I hope to NEVER need your services!!!

An open later to the best two lawyers in Arizona:

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know I have said this before but I wanted to put it in writing. (Note for those who don't know yet: Yesterday Jen and Matt officially became full fledge lawyers in the state of Arizona.) There was never any doubt in my mind and I could not be happier for two people who will actually go out and do some good in this world with their status. The law profession should be honored to have you two among their ranks. Now the fun beings and I am glad to be here to enjoy the ride with you. Love you both. Oh yeah and I call dibs on the office manager position when you open up Elias & Elias, PLC.

xoxo
britt

One More Thing...

Not to undermine the other post, but if things do not work out, I have many reasons to be happy. To name a couple...

Barbie and Troy fly in tonight and I am really excited they came out to Phoenix.

Also, we are going to the New Kids on the Block concert on Monday night!! I seriously can not wait.

And Barbie is bring that famous NKOTB VHS tape we used to dance to (and eat mac and cheese). Thank goodness Matt and I still have a VCR player. :-)

Still LUV them. :-)

- Jen

Black Friday

Today is the day. It is not an ordinary day; today both of our lives will change. We will either become unemployed lawyers or we will be unemployed adults.

I have never been so nervous about anything in my life.

Point being, we will no longer be students. We have both been students since kindergarten. In the last couple of months, we have been trying to string out being a student as much as possible, but that life has ended.

Passing the bar is a huge accomplishment and I do not want the accomplishment played down. Getting into law school and graduating does not really bring a huge feeling of pride, but passing the bar would be the biggest accomplishment.

Matt and I will both feel blessed to pass the bar and I approach today with much humility. And it is stressful praying that we both will pass. Matt and I worked hard to get through law school - having a relationship of over 200 miles apart and engaging with new people and activities which we had never done before. Tonight it could all pay off. A long distance relationship, in law school in winter, was not fun at all, but it made our relationship stronger.

I have dreamed about being a lawyer my entire life, even my mom will vouch for that. I used to layout in the pool and talk to my mom about becoming a lawyer. I have memories as young as in the fourth grade, even though I was not exactly sure what a lawyer did, I knew they had power to do great things and that is what I wanted – to help people. Even though my actions did not always reflect that I wanted to be in the path of wanting to become a lawyer, I worked hard to overcome those set backs and went to law school. If I became a lawyer today, my lifelong dream will come true today and that is a really big deal to me.

In the end, I know we are blessed with each other and great family and friends, but if we fail, we take it in November and have to wait until May to get results (May being our wedding month). That is a full year after law school graduation. I had hoped to have a legal job before our wedding.

And with the title, I do not mean to make light of the real “Black Tuesday” as well as the days leading up to that terrible day when the stock market crashed in 1929. The economic downturn in this country is incredible and not to be joked about. It is historic. It is affecting every single American.

Time and time we learn, deregulation of the economy is not the way to go. Complete regulation is not the way to go. Nothing in the extremes is advantageous; we need to balance regulations with deregulating certain parts of the economy, although I am, as Democrats are, for more overall regulations.

The individual business person becomes selfish and starts making individualistic decisions with the business, which is why it is so important to have the federal government oversee the economy, often with regulations. The federal government is the most competent organ to regulate the economy, not the individualistic business person. Selfishness prevails and business people get caught up with the "leaky jar syndrome." Once they give in to needs and wants, one just wants more and more; can never "fill" the jar with a leak.

We need to elect Senator Obama (a lawyer). :-)

Lady Justice holding the scales of justice.

So here is to hoping for a better economy and good results tonight. I will be praying for both.

- Jen

Favorite Aspects

I came across a new blog which asked brides (or any groom or happened to stumble upon their site) what is the most unique or favorite aspect of your wedding. This got me thinking and I could not just give one but I did narrow it down to my top two. I know I just posted about Barry planning the honeymoon but it made my top two so this is was my two cents to this blog’s question enjoy…

I think I have a few great wedding ideas up my sleeve but the two that have saved my sanity in this whole wedding planning process are to A. Have a Monday wedding and B. Let the future hubby plan the honeymoon.

Having a Monday wedding is accomplishing a few things. First it is allowing us to SAVE tons of money. I feel like it is a Geico commercial ("I saved tons of money by switching to a MONDAY"). And since the economy is so bad we need to save as much as possible. Second it has allowed me to really think about each vendor. Since I have my pick I can take my time and really look around and most importantly negotiate for what I need and want (goes back to saving money). This has also helped us weed out some bad ones who have told me they have a few people already who want my date. Third it has allowed us to plan a weekend celebration with our family and friends. Yes having a Monday wedding might alienate some potential guest and every couple needs to look at their guest list to see if Monday is feasible but we are now having a welcome tailgate themed BBQ on Saturday night, a everyone is invited to the Rehearsal dinner Sunday night, a wedding on Monday, and a Adios brunch on Tuesday morning. So I am all for a Monday wedding if you think your guest list wouldn't be put off by the untraditional date.

Finally allowing my future hubs to plan the honeymoon is not only a huge stress reliever for me (as I don't need to worry about when payments are due or even need to research where we will be going or what we will do once we get there) but it has brought so much anticipation and excitement to this whole planning process. We have spent many of nights laying in bed me asking him where we are going, how are we getting there, do I need a visa, do I need some shots, what will I pack. And the whole time he just giggles and says you will love it. It also has allowed me to give up something and know that like the wedding it might not be perfect but it will be perfect for us because he planned it.

It was kind of fun to reflect at this point in the planning process and I am sure once the day has come and gone I will reevaluate what my favorite part of the day was – well besides being married!

xoxo

britt

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Guess what? Nope not that. No not that either. Ok give up? The BIG secret is that Barry booked our hotel room for the honeymoon. I could not be more excited. I have never been more excited for a week long vacation before in my life and I don’t even know where I am headed to. That’s right our honeymoon will be a SURPRISE for me until the time we take off -- at least that is the plan. Many of you might know or heck you might not know but Barry is planning the entire honeymoon and keeping it one BIG Ol’ secret. So for the next nine months or so I can only dream of our first destination together as a married couple (also our second vacation alone without friends or family around – we know lame on our part but we love traveling with or to see everyone we love).

I thought I would share some of the things Barry has let slipped. I know we are leaving the Wednesday after the wedding and getting back the following Wednesday. This is so nice because it will give us sometime to unpack before we have to jump back into work. I also know that we are leaving from LAX and more than likely will be flying back into LAX, but he hasn’t made those arrangements yet so who knows maybe we will fly back into PHX. Other than that I know nothing. Don’t know what to pack. Don’t know if I will need my passport, a visa or some shots to ward off foreign disease. Since I don’t know anything I guess I will have to plan for everything (I sense some shopping in my future J) But I thought I would leave you with a couple of places I wouldn’t mind being swept off to.

Can you catch the common beach theme I am hoping for? I can see it now me, my husband lounging on a a beach doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying some quality time together.

xoxo

britt

Scary

It does not matter how well Governor Palin did in the Vice Presidential debate. She can not erase the harm that she created in her Katie Couric interview.

I am distraught because she could not name another Supreme Court case other than Roe v. Wade. What about Griswold v. Connecticut? That case sets the foundation for Roe. What about flag burning? What about prayer in schools? What about gay sodomy? There were so many cases the conservatives despise. Just name a case. I think every American knows about Bush v. Gore.

As CNN reports, this “election could decide the future of the federal courts.” CNN states that the next president could nominate two to four justices. On the Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens is 88, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75 and has had health problems, and David Souter recently turned 69. I am not sure about four justices, but definitely has a chance to nominate a couple.

There is a lot at stake in the federal court system: fair pay for women, employment discrimination, the role of religion in government, and so forth.

And Palin could not come up with a single intelligent statement about the Supreme Court? Absolutely astonishing.

Then she said she believes there is a Constitutional right to privacy. The conservatives do not believe this! Justices Scalia and Thomas absolutely do not believe in a Constitutional right to privacy because it is not written in the Constitution.

They are originalists and textualists; anything the (old, white, rich, MEN) Framers did not intend over 200 years ago or not written explicitly is not included in the Constitution in their minds. I, for one, like a living Constitution that Justice Breyer believes, not a dead one like Justices Scalia and Thomas subscribe to.

Privacy is the argument supporting Roe v. Wade. Palin has no idea what she is talking about. Absurd.

Originalism is the most obnoxious thoery, but this is a blog for another day, at least a couple of blogs how terrible the theory is.

As a graduate of law school waiting bar results, this offends me deeply and it should offend every American. She is trying to make “Joe Six-pack” look cool. Being ignorant is not a quality I want in a Vice President, especially one who wants to expand the role of the Vice President.

Absolutely scary.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/03/supreme.court.politics/index.html

- Jen

What I Love, Really Love

There are good days and bad days.

Waiting for the bar results is more miserable than studying for the stupid test. Being asked if I am employed yet is frustrating. I do not like being “retired.” I cannot wait to use my doctorate diploma and join the workforce. We are just waiting for the stupid results.

Apparently the results will either come out this Friday (today) or the next. Either way, we bought two bottles: champagne for good results and vodka for despair and grief.

To keep my spirits high, I think of things I love:

1. Macaroni and Cheese – It does not take much to make me happy and this childhood, comfort food makes me really happy. I ate it frequently as a child and as I joke with my great friend Barbie, we would be 20 pounds lighter if we did not eat it as much as we did. I still love it. It is embarrassing confession, but whenever I see the dish at a restaurant, I just have to try it. It doesn't matter that I have ordered my wedding dress; I will just work out longer at the gym. :-) I could live off of mac and cheese, grilled cheese, and go figure, quesadillas.

2. Friends Coming to Visit – Barbie and her husband Troy are coming to visit. They are flying in on Friday, October 10 and I can’t wait to show them around Phoenix. Friends coming to visit is a blessing and I am thrilled for their visit. Who knows, maybe they will want to relocate to the valley of the sun? :-) We will just have to show them a great time.

3. NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK !!! – Yes, I will be one of those old screaming women at the concert on October 13 in Phoenix. There is no holding back for this concert. Barbie and I spent many childhood days eating macaroni and cheese and then dancing to the VHS of New Kids on the Block. We know all the dances, we are that good. No matter what the bar results are, I can look forward to the concert!!!

Can't wait!!

4. Easy Wedding Planning – The wedding planning thus far has been incredibly smooth and easy, that is also because we have only been told no once. Lame. I can see how this business can get incredibly stressful when you are told that the date is booked, especially planning a wedding in a small city (Sioux City) where options are limited.

5. Planning Weddings with Friends – It is great to share this journey with Britney. It is great because we can share details and help each other, while having two unique weddings that fit the couples. I am absolutely thrilled for next summer. And it was great that Barbie was on the same journey this summer.

6. The Sun – It is October and fall has yet to rear it’s ugly head here. I am looking forward to it cooling down a bit, but no South Dakota fall here!

7. Matt - Of course. As we approach being engaged for one year on Sunday, I couldn't be happier or more in love.

-Jen