The Royal Wedding

I'll admit it.  I caught Royal Wedding fever.  I never caught Bieber-fever, Jersey Shore-itis, or needed an American Idol-ectomy.  I was long overdue for a full-on pop culture obsession.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect.  During my first week of exams, the extensive Today Show coverage was enough to get me out of bed and it was just the distraction I needed Friday morning to get over the anxiety I was feeling about my property exam.


It was beautiful, a real life fairy tale.  I'd long been in love with Prince William with the hopes of becoming Princess Andrea and being able to wear a tiara everyday of my life.  But I don't think I could have looked as stunning as this:

[photo cred]

I mean really.  Check out this dress!

[photo cred]

She looked like Grace Kelly.  The whole thing was wonderfully romantic.  I even shed a few tears when William saw her for the first time and said, "You look beautiful."  It happened a little before this moment:

[photo cred]

I did unfortunately miss the kiss(es) because I had to go take a gigantic test, but thanks to BBC America I got to see the instant replay later in the day.


A lot of people expressed to me (either to my face of via facebook) how silly this whole royal wedding obsession was.  And well, I have to say I honestly disagree.  


For the little girl inside me, it was so exciting to see a real fairy tale unfold yesterday morning.  Princess Catherine was plucked out of obscurity by a handsome prince.  They fell in love.  He proposed.  She wore a beautiful gown and a tiara and now she's a princess.  And even though yesterday's ceremony was supposed to be a solemn occasion, every time they looked at each other they were beaming.  Silly as it may be, that made me hopeful that just maybe there's someone out there who will look at me like that one day, even if he's not second in line to the British throne.


For the grown up inside me, I was so happy to get to witness happy news.  One thing I have been dedicated about doing is keeping up with the news.  Everyday I tune in and hear about civil unrest, missing children, earthquakes, genocide, untrustworthy politicians, natural disasters and other reminders about how dark and scary this world really is.  That part of me enjoyed witnessing a happy world event.  No it doesn't affect my life.  And no it doesn't take away from the severity of other world events.  But it did remind me and, I believe, billions of other people across the globe that good things happen just every once in a while.  And when they do, its perfectly ok to stop for a moment and celebrate them.


And for that reason, I really do wish William and Catherine, a very happily ever after.

[photo cred]

Unexpected Side Effects Include

We all know (because I've pretty well documented) my relatively new-found love/obsession with running.  I like to think that someone will stumble upon my little blog and I'll inspire someone to lace up their sneaks and pound the pavement.  I've blogged about it before, and I'm sure I'll blog about it again.  This post is kind of the opposite sort of post - its about the unintended consequences of becoming a running devotee....


The great thing about running (just bear with me, because its the equally awful thing about running) is that your body becomes dependent on it.  The runner's high, the stress buster, the physical exhaustion after a good, long run.  Like milk, it does a body good.  


The bad thing about running is that your body becomes dependent on it.  So when life, say in the form of finals, interrupts your life and all of its regularly scheduled programming, things get a little crazy.  Like me for example.


Its been a while since I've been able to get a run in.  Like a week.  A week is too long for me to go without running.  Around day 4 I notice my irritability heightens.  Little things drive me nuts.  Loud sneezes, having to empty the dishwasher, communicating with unsuspecting and innocent bystanders.  


Day 5 my muscles start to ache.  I know its ALL mental, but its like they're screaming at me "USE ME!!!!  USE ME!!!!"  I can usually stave it off if I can make it to the gym or do a set or two of squats.  But if left to my own devices and unable to exercise....I wind up with a wicked case of the jimmy legs a la Kosmo Kramer.  


By the time a full week has rolled around, my ability to process information and focus has completely left me.  At this point my brain is running faster than a five year old on a sugar high while my legs are jittery and twitching left, right and center.  


So what does this mean?  Well for starters it means I'm a human equivalent of a dog that gets daily exercise.  Without it, I go crazy and tear up the house (except I usually focus my extra energy into cleaning UP the house, which actually is a positive benefit to this whole thing).  It also means that I need to make my daily run a priority.  Especially right now when I need to be able to focus my brain on solving the world's contractual issues instead of obsessing over the relative cleanliness of my apartment.  


So watch out world (or at least the greater Charleston area)!  Tomorrow morning, a mad woman with enough pent up energy to rival that of an unexercised border collie is hitting the streets, and its not going to be pretty.

Law School Exam Survival Guide

It's that time of year again!  Finals!  YIKES!!!!


One of my least favorite things about law school is the grading method.  See, we study, HARD, for three and a half months.  Reading, taking notes, reading, going to class, reading, studying in groups, reading, doing practice problems, reading, making flashcards, reading, outlining, and did I mention reading?  After all of this, you kind of are reduced down to the legal principles and theories that have been consuming your life since January (honestly I can't remember the last time I had a conversation with someone that didn't end with me babbling incoherently about negligence or property rights).  And how are you evaluated?  ONE test.  ONE test decides your ENTIRE grade.  


It's a lot of pressure.  You want to do well for a lot of reasons including the fact that this stuff has taken over your life for the past 100 days to the point that non law school people (including your parents) are getting weary with you and your recommendations to stay in the class action suit they were notified (hear that Mom and Dad?!?).


It's a stressful time.  So much material to review, learn, commit to memory so that its readily accessible on test day.  How is a little law student to survive?!?


Well I've compiled some of the things that I think are essential to surviving the two week hell that is the exam period.


1.  Yoga pants/comfy lounge shorts
     I lived in this pair during winter exams.  Seriously, they stayed on my body until I did laundry when I washed them and then immediately put them back on.  Best.pants.ever.  Its warmer now, so I'm currently rocking my Nike running shorts, but I have a feeling a trip to Target is on the agenda for later this evening for a pair of these.


2.  Running shoes
    In college, I ate my stress.  I also gained about 40 pounds over four years.  In an effort to avoid that, I'm trying this new thing where I work off my stress instead.  Its way better.  I even lost weight last finals period.  Honestly, I'll just be happy to maintain my weight during the next two weeks.  The half hour of exercise also helps me sleep better, which helps me focus more when I'm studying which helps me do better on exams.  All in all, this is a much better plan than the eat-my-feelings method I prescribed to in college.  Really, its win-win-win.


3.  Coffee/Diet Coke
     We all know I'm a caffeine addict.  I don't know if I'd make it through without the stuff.


4.  Wall calendar
     Looking at it reminds me that my current hell is temporary.  I can see my future and it involves freedom, sunshine, and the ocean.


5.  iTunes/Pandora/Complete Friends series on DVD
    I've never been one who can study in complete silence.  I start thinking about how quiet it is and get anxious that people will be annoyed when I sneeze or cough or make any kind of movement/noise at all.  Background noise helps me tune all of that out.  Plus I've only seen every episode of friends at least 25 times, it doesn't distract me anymore because I know I could quote it line for line if I really wanted to.

That's all for now!  

New York State of Mind

For just about my entire life, I've wanted to live in New York City.  Not for long.  Just a year, maybe two.  When I was in my teens I romanticized meeting a celebrity in the market, running in Central Park, drinking coffee in Central Perk, heading to the Bronx to catch a Yankees game or to the Broadway to see the latest Tony award winner.


When I decided to go to law school, this was one dream I realized I may never experience.  Since attorneys take the bar in the states where they want to practice and because comity laws can be restrictive and hard to navigate around, I came to the realization that I may never live in the Big Apple, but I was ok with it.  Not long after starting law school, I came to the realization that South Carolina is not where I want to settle down but that the Virginia bar would be much better suited for my future career goals.  Then the lights of D.C. were motivating me.  The museums!  The history!  The politics!  And I was ok with it.


Until tonight.  And New York State of Mind (a la Billy Joel) played on my iTunes.  For some reason, that song makes me feel like the city is speaking to ME!  And all over again, I'm head over heels in love with my romanticized notions of NYC.  


I think I have to remove it from my iTunes.

I Got Over It!

Charleston is home to this bridge:

photo credit: here

Every year, Charleston closes down this bridge for the annual Cooper River Bridge Run.  Its a 10K and attracts about 40,000 runners.  Far and away bigger than any other race I've ever run.


In order to fully understand this story, we need to rewind a few months.  I was deep in my half marathon training and talking with my roommate when the topic of the Bridge Run came up.  She said she was going to run it and I quickly followed suit, never being one to be outdone.  


Flash forward to January when two important things happened.  First, we got our syllabus for the spring semester and had a MAJOR paper due the day before the run.  Second, I tried to run the bridge.  The bridge has a bike/walking path that's open for people to use on a daily basis.  One beautiful January afternoon in Charleston, I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and give that bridge the good old college try.  Not only would it help me with my half marathon training, but it would also help me get ready for the bridge run.


So off I go.  I drive over, park, pay for parking, and head for the bridge trail.  I continued onward (and upward) for about three minutes before panic set it...FEAR OF HEIGHTS!!!!  I was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming fear that I was going to lose my key, it would fall into the Cooper River and I would be stuck in Mt. Pleasant FOREVER.  I was worried that a car would fly over the guardrail and hit me.  I was afraid to run next to edge of the bridge for fear that it would suddenly collapse and I'd fall into the river.  I couldn't stand to be near the edge, so I ran in the bike lane which only made me afraid that I'd get hit by a bike, thrown onto the main road, where I'd quickly be hit by oncoming traffic.


Still, I was determined.  Onward, upward.  Constantly checking my watch.  Frantically trying not to hyperventilate.  I made it about two more minutes before I could FEEL THE CARS whizzing by and all paranoia and fear took over and forced me to turn back where I pledged I'd never run the bridge again.


Ok, so fast forward to April 1.  I'd just handed in the biggest paper of my academic career.  My nerves were shot and I hadn't been soundly sleeping like I usually do.  Needless to say I crashed into bed only to be awoken too soon thereafter for the damned bridge run.  It took about everything in me to wake up, get dressed and get to the starting line.  


Honestly, this was not the most fun race I'd ever run.  I felt queasy when I woke up in the morning.  My legs felt like lead.  But I kept them moving, one foot in front of the other.  Over the bridge.  Up and up and up.  I didn't look to the left or to the right and wound up taking pictures like this during the run:

But still I made it over.  It took me longer than I thought, but I finished the race.  I can't say that I'm proud of my time, but a lot of factors affect that.  But I can say that I'm proud that I faced my fear and made it over the bridge.  There's always next year to set a PR...

The Friend Zone

This might be hard to believe, but I don't date much.  And my not much I pretty much mean not at all.  I know you're reading this in utter disbelief, but its true!  As my friends have paired off, I've become the one who's easily identified as the odd-numbered wheel - never part of a pair but constantly surrounded by couples.  My problem is that I always wind up in "the friend zone."


For anyone who lives under a rock, "the friend zone" is what happens when you meet a guy, develop feelings for him, and then become his pal who is a gal instead of his gal pal.  The "friend zone" is my bread and butter.


I have a few reasons for my perpetual singledom.  Like I don't think I ever really learned how to talk to guys like that.  I've always had guy friends and we've always talked about guy things.  I like sports.  I like to drink beer.  I don't really like eating out at fancy restaurants.  A baseball game is my idea of a great night out.  I like to laugh.  I'm loud.  I'm stubborn.  I'm opinionated.  I don't apologize for these things.


While I blame my perpetual singledom on a lot of things I know that its really rooted in my own insecurities.  I know that I'm fun and smart and funny (at least every once in a while, but hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while), but I've never felt like I'm a particularly pretty girl.  I know I'm not un-attractive, but I never look at myself in the mirror and say, "Damn!  What a smoking babe!"


I had the very great pleasure of having dinner with a dear college friend last night.  I was regaling him with my lack of dating woes and he gave me some really great advice.  He told me that if I really wanted those things, that I was going to have to make it happen.  If I like a guy, I should actually DO something about it, but that I need to be prepared to deal with the consequences.


So here I am, still single, but maybe ready to take a chance.  

Cheesy Taco Bake

Before we begin, I have two items of full disclosure.


Full disclosure #1: I love one-pan dishes.  Since you can cook everything in one pan, they HAVE to be easy.  And since you only use one real pan, clean up is a breeze.  


Full disclosure #2: This is one of my favorite, easy recipes.  Its not entirely mine, but what I'm going to share with you is the lightened up version of a Campbell's Kitchen recipe that you can find here.


What you'll need:

• about 1 pound ground beef (I get the leanest beef you can buy)
• 8 whole wheat (read: low carb) tortillas
• 1 cup part skim cheddar cheese
• 1 jar salsa (use your favorite kind)
• 1 10 oz can Light Condensed tomato soup
• 1/2 cup of water
• Franks Hot Sauce.

First, brown the ground beef (or ground white turkey like I used this time).

While that's browning, get out the tortillas and your handy-dandy pizza cutter and cut those tortillas into bite sized squares:

After the beef is browned, pour out any fat and add the water and tomato soup:

Add the salsa...

And the tortilla pieces.

Shake in some Frank's.  As much (or as little) as you'd like.  I like a lot, but that's just me.

Let those simmer to a boil.  Reduce the heat and let everything simmer together for a little while (five minutes-ish).  

Once its all simmered, stir in the cheese.  Cook until it melts.

this is the kind of lite cheese that I like to use

And you're done.  Seriously its that easy.  And its amazingly delicious.  

I like to top with Greek yogurt, but if you feel like living on the edge you can use real sour cream.  Or add more cheese.  I like to add a few more shakes of Frank's.  

Serve it up!  This is definitely enough for 4 meals, especially if you have it with some refried beans and a salad like I do.  Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick, beer, corned beef and cabbage, and all things green, here's a little Irish blessing:

May the road rise to meet you, 

May the wind be always at your back, 

May the sun shine warm upon your face, 

May the rains fall soft upon your fields, 

And, until we meet again, 

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Beware the Ides of March

Because its my birthday!  And for all of you who know me, you know that I'm someone to be afraid of 


There is this wonderful saying "a birthday is just the beginning of another 365 day around trip around the sun."  Today I turned 24 and I'm excited for the next 364 days.  Before I continue, let me just say that 23 was a FANTASTIC year.  It was a momentous year.  I decided to go to law school.  I moved to South Carolina.  I lost about 25 pounds.  I seriously started running.  I became much more comfortable with myself, more confident.  I even started dating-ish again.  It was a good year.


I'm really looking forward to 24.  I don't think that people peak in high school or college (at least I hope they don't) because I like to think that people get better with age- its one of the commonalities people have with wine.


Anyway, I'd like to share a very few pieces of advice I've collected/learned over the past year.


First, when you find that you have friends who treat you a hundred times better than you deserve, you've found your best friend.  For life.  I'm being serious  My very best friend in the whole wide world (MVBFITWWW) Meredith is better to me than I could ever expect or deserve and I love her more than words can ever, ever express (also check out her blog...she's pretty fantastic and quite honestly one of the very best people I know:  http://frugalfinishes.blogspot.com/).

Second, just like the John Lennon song, life really is what happens when your busy making other plans.  Life happens.  Sometimes it happens like you think and sometimes it doesn't.  I honestly believe that it happens the way that it should, that there's a purpose behind everything we do.  Like last year at this time, I never thought I'd now be living in Charleston, SC and enjoying law school more than I could have expected.  But that's what happened and I'm pretty excited for the adventure ahead of me.


Third, while some things change some things still remain the same.  Although I'm now living and writing in new city, experiencing new and different people, places and having new adventures; I am still enjoying the TV show, Friends, more than words can express.  Just goes to show you, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  


Fourth, I am not a morning person.  And I probably never will be.  Hopefully one day I'll be my own boss and have the opportunity to set my own hours (which will be something like 10-2, or 3, I guess I could stand 3 o'clock as quitting time).


Fifth and finally, I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to.  Law school?  Check.  Half marathon?  Check.  Be fantastic?  Double Check.


Okay maybe not so much with the last point, but that's the goal for 24!  Here's to the next 365  day journey!  Twenty-three you were quite an adventure!  I can hardly wait to see what 24 has in store!

Chicken Parmesan

I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but I'm Italian.  Well, part Italian.  You could never tell from looking at me, with my blonde hair and pale skin, but its true.  The only thing that I can trace from my Italianness is the ability to get a tan in the summer and an intense love of food that contains garlic and cheese.


Which explains why I love chicken parmesan.  


Even though I haven't been posting the pictures (or the recipes) my cooking/freezing/reheating plan is going well.  And I have a little bit of time right now so I thought I'd share one of my very favorite recipes - Baked Chicken Parmesan (all the flavor and none of the guilt).


First things first.  This dish NEEDS to go with a glass of wine.  So if you're anything like me and never think to put your white wine in the fridge ahead of time so its actually chilled when you want it, the first thing you will need to do is put the unopened bottle in the freezer.

Now that that's taken care of, you will need: boneless, skinless chicken breast, an egg, italian seasoned breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, fresh garlic, tomato sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese (I get the part skim kind but you could use regular if you're not counting calories):

You will first want to clean and filet the chicken.  I am deathly afraid of getting salmonella, so I have no pictures of this process.  But thin pieces of chicken work best, and filet-ing is the only way to do it!  Once you have clean, fileted chicken, make sure you CLEAN THE ENTIRE KITCHEN WITH CLOROX before proceeding.  


Ok, now that no one is going to catch anything from the raw chicken, set the oven to 350.  And then get to prepping the rest of the ingredients.  You'll need two bowls and a pyrex glass dish.  I usually spray the pyrex with Pam, just to make sure the chicken doesn't stick.  


After that I crack an egg into one bowl and give it a good whisk.  

In the second bowl I mix the seasoning for the chicken.  I use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, a good helping of parmesan cheese, and a generous amount of garlic powder.  I also add just a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Then I take the clean chicken and dip it into the egg, then cover it in the breading, and place it in the Pam-ed dish.

Repeat until you are out of chicken.  And bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

While its baking, peel several cloves of garlic.  In the interest of full disclosure, I love garlic.  I have never had anything that is "too garlicky."  But if you are someone who is not as enthusiastic about garlic, feel free to cut back on the amounts or just omit this step all together.

Once the chicken is out of the oven, place the whole peeled garlic around in the dish and get your tomato sauce.  I like the Ragu tomato and basil because its lite and delicious, but feel free to use your favorite (and bonus points if you make your own).

Pour the sauce onto the chicken until its covered.

Then top with cheese.

Right before you put it back in the oven, it should look kind of like this:

Bake at 350 for another 20 minutes.  During that time the cheese will get nice and melty and the sauce will keep the chicken nice and moist. 

Once its out of the oven, serve it with pasta, some salad and (of course) a glass of wine that should be completely chilled by this point.  This is an easy, healthy, delicious recipe that makes me extremely happy anytime I make it.  Enjoy!