...

Well...it has been almost exactly one year since my last posting - and what has happened in my life???

I GRADUATED FROM LAW SCHOOL!!!!

Yeah, I said it!  No more school for me!  Ever! Ever! Ever! .... well except for these two plus months of bar review torture...and that is assuming I pass the bar the first time...if I don't, this torture could continue forever.

Well in my mindless hours of studying...and study breaks...I came upon this link that was posted by another recent law graduate from my class.  http://www.bitterlawyer.com/ten-things-you-will-do-studying-bar/

This link tells us 10 things that I will do while studying for the bar.  And let me tell you...I am well on my way to completing this list.  Let me demonstrate.

First on the list is "fail a practice exam" - believe me, this happened probably the first day of bar review and has continued at various points since.  Especially since I am supposed to retain a whole body of law on a topic within maybe two days and then move on to another whole body of law the next day to learn.  Basically, my brain will be fried by the end of this course and I am just hopeful that I am retaining something throughout these studies.

Second on the list is "resent anyone who says you will pass" - oh yeah.  This is so true.  Especially those people who have no idea what the bar exam really is.  Now, this is not to offend all of you wonderful people who have told me that I will pass - but really - you have no idea.  You don't understand the hours of sweat and tears that I will be putting into studying for this two day exam that decides the rest of my life (well not really the rest of my life, but at least whether I will be able to go into a courtroom and say "I object!")

Third on the list is "abandon something you normally do" - I am not sure if I have completely abandoned anything yet.  These first three weeks of bar review - I think I have been somewhat in denial that I can't have a life and study as I spent most of all last weekend doing nothing in regards to studying.  But I am sure this denial will soon pass.  I did give up work to study for the bar exam so that is something.  I also have given up leaving the house very much - so I may go stir crazy soon.

Fourth on the list is "buy something ridiculous" - Well, I haven't bought anything totally ridiculous yet BUT I have found my new love of online shopping!  In the past two weeks I have ordered a dress, a shirt, and two pairs of shoes from three different stores online - and for me that I a lot for online ordering because I have always enjoyed actually going to a store to try things on.  But hey - I am stuck at home remember.  And the joy of finding a package at my door is so thrilling!!!  It is the highlight of my day.  And then opening the package and trying on the dress and thinking of what I will wear it to, and then remembering that I won't be leaving the house or wearing a dress for the next two months....oh well.  At least I will look great after the bar exam.

Fifth on the list is "have some kind of sleep issue" - No real problems here as of yet.  I am sure as the bar exam comes closer I will have all kinds of trouble sleeping and terrible nightmares about the bar exam, but as of yet - my sleep is doing alright.

Sixth on the list is "gain or lose weight" - I will have no idea if this occurs as my home contains no scale!!!  So there!

Seventh on the list is "pick up a weird habit" - I think that online shopping is a weird habit for me (see #4).  But also, I have started watching Hell's Kitchen - not because I think the show is all that great or anything - but because seeing people yell and scream at each other is kind of a stress reliever I have found and I can yell at them too!  So I think I am turning into a weird, yelling, stay at home all day kind of freak.  Yes, this is what the bar exam does to you.  Another weird habit for me that I have picked up is exercising -- yes exercising.  I never want to do this - but the past two weeks I have done it just so I don't have to keep studying.  So maybe bar review is helping me in one way...

Eigth on the list is "drink alone" - And no, I have not done this.  As those of you who know me, I am not a huge drinker to begin with, unless it is fruity and doesn't really taste like alcohol...

Ninth on the list is "have a weird run in with a stranger" - This has not occurred yet, but in reality, I could see this happening at some point between now and the bar exam.  The bar review really does change one's outlook on life and I could see myself saying something completely inappropriate or laughing at the completely wrong time because I will have lost sense with reality by bar exam time from staying in the house and away from people for so long.

Tenth on the list is "cry" - Yes.  This happened the second day of bar review.  The instructor did say we would have a break down at some point before the bar exam....and I think I jumped the gun on that one.  But maybe this means this won't happen again...doubtful.

So yes.  I enjoyed this list that I found.  And now you all should be wary around me because now you know I could snap at any moment in time.  Oh bar review...how you have taken over my life and my summer.

One Mistake

In my Liberty online class this week I studied Numbers and Deuteronomy - I know, at first thought this sounds like a very boring week.  Yet there are some great stories amidst the lists of people and lists of offerings in these two books.  One fascinating story is the great sin of Moses that caused him to not enter the Promised Land of Canaan.

Moses committed his great sin at Meribah, meaning “rebel waters” (Numbers 20:2-13). The Israelites complained to Moses about there being no water. The Lord told Moses to speak to the rock and then it would bring forth water. Instead, Moses struck the rock with his rod. Water still came out, but he disobeyed God’s direction. Because of this, God said that Moses would not enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:10-12). In an act due partly to unbelief and anger, Moses screamed at the people and disobeyed the Lord by striking the rock twice instead of speaking to it once as God had commanded.


Moses thus, becomes at least one of seven Old and new Testament individuals who failed God, not in their weakest but in their strongest point:

- Abraham’s strongest point was his faith (Gen. 15:6; Heb. 11:8-10), yet he failed God by his unbelief (Gen. 12:10-20; 20:1-5)

- David’s strongest point was his kindness (he spared Saul’s life on two occasions, 1 Sam. 24:1-6; 26:5-13), yet he failed God by his cruelty (he killed Uriah, 2 Sam. 11:14-15)

- Solomon’s strongest point was his wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-12), yet he failed God by his stupidity (he allowed riches, power, and women to ruin him, (1 Kings 4:26; 10:27; 11:1-6. Contrast these verses with Deut. 17:14-17)

- Elijah’s strongest point was his courage (he stood up alone on Mount Carmel against 450 priests of Baal, 1 Kings 18), yet he failed God by his cowardice (he ran from a woman, Jezebel, 1 Kings 19)

- Peter’s strongest point was his loyalty (Matt. 16:16; 26:31-33), yet he failed God by his denials (Matt. 26:69-75)

- Paul’s strongest point was his liberty in Christ (entire book of Galatians), yet he failed God by placing himself back under legalism (Acts 21:18-26) (OTS page 132)

Thinking on all of this, I think a lot of Christians, and even just people in general, believe that there is one area in their lives where they have everything together - whether it is their faith, their integrity, their courage, whatever it may be - but we need to remember that we are not perfect - not in anything - and many times in that one area that we think we have all together - that is where we can fall the hardest because our pride comes into play and we are not closely watching ourselves when we think we have it together.  I have tried to get this across to the youth girls that I teach in the area of purity - even if you grow up in church and have heard a million times to stay pure and to not have sex before marriage - and even if you think you would never have sex before marriage or do anything sexually unpure - a boy may come along that will tempt you and if you are not on guard and you allow yourself to be put in situations where you can fail, then you probably will fail - none of us our perfect.  We may know the right thing to do, we may have heard it all our life, and we may think we have that area altogether - but failure will happen - and it will happen even more when we are not continually growing and studying God's word.  Thank goodness we have a loving and forgiving God that forgives us for our mistakes, whether they are big or small in our eyes.  He loves us and cares for us no matter what.

Are we like the Israelites???

A couple weeks ago I began an Old Testament survey class through Liberty University Online.  Right now i am studying Exodus.  In reading about the Israelites, I think many times we wonder why they grumbled and failed to trust in God after He had already accomplished so many miracles for them. 

God freed them from the Egyptians through the 10 plagues and through crossing the Red Sea.  I mean, how amazing would it be to see these miracles performed just so you could escape slavery.  However, right before crossing the Red Sea, in Exodus 14:11-12 the Israelites said:

"They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?  Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!""

After they had seen the miracles of the 10 plagues, they failed to trust that God would continue to save them - yet God still saved them even though they lacked faith.  He opened the Red Sea and they crossed it and the Egyptians were killed when the Sea fell on them.  Again, a little later in Exodus, the Israelites again questioned God's provision.  In Exodus 15:22-27, the Israelites came to Marah where the water was bitter and again they grumbled to Moses asking what would they drink?  Again, the Lord provided for His people by changing the water to make it drinkable for them - even though they complained and lacked faith at that moment. 

Again, in Exodus 16:2-3 - "In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.""  And again, the Lord provided for them by giving them manna every day - telling them to take just the amount they needed to eat each day.  Yet, some Israelites did not listen and took more than what they would eat in one day.  The manna that they kept overnight became spoiled and probably made it smell quite badly.  Thus, the Israelites were given food from God and they still did not listen to His orders regarding it.  Yet God still continued to provide them with manna.

Throughout their wilderness time, God continued to tell them that He would provide Canaan to them.  He continued to provide for them even when they grumbled and lacked faith in Him.  However, in Numbers 14, after the people had reached the edge of Canaan, the promised land, the people lacked faith and told Moses that they would not try to enter the land because they were afraid of the giants in the land.  They lacked faith that God would fulfill His promise to them to provide Canaan to them.  The people even said they should just go back to Egypt - back to the land that had imprisoned them!  This time, God would provide Canaan to the Israelites except not to those Israelites that had left Egypt.  He told them they would wander in the desert for 40 years, until all those over 20 had died, and only those who were born after they had left Egypt would be able to enter the land of Canaan.

How many of us look at this story and think the Israelites were completely stupid for not having faith in God and His provisions after everything He had already done?  Yet how many of us do this every day?  We constantly worry about God providing what we need.  We worry about finances, relationships, fear of the future...yet God has promised to always be with us and always provide for us.  It may not be in the way we think things should happen, but we need to trust in His will.  We need to have faith that He will provide for us.  We need to not be like the Israelites continually grumbling at God and continually trying to go back to our "Egypt" - our live before Christ - our prison.  We need to strive toward what God has promised us and His daily provisions.

Tonight's Dinner - Chicken Marsala

Tried another new recipe tonight.  I would give this one a B - pretty good, but not as good as the Chicken Marsala from Bone Fish Grill.  Here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded 1/4 inch thick

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1/4 cup cooking sherry

1.In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.


2.In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

And the finished meal with leftover mashed potatoes and green beans....



Tonight's Dinner - Filet Mignon with Tarragon Butter, Mashed Potatoes, Corn Casserole, and Green Beans

Tonight's dinner was fantastic.  In fact, hubby said that this steak was the best I have made at home - and he ate the whole steak in under 5 minutes - so it must have been good.  I love to make things he likes.  So here are the recipes below:

Corn Casserole (recipe courtesy of my sister in law)

Ingredients:  1 can whole kernel corn (undrained), 1 can cream style corn, 1 8oz container of sour cream, 2 eggs (beaten), 1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix, 1 stick of butter (melted)



Mix it all together and put in pan and bake at 350 for about 1 hour.

And the finished result:

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients: potatoes, milk, butter, and salt (all amounts as you desire to taste)

Peel potatoes and cut in smaller pieces and put in boiling water

When the pieces are soft enough, place in mixing bowl and mix with milk, butter, and salt until finished.

Steaks with Tarragon Butter (recipe courtesy of Southern Living Cookbook)

Ingredients: 2 steaks (I used filet mignon), 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 shallot (finely chopped), 1/4 cup of butter (softened), 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh tarragon

Sprinkle the filets evenly with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper.  Place a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot; add oil.  Cook fillets in hot oil 2 minutes on each side.  Place pan in oven, and bake, uncovered, at 400 for 10-20 minutes (depending on your desired level of cooking)

For the tarragon butter, cook shallot in 1 teaspoon butter in small skillet over medium-high heat until tender, stirring often; cool 2 minutes.  Combine shallot, remaining butter, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and tarragon in a small bowl.  Top each steak with it evenly before serving.

AND THE FINISHED DINNER....