My Music Wednesday...

There's something about the combination of the lyrics/melody/beat of this song that is just irresistable to me. It's called Find a Way by Safetysuit. Enjoy!

Yumm-O...

Since I've essentially stopped couponing (I finally decided that I just didn't have the time or the inclination anymore), I've been doing a lot more impulse purchasing. Most of the time, I regret it, but every now and then, I stumble upon an amazing find.

On Saturday, I impulsively grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns ice cream.

Holy. Cow.

I can't explain the deliciousness of this stuff. I mean, it's like chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream... except with cinnmamon. Don't let the "caramel" ice cream description throw you off... it really tasts like a vanilla ice cream with a hint of cinnamon. Seriously y'all. It's a really good thing I can only find Ben & Jerry's in pint-sized containers...

Tales from a lawyer and an engineer...

We had a GREAT weekend! I always love celebrating Easter because, apart from the bunnies and eggs, it's a time where a large portion of our country celebrates the resurrection of Jesus.

And although yesterday I mostly vegged around and stayed lazy while Micah fished, we spent the whole day today with our families. My cute aunts orchestrated another Abbott Amazing Adventure, where all the youngest cousins (plus me and Micah) ran around Josephine looking for clues and performing challenges. We had a blast, although it wore me out... I'm so OLD! Unfortunately, Micah's team beat mine (who's suprised?), but we had fun anyway. :)

Other than that, I don't have much to share, except that I had to tell y'all about the dumb things Micah and I did this weekend. :)

First, yesterday Micah and I spent at least five minutes trying to figure out how to spell "led." Seriously.

And then, we ran into Walmart to pick up a few things (best form of birth control EVER... my ears were ringing from all the screaming by the time we left), and I wanted to buy the newest Harry Potter movie on Blu Ray. We also saw the True Grit Blu Ray on sale for $10(!), so we went ahead and bought that too because we had both been wanting to see the movie. When we got home, we plopped it in the DVD player and realized that it was the old version. The cover even had John Wayne on it, front and center, but we clearly failed to notice that fact.

Apparently a B.S. in engineering and a J.D. don't buy you much, as far as common sense goes. :)

My Music Wednesday...

This one's for my Momma. I really do have the best days with you. :)

Insane...

Last week was insane...

Like crazy insane. (Just in case you were thinking of the non-crazy kind of insane. Wanted to go ahead and make that crystal clear.)

I was in Tyler for trial from Sunday night through Friday, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Truly. Out of abundance of caution, I'm not going to write anything substantive about the trial or verdict, but no matter what, I am just so glad I got to go. Seeing all of the evidence played out in front of the jury just put all of the preparation into a much clearer perspective for me. Because it's one thing to write or respond to a motion. It's quite another to see how the Court's response to that motion can affect the entire presentation of a party's case.

And I'm just in love with patent litigation. Although I'm 100% sure most would disagree with me, it's got to be the most interesting body of law ever. Plus, every case is different because the technology is always different, and I love that.

So, while the frenzy of activity and lack of sleep were exhausting, I was a good kind of tired when I drive back to Dallas on Friday afternoon. And I was so, so excited to come home to Micah and Lilly AND my sweet Aunt Gem and Uncle Larry, who were driving through on their way to see other family. They stayed with us on Friday night but had to go find a hotel late Saturday night after my clumsy self knocked over a scented oil plug-in and the incredibly strong peach smell overtook the house and Uncle Larry's asthma. But we finally got most of the smell out of the house on Sunday and were still able to have lunch at the house with most of the family. We don't get to see Aunt Gem and Uncle Larry very often, so it was definitely a treat! :) We all went to see the new house together, and I'm getting more and more excited to move in!

Micah and I also went fishing on Saturday afternoon at the pond near our house. I caught one little guy (and missed a few, too!), and Micah caught three. Who is surprised? :)

Last night, I curled up on the couch and watched the latest Harry Potter movie, which was just as good as I remembered. Then I spent the rest of the evening reading a book my Mom let me borrow, and it was WONDERFUL! Check out The Island by Elin Hilderbrand. It's a great beachy, summery read.

I hope your weekends were as nice and relaxing as mine was! :)

I'm in Tyler for trial...

... so this week's music post will have to wait until next week! Hope everyone's having a great week! :)

Today...

Today we have...

(1) Gone to the bank
(2) Gotten Micah's oil changed
(3) Gotten our watch batteries replaced
(4) Bought new jeans (for both of us!)
(5) Spent way too much at Bath and Body Works
(6) Eaten yummy Mexican food for lunch
(7) Visited with my Dad and Lori
(8) Gone to Lowe's to buy a plant for the master bedroom
(9) Left Lowe's with a new weedeater and edger
(10) Spread "weed and feed" at the new house (shh... don't tell anyone!)
(11) Dropped by Dad and Lori's again to return their spreader
(12) Sorted through several weeks worth of coupons

Today we have not...
(1) Cleaned our house! (My aunt and uncle are coming to stay with us on Friday, but I'll be in Tyler for trial all week--YAY!--so I've got to get everything cleaned up so Micah doesn't have to do it all himself while I'm gone.) Micah's out mowing, and I got most everything picked up already, but now we've got to do the actual cleaning. Instead I'm blogging... clearly, I'm very disciplined. :)

My Music Thursday... and then some

Holy cow, y'all. I've been busy.

This past Monday, I drove to Tyler (in the midst of a torrential downpour, but that's another story for another day) for a jury selection (actually two!) and a hearing. Somehow during the two judicial internships I did and my time at the DA's office, I missed being able to see a voir dire from start to finish. So I really, really enjoyed getting to see that. (And may I just say that it's amazing to me how many people still have their facebook profiles publicly available?!)

The rest of this week, I have been working, but the main reason that I haven't been blogging is because I've been reading, rather obsessively, during any spare minute I can find. If you've been reading my blog for very long, you probably know that I loooove to read. But you've also probably noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about reading or books in quite awhile. I'm not sure why, but I just haven't felt like reading anything lately. I'm tired when I get home, and I feel bad for spending time alone reading when I could be visiting with Micah, as we're trying to make sure that we have quality time with each another even in the midst of our hectic schedules.

But after several people at work recommended The Hunger Games series, I couldn't resist any longer. I broke down and ordered the first book in the series, and it was delivered on Monday afternoon. I finished it early Tuesday morning.

Yep, they're that good.

I'm not normally into sci-fi (and I definitely wouldn't put this book in the hard-core sci-fi category), and the premise of this book isn't one that would usually draw me in, but this is a page turner, for sure. Here's a super quick rundown. The book is set way in the future, after the United States was destroyed by war, natural disasters, etc. What's left are twelve "districts" (like states) and the "Capitol" (like the government). The people are still normal people, but the government is incredibly oppressive. At some point, one of the districts started a revolution and was obliterated. As punishment and as a reminder, the Capitol requires each district to send two representatives, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to the "hunger games" each year, where each person is pitted against the others and attempts to be the last survivor. (It's not like gladiator-esque fighting to the death, but it is violent at times.)

The story follows one girl who ends up as a competitor in the games. There's a love element to it (which I absolutely need), but it's not over the top. Once you get past the first 60 pages or so, you seriously won't be able to put it down. So that's my pitch. Read The Hunger Games. :)

And as for the song for this week, this is a song by one of my favorite bands right now, Parachute. Enjoy!