Skittle Vodka

With a little down time (it is Spring Break) I've been able to exercise my creative side...

I found this website a few weeks ago and I new I had to try it!  Here are some pictures of my adventure, the website has a great tutorial so I don't need to repeat it here.

Soaking the skittles in vodka

Taste the rainbow!

Straining

Chilling in the freezer!

It was such a fun process and let me tell you it tastes delicious!  It's a bit dangerous :)

Guilty...

... of being completely addicted to this show and loving every minute of it.

The women told all last night.  Not that they actually said anything that was something we didn't already know, Michelle cried the entire time, and Brad essentially told us that he is dumping Chantal and proposing to Emily--if he proposes to anyone {he may want to be the first Bachelor to make a career out of being the Bachelor: third times the charm?}...

Can't wait until next week!

Mood Changers

From my last post I think we can all see that the past couple of weeks have been quite challenging.  It continually amazes me that life can change so quickly from sucky to awesome.

Saturday I had to take the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam {MPRE}.  You have to get a qualifying score on the MPRE in order to sit for the Bar Exam, which unfortunately since I am approaching my final year in law school has become my life's focus.  This test is a little silly.  The test writers try to trick you and the questions are at least 2 paragraphs long and usually the answer is the one that is the most right {meaning there are multiple answers that are actually correct}.  I did not start studying until a few days before because that is what my friends who told have already taken the test told me would be sufficient.  Adding to the aforementioned life lesson learning, studying for the MPRE increased the stress.  Not only did I have the MPRE, but over the weekend I had to prepare to be "on-call" {you are for sure getting called on all week to discuss the readings} in Trust and Estates and take a pre-test for my Counterterrorism class.  Needless to say I was a ball of stress...

After the MPRE was over {I think I did ok, not totally confident}, I headed right to the rink to teach my little Learn to Skate classes.  I told my boss that I was going to be late due to the MPRE so I had someone covering my classes until I got there.  I ended up being a few minutes late, so I threw on my skates and got out to my kids.  Only half of them showed up so it made teaching them a whole lot easier--5 girls compared to 11 girls/boys, I'll take it any day!  I had a small break between classes so I did a quick email check before getting ready for my second class.  To my surprise there was an email about our Trusts and Estates class--it was cancelled all week!  That email immediately put a smile on my face and I really wanted to scream, because I really was dreading preparing for that class.  I finished teaching my classes {the second class was late--two sisters are my only students--and they were in a typical teenage mood--"I just can't do this waltz jump, today"}.  Since I didn't have to prep for class Jenny and I watched about 4 hours of Criminal Minds and then went out to dinner.  A perfectly relaxing Saturday--after the MPRE of course.

Sunday-- we decided to head to the rink to watch American Cup Finals to support our friends that were racing--we ended up spending all morning at the rink, then going home and having naps!

To get back to my original point--it's amazing how one day, for me Saturday--can change your entire mindset.  I went from mopey and feeling a little sorry for myself, to having an AMAZING few days--all because of the events of Saturday...

Life Lessons

I have discovered over the past two weeks that I still have so many life lessons to learn {not that I am surprised}.

Here are some things that I have learned:

1.  You can't trust everyone.  I did know this before the events of the past week but I wasn't willing to believe it.  I have a tendency to be very open with people, I am not good at hiding things {so if you want to know something about me just ask} so I just tell you how it is.  This has gotten me into minor trouble in the past and being in law school has definitely effected my willingness to talk openly {you become very jaded and untrusting}.  Somethings are better left unsaid.  I am trying to develop restraint, slowly but surely.

2.  Hindsight is 20/20.  ALWAYS.

3.  Ask before you act.  This is what we tell our coaches, administrators, and student-athletes in NCAA Compliance but I never really thought about applying it to my life.  It is a bad idea to assume that your current situation is the same as your past experiences even if the two are in the same industry.  This might seem obvious, but drama can coming from something that has never been an issue before so you might never even think to ask.

4.  Rumors spread FASTER than wildfire in a drought.  Within one day several versions of the event, none of which might actually be true, will be public knowledge.

5.  Don't put it in writing unless you are willing to see it again in an unfriendly setting.  This has been my rule since my first year of law school.  Nearly every case we read has something about information that someone wrote down, emailed, left a voicemail, or other form of communication that cannot be totally rebutted.  If what you are writing is something that you are willing to see again, specifically in a situation where the writing is being used against you, go for it, write away.  Before I send an email I think to myself "would I be ok if someone other than the recipient saw this or if someone wanted to use it against me," if the answer is yes then I click send, if not I revise until I would be comfortable seeing it again.  The same rule applies to text messages which tend to be sent more on a whim and are more susceptible to being shown around.  The portability of cell phones has increased our chance to make a fool of ourselves.  You are never assured that the person you are sending the message to is going to be the first person or the only person to read what you wrote.  I am especially susceptible to this one because I have my phone with me 24/7 and if you want to reach me texting is the best way.  I can't always talk but I can always read.  Even as I write this I am listening to a lecture and my phone is less than an inch from my keyboard.

6.  Don't drink and text.  This one gets many people into trouble and of course spawned the hilarious website Texts From Last Night, but not only can you send something that is embarrassing, you can also send something that can be totally misinterpreted.  Misinterpretation can lead to rumors and as we learned in #4 rumors spread faster than you think they might...

I hope that someone can benefit from the lessons I have learned and I will continue learning in my Adventure in Adulthood!