Merry Christmas!

As the angels brought tidings of great joy
on that first Christmas morning,
and as the shepherds joined the small family in the stable,
may this Christmas fill you with hope and
may you delight in the closeness of family
and the nearness of God.
My constant prayer for you is peace and joy this Christmas season

Grace and peace,
Teresa

The Sexual Revolution and other random stuff.

Suzanne Fields over at Townhall.com has an interesting article about Heidi Fleiss and some of the effects of the revolution.

There is a touching letter written by the father of one of our dead heroes over at The Mudville Gazette. A must read for those intent on thanking the brave soldiers who are willing to die so that we might live in a free nation.

I've been reading about this mass transit strike in NYC all morning (well, not really all morning), and Michelle Malkin (one of my favorite (and a very prolific) conservative bloggers (check out the link on the right side of the page)) has some words on the subject.

More lawyer stuff...

UPDATE
I realized this morning (Sunday morning 12/18/05) that this was my 100th post! So there it is. The 100th. WooHoo. I think I deserve a cake for this. Not really, 100 is probably just a blip on the screen. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!


"Your lawyer spends a considerable part of his life in doing distasteful things for disagreeable people who must be satisfied against an impossible time limit in which there are hourly interruptions from other disagreeable people who want to derail the train; and for his blood, sweat, and tears, he receives in the end a few unkind words to the effect that it might have been done better, and a protest at the size of the fee."
William L. Prossner

Now, doesn't that sound like a rewarding profession?????

Stick a fork in me...

I'm done!
Well, done for the next 3 weeks. But,woo hoo - I'm halfway through!
Finals are over for the semester, and I am thrilled!
Okay, though, a quick movie review.

Finding Neverland was a really, really good movie (if you've seen and liked Big Fish, you'd probably like it; well, even if you haven't, it's a good movie).

Shorter study break

I've been working most of the day (after church of course) with just a couple of fairly short breaks, so I thought, as I listen to Michael Buble's "Home" (he has a really good voice and I really like this song), that I would post a list. I'm not big on lists, but I ran across this one on someone else's blog and I thought maybe I'd try it out. We'll see how it goes. It actually started as 7 lists of 7, but I deleted two of her lists and added three of my own, so now it's 8 lists of 7 which probably messes up the whole 7 of 7 theme (is 49 a magic number?), but I like my lists better.

Seven things I hope to do before I die:
1. Go on another mission trip (or two or more...)
2. Go skydiving
3. Travel to Syria (maybe in conjunction with number one...)
4. Read "War and Peace" (maybe after I finish "The Brothers Karamozov" I can continue my Russian literature obsession)
5. See the Rolling Stones in concert (Actually, that's more before they die; or, if not the Rolling Stones, maybe some other classic rock band that is still around and still worth seeing live)
6. Serve on a jury (that will probably never happen - no one wants lawyers on their jury)
7. See a whale

Seven things I cannot do
1. Lie (I won't play poker with people because of this)
2. Drive straight to wherever I am going (I always seem to find the roundabout way there)
3. Drink a beer (ewwwwww - the smell is enough to make me sick - not that I've ever really tried, I guess)
4. Get into "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (I don't know how many times I've opened that book...)
5. Kill spiders (creepy little things...)
6. Watch scary movies with my eyes open
7. Enjoy getting somewhere late (sorry Nicole)

Seven things I say often:
1. "interesting"
2. "it was funny"
3. "rrrright"
4. "I'm just sayin'"
5. "I don't know what to tell you"
6. "It was just frustrating"
7. "You wuined our wole wacation" (Okay, I really don't say that often, but I had to throw it in there for Kevin ;))

Seven books or book series I love - what, only seven??!!??!!
1. The Bible
2. Lord of the Rings (including "The Hobbit" and "The Silmarillion") (Tolkien)
3. The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)
4. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
5. Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky)
6. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (Wrede) (what can I say, I like children's books :))
7. The Screwtape Letters (Lewis)

Seven movies I would watch over and over:
1. Fiddler on the Roof (what, you didn't think it'd be on here???)
2. Remember the Titans (speaking of, haven't watched it in awhile...)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean (and they're coming out with a sequel - oh boy!)
4. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
5. Probably the Chronicles (if they come out with all of them - or just the first if that's all they end up doing)
6. Finding Nemo
7. Secondhand Lions

Seven songs I can't get enough of:
1. Michael Buble's "Home" (at least right now - I really like his voice)
2. Switchfoot - "The Blues"
3. David Crowder Band - "You are My Joy" and "Our Happy Home" (those are fun in the car with the bass and the volume turned wayyyyy up)
4. Lifehouse - "Come Back Down"
5. Bebo Norman - "Nothing without You"
6. "Do You Love Me" - from the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack
7. "Kiss the Girl" - from the Little Mermaid Soundtrack (I think that song is funny - there's a lobster or crab or something singing)

Seven words or phrases I wish I had the opportunity to use more often:
1. propinquity (means nearness, but sounds much cooler)
2. Occam's razor (means that the simpler of two options is probably correct)
3. Sword of Damocles (Greek mythology - Damocles spends eternity with a sword hanging by a thread above him)
4. geriatric (means old, but this sounds much nicer)
5. effectuate
6. "unusual need for unquestioning adherence"
7. stymie

Seven television shows I would watch if I had the time (I'm not sure I can think of seven)
1. Law and Order
2. Law and Order: SVU
3. The Cosby Show
4. Whose Line is it Anyway
5. The Daily Show with Jon Stuart
6. The Colbert Report
7. West Wing (ooo, looky there, I did think of 7!)

Okay, that's enough listing from me, it turned into a little longer break than I anticipated. I'm getting back to studying and then to sleep. Everyone have a good Monday!

Forget studying!

Studying is for the birds. Preferably the ones that fly over my car. Not really - I really am studying sometimes this week/weekend. I just take frequent long breaks (nothing to lose one's health or mental state over - although, there are people out there who would say I've already lost the latter). So, took a couple of 'study breaks' this weekend to have some kind of fun!

Switchfoot, Lifehouse, Howie Day...




What an awesome concert!!!

Then,


NARNIA!! I wish I could walk through a wardrobe and end up in a different world (a world that has never heard of law school...). It was a great movie - stayed pretty close to the book (I love it when they do that).

Anyway, an all around great weekend with minimal school means that starting tomorrow, nose to the grindstone (I don't know exactly what that means and it sounds painful, but there it is nonetheless). I did get some studying done, though, so it's not all as bad as it sounds AND Monday's test is over my favorite subject, so it shouldn't be too bad. But, we shall see - tomorrow, I'll be studying about the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments all day, so if anyone wants to join me and hear me rant and rave about the breakdown of our criminal justice system, give me a call, people are always welcome!

Random pictures

I couldn't think of anything substantive to post about tonight, but I felt like posting something, so I thought I'd comment for a moment on finals and then post some random pictures. I am in the middle of finals - one down, four to go (but, two of those are take-home). Tomorrow is an evidence final - any volunteers to take it for me? Okay, now, on to random (and unfortunately, fairly old) pictures (and since I've figured out how, with captions!


Fun with Christmas tinsel! This is my former roommate Nicole (no, she's not 'former' because of this picture).



Kevin graduating (last spring of course) - doesn't he look educated?



Nicole's little sister. Sorry Becca, I think you have a few more years before you can get your own flat hat.

Okay, I'd post more, but I can't get them to work at the moment. So, keep watching for them while I avoid studying next week!

You have to be kidding me!

I found a new blog this morning during my 10 minute study break (amazing how much one can do in 10 minutes). Anyway, there's a very interesting article on it today about a campaign by atheists at the University of Texas to get students to trade in their Bibles (and other religious literature) for pornography, calling it 'smut for smut'. What an appalling thing to read!

Study Break!

I don't know how much of a 'study break' Saturday night was because I didn't get much studying done all day (kinda like right now!), but it was fun, nonetheless, and I want to call it a study break if only to make myself feel better about finals, so I'm going to. Saturday night, Omar and Thomas cooked some really good food for a bunch of fun people. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera quit on me after 4 photos, but those are fun, so here you go!

And, to my credit, I think I have finally figured out how to post pictures where I want them in the post so I can put captions underneath. How marvelous!



Here are Kevin and Thomas (cutting dessert, I think, but who knows what they're doing?)



Here are some of the group enjoying each other's company after dinner.


This is the same photo pretty much (only with the guys cut out, sorry guys), but the girls got upset that they weren't allowed a chance to pose, so I gave the people what they wanted. (although it looks like Andrea was posing in the earlier picture - she's the only one who was paying enough attention to know that someone had a camera, I guess)



And here are some of the rest of the group having fun with another camera. I really wish that my batteries hadn't given out.

File Extension?

Hmm...it's been awhile since I've posted anything. So, here's something rather random.
I was looking for something online, and apparently I typed in something that wasn't too helpful, and the first result was some quiz on bbspot.com: what file extension are you. So, I thought I'd post the results:


Which File Extension are You?

Also, just as a side note, go OU - well done this weekend!

Around the web in 1,824 seconds

Everyone stop for a second and figure out how many minutes that is because I am not going to tell you ;). Okay, now, on to our trip around the web for this evening:

Hold on to your children's diapers!
Phyllis Schlafly discusses the latest example of the government taking parental control out of the hands of the parent. No big surpise that this decision comes from a Ninth Circuit that has produced fruity decisions many times in the past.

Journalist writing about journalist!
Suzanne Fields (one of my fave columnists discovered this year) writes about Maureen Dowd (NY Times 'journalist'). I would link to an article written by Maureen that I read a few days ago (an excerpt from what I'm sure is a not very good book), but the NY Times website does not allow you to get older articles without paying a fee, so, sorry everyone. Ms. Dowd has a new book coming out titled, Are Men Necessary? As Suzanne graciously points out, the book leaves the readers with questions, not answers. Something tells me that they are, but that may be because I have read Genesis and Ephesians. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Judges don't have funny bones, a lawyer should know that!
Apparently some lawyer has been posting anonymous comments about judges (and justices) around the country. He has recently been 'outed' (remind anyone of the 'Plame affair'?) and is now a little nervous (I can't imagine why - what if he has to go before one of the judges he's written about?).

Holiday shopping already?
First, Thanksgiving is next week, why is everything Christmas already out? Second, msn.com has done what it does for every holiday (including, I think, galleryfurniture.com day), although this is only the first installment for Christmas. The perfect gift for a man. The perfect gift for a woman. I guess what irks me is that I've never found any of their 'perfect' lists to be helpful.

The internet may soon undergo an overhaul.
Apparently the group who has been quietly managing the world wide web is about to lose its lease on whatever one has a lease on to do that. So, the world leaders are meeting in Tunisia to discuss the fate of the global community. Should be interesting. The most intriguing part of the article is the fact that the countries most vocally opposed to the group managing the net being privatized and centered in the US are countries with histories of repression and censorship (although most of the rest of the world is also against it). Or maybe it's the fact that in Uzbekistan, the government changes the pages its citizns can view without the citizens ever being aware of it. The article also gives a quick and dirty summary of how some countries deal with their citizens being online. Who knows how this one will turn out.

A little celebrity news:
Death row vigils bore me.
Not really, but Snoop Dogg going to death row vigils does. First, why is this news, and second, what makes him think that this convict does not deserve the death penalty?

I think I prefer Oprah's list (and I almost cried when she put a couple of my favorite books on her list).
50 Cent has some new books. I don't know if he's actually going to write them himself or if he'll get a ghostwriter like Hillary Clinton did or if other people are going to be writing books and he's just going to put them on his list.

And a little bit of sports news:
Congrats to OsU for beating a highly ranked Texas Tech team. Hope OU can follow that performance.

OU has crept into the BCS standings. Granted, at #25, but still, we're on the list!

K-State loses their coach!
Bill Snyder has announced that he will resign at the end of this season. That's really too bad, I liked him.

Long awaited answer...

Okay, so I promised to post the Mad Lib stories if I got any responses. I got two, so here we go:

Nicole's
On Tuesday, William was driving down the street in Toronto. William saw a Misal restaurant and decided to stomp for lunch. William stopped the Maybach and got out. William walked into Misal and saw Jessica. Jessica waved at William and exercised. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a water buffalo jumped out of the kitchen and drank. William screamed and Jessica yelled Holy Crap! Then the water buffalo ran out the front door of Misal. He then investigated all the way to the city zoo and locked himself back in his cage. William bought with relief and Jessica sailed and went home. William and Jessica never spoke to each other again.

Megan's:
On Monday, Ryan Cameron Dexter was driving down the street in Oklahoma City. Ryan saw a Furr's Cafeteria and decided to dance for lunch. Ryan stopped the Pinto and got out. Ryan walked into Furr's and saw Megan Joann Ford. Megan waved at Ryan and shuffled. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a kitten jumped out of the kitchen and fluttered. Ryan screamed and Megan yelled What the Crap? Then the kitten ran out the front door of restaurant name. He then teetered all the way to the city zoo and locked himself back in his cage. Ryan moved with relief and Megan skipped and went home. Ryan and Megan never spoke to each other again.

Whew, that's a lot more work than I gave it credit for. Oh well, it's a fun exercise :).

Mad Libs

I think people have stopped reading my blog, but I don't really care. I got this really fun idea a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn't had time to mess with it since then. However, I thought that I'd try it out tonight. Here's the dealio: I need some help coming up with a story, a very short story. I don't know if anyone remembers the old mad lib exercises where one would do this, but I thought it might be fun to try one. Here's what I need:
1. day of the week
2. proper name
3. name of a city
4. name of a restaurant
5. action verb
6. name of a car
7. proper name
8. action verb
9. animal
10. action verb
11. exclamation
12. action verb
13. action verb
14. action verb

If I get any responses, I will post the story(ies) later this week :).

How many...

How many law students does it take to find the the OBA (Oklahoma Bar Association) Conference in downtown OKC?

4 and a policeman (who actually said he didn't know of a hotel called the Sheraton, did we actually mean the Hilton?). No, my dear serviceman, we meant the Sheraton. Why oh why are there so many one-way and dead end streets in downtown OKC? And why oh why don't I know my way around down there better? Both questions racing through my mind as I tried to carry on a conversation with my passenger and remember at the same time exactly where the Sheraton was and where one could park near it (we finally called someone else - the 4th law student - for exact directions). Boo on navigation without a map. This actually may deserve its own top 10 list, so here it is,
The top ten signs that you are a lost law student (we weren't lost, by the way, we knew exactly where we were; we just weren't sure how to get where we wanted to be):

10. you wish you were out in practice so you could be thinking about a client and billing the client for the time that you are spending getting somewhere
9. you actually become concerned that you have not read for your classes next week
8. you start thinking about ways you can get out of a parking ticket if you just leave the car and start walking
7. you stop a police officer to ask for directions, and are disappointed when he doesn't ask to search your car
6. you drive around looking for signs of the conference you are trying to attend, knowing that an organization of lawyers such as the OBA would certainly have signs about a block or two away to lower their liability in case something happens
5. you waste the gas driving around the block because you know there is a closer parking garage so you don't have to walk as far in your heels and business suit
4. you waste the gas driving around the block because you know that there has to be a cheaper parking garage because you spent your last couple of dollars on lunch
3. when you stop the police officer for directions, you consider asking him if he's ever effected a 4th Amendment violative search
2. you are so engaged in a conversation about the 11th Amendment that you miss your turn twice
and the number one sign that you might be a lost law student:
you are so busy looking for where you need to be that you have stopped thinking of people you could sue

Okay, not as good of a list as the last, but still fairly true. And, the first line in the post really is the question that my friend asked the person we called for directions (I have to give credit where it is due!). I thought it was so funny I actually asked if I could use it (wouldn't want to run afoul of any copyright laws :)).

My first top ten list!

Ten signs that you are an ill law student:
10. You accidentally snap at a professor when he refuses to call on you
9. No one can hear the Evidence professor over your coughing, and that is the only reason you decide to get cough drops.
8. You consider taking a nap in Constitutional Law even though you actually are prepared for class.
7. You consider skipping class to take a nap, not because you have not read for class
6. You cannot hear the Constitutional Law professor when he approaches you after class to thank you for correcting him in class
5. Your cousin takes credit for the correction spoken about in number 6
4. You actually play spider solitaire in class because your brain cannot force you to pay attention
3. You can't complain about a class because you can't stop coughing long enough to get out the words: "I hate that class"
2. You threaten to cough on someone who forgets to bring you medication
And the number
1. sign that you are an ill law student: you feel lousy, but you cannot think of anyone to sue over it!

I admit that some of those actually characterize a well law student (numbers 7 and 4, specifically).

Alito it is!

So, Miers does the President a favor by withdrawing her nomination. Thus begins the rehabilitation of the presidency. No one knows if it will be successful, and to be truthful, not everyone believes that rehabilitation is necessary - we must stand behind the man we elected, after all. However, Bush seems to have been alienating his base - the people who elected him, so maybe rehabilitation is appropriate, if not necessary.
I have to laugh at the fatuous (I knew I'd use it somewhere along the line since the challenge, and I think this is a particularly appropriate usage) hopes of the Democrats. Chuck Shumer was already on television this morning stating how he was so 'surprised and disappointed' that the President appointed a justice who will 'divide the nation' instead of 'uniting the nation.' I understand that Miers seemed rather like one of those justices, since she was recommended by Harry Reid and seemed (although, she never made it to the confirmation hearings, so we may never know for sure) to be like another O'Connor who seemed to decide a case based on the way the wind was blowing over China on a given weekend. Alito seems to be very qualified and capable of holding his own - I am really looking forward to the confirmation hearings.
A little background for those of you who may not have looked him up yet: he has been on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals since 1990. Appointed by Bush Sr., he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. Let me repeat that: unanimously. Not only was he confirmed unanimously, but apparently, many of the Senators also made very, very approving, flattering comments about his impartiality and his ability to interpret the Constitution and how he would be the type of jurist the Americans deserve. Another very intersting tidbit - the Third Circuit is the Court through which Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 510 U.S. 1309 (1994), the case that affirmed the principle adopted by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1971), came. Judge Alito wrote the dissent in that case at the Third Circuit, his dissent was cited and quoted by Rhenquist's dissent at the Supreme Court level.
The Democrats are already discussing filibustering.
Let the confirmation games begin!

Miers...

So Miers threw in the towel. I don't know if this is for the best, and I suppose we'll have to wait and see who President Bush appoints next. It makes me wonder why? Was it the fact that she didn't seem to have the requisite number of votes? Was it the fact that her name was being smeared all over the news by both the right and the left? Who knows. The one thing I hope now is that President Bush appoints a good conservative justice!

Childhood 'Dreams'...

When I was younger, much younger, I wanted to be a veterinarian....I wanted to be a dancer....I wanted to be a singer....I wanted to be a basketball player.....I wanted at some point to be a policewoman....
Then I decided I wanted to be a lawyer.....go to school in Austin, TX.....live for the rest of my life in New York or Florida in a one bedroom apartment.....
So the lawyer part I haven't given up on, but:
I'm a bit squeamish, no anatomy for me...
I have two left feet...
I only sing in big groups...
The two left feet again...
I don't really know what happened to the police gig idea...
I became a Sooner - I now dislike anything to do with burnt orange...
Crime...
hurricanes...
I don't like to live alone...

Life happens in strange ways sometimes. I noticed something about those, though. Many of them have to do with being the center of attention (call me a sanguine ;)). I just thought it was very interesting how God has changed my dreams and my life as I've given more and more of it over. Now I dream of changing the world, of bringing justice to those less fortunate - here or somewhere else in the world. I'm excited to see whether/how God will change those dreams (I realize that they are much more abstract than a dream to be a famous singer). I don't know what will happen in the future, but what I do know and take great comfort in is that if 'my' dreams are not in God's will, as long as I place my hand in His, He will change them and make me perfectly content to be where He puts me.
What were your childhood dreams? And what are you doing now? And, perhaps the more important question - can you see how God changed your dreams?

Eternity...

I was going to write and send a very complaining email this evening. The person I was going to send this to did not know that he/she was going to receive such an email, but if he/she had known, he/she would be pleased that he/she did not receive such an email. Names have been excluded just in case I decide to send this email later (you never know). I decided not to send the email because I have a Matthew West song stuck in my head.
"I'm holding all of my life
up to the light
the light of eternity
I know what I should let go
I see what matters most
in the light of eternity
I want You to see me shine
in the light of eternity"
That's the chorus (i.e. what I have stuck in my head). What does that have to do with an email? I'm glad you asked ;). I realized as I was about halfway through the email that in the light of eternity (see, see, the lyrics...), what I was about to spend a good part of half an hour composing doesn't matter. I think the song is actually speaking of something more important than an email - probably about how we spend our lives. However, I also think that it has applicability to more than just how we spend our lives in a big way - namely, to how we spend our time and, more appropriate in my email situation, our attitudes. My attitude was one that was not glorifying to God. My attitude was not one that I would like to have for eternity, so why would I even want to have that attitude for 5 minutes (much less the half hour I would have spent on the email)? I think I'd much rather spend my time using my attitude to glorify God. So, I've decided to get rid of my complaining attitude and replace it with one that is much more cheerful (at least on the issue I was going to write about). So, I have been once again exhorted (this time by lyrics in a song) to examine the aspects of my life (the song does say, "all of my life") in the light of eternity, not in the light of the moment or in the light of this world (now there's a scary thought).
"Rejoice in the Lord, I will say it again: Rejoice!" Phil. 4:4

Moose? Mousse?

I saw this 'suggested search' on msn.com and had to laugh: "News: Moose collisions". So, I clicked on it and these are some of the stories that came up:

"Landing in Alaska? Fear moose collisions no more!"

"Airport gets anti-moose mat"

and the best headline?

"Oh deer, traffic getting hazardous" - really about a moose-car collision.

However, if you search on google for "mousse collisions", you get mostly French translation sites. How funny is that?

Okay, you've had your moose for the day.... or is that mousse?????