Blog Update and Weekend

I don't know how I feel about my new background, but I was trying to get in the Christmas mood on the blog and it's the only one I could find that I liked the way it looked with our Christmas card (the header)! I'll keep it for now and think about changing it. If something is hard to read, please let me know and I'll change the colors. I have the apartment all decorated but it isn't exactly like I want it, yet, so I am going to wait to post pictures until I get it just right.

On Friday, we went shopping in Beaumont and got most of our Christmas presents bought. We just have about 6 more people. We also went out with some of Tim's friends to a bar. It's funny going out in Beaumont now because, since I had jaw surgery, no one I went to high school with knows who I am - unless they are friends with me on facebook. And, some of the people on facebook don't even recognize me in real life. I sort of enjoy this because I can sit back and watch and see them without having to actually socialize with people I didn't really socialize with in school in the first place. The only time I don't enjoy it is if I see a sibling of one of my classmates and I want to ask how that person is doing but I don't feel like trying to explain to the sibling who I am. I know it doesn't seem like it would take that much effort, but most of the time I just don't want small talk :)

Saturday, we came back to Waco and just kind of took it easy. I felt like I was getting sick about the time we were going to bed so I took some Nyquil but, sure enough, I woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe and with a TERRIBLE sore throat. It's been all downhill from there. Today I am very achy, my throat is still scratchy, and my nose is realllllly stopped up. I kind of feel like I have fever, but the thermometer says I don't. I don't think it's the flu because I got a flu shot but I hope I don't have strep throat. Kate, our neice, was sick this week so I think maybe we got it from her. Tim also doesn't feel good but doesn't feel as bad as me. Today we went to Target and the grocery store and that's about it. We didn't go to my dad's for dinner because I didn't want to get them sick.

This week, I have two Christmas parties at work, we have Supper Club on Saturday, and we are starting half marathon training Saturday morning. It should be a busy but fun week. Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Good News and Sort of Bad News

We are in Beaumont right now for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to give a quick update. First the sort of bad news...I heard from the Harris County DA today and I didn't get an offer. I'm really not upset about it, although it would have been awesome to have gotten an offer. I found out at my last interview that I would likely be worked 7 AM to 7 PM during the week and several weekends a month. This does not sound very appealing to me - especially for the amount of money I would be making! They told me they were very impressed with me in the interview and if they had had a few more spots, I would have gotten an offer (I don't know if they might say this to everyone!) and they encouraged me to apply after I take the bar if I haven't already gotten a job. I wouldn't have to go through the interview process again, I would just have to have one interview with the Hiring Committee.

For the good news... I received an e-mail from the Tarrant County DA's Intern Coordinator today telling me that she had been asked to contact me about interning with them after I take the bar. I think I told y'all in the post about my interview with them that they encouraged me to intern with them after I take the bar because they give first preference on jobs to their interns. In the interview, they told me to contact the intern coordinator about interviewing for an internship. I hadn't contacted her yet because I was trying to figure out what was going on with Tim's job situation. So, I'm really happy that they obviously liked me enough to tell the intern coordinator about me and get her to e-mail me! I am hopefully going to interview with the intern hiring committee on December 18th. As I have probably made really clear to a lot of people, we VERY much want to live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so this is such a blessing to have the possibility of an internship with the Tarrant County DA that could lead to a job offer. They are known to be one of the best DA's in the state, they pay really well, and it has an outstanding reputation as a great place to work. Now, we just have to find Tim a job in the DFW area so that we can be sure to live there!

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!

Adoption Calendar

A Nestie and facebook friend of mine, Sarah, and her husband, Jamie, are in the process of trying to adopt. As this is a very expensive process, they have put together an adorable calendar of little kid's pictures to raise money to help them with the costs associated with adopting.

I'd like to invite y'all to purchase the calendar to help them. They are great people and really deserve the happiness of bringing a child into their lives. The calendar is just the cutest thing ever. If you look to the right on this page, you will see a link to the Adoption Calendar so you can purchase it. If you would like to know a little about Sarah and Jamie, here's the link to their blog: http://bunchesofburches.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Weekend

We didn't have a very eventful weekend. Friday, Tim went to Beaumont for his mom's office Christmas party. She won two $100 Shell gas gift cards (she works for a company that owns Shell gas stations) and she was generous enough to give them to Tim. That definitely helps us out!

Saturday morning, I went to my brother's basketball games and took my little sister, Emily, to lunch. Tim came back around 2:00 and we just hung out the rest of the day. I decided to make chili (my first time) for dinner. I used the recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride (http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/). It is under the "October" recipes. My mom also made it the same night and both Tim and my stepdad said it was the best chili they ever had. It was delicious! We also watched The Happening, which was really stupid and very disappointing.


Today we went to church and went to eat at Cracker Barrel. Then, we came home and took a long nap and then went running. I ran for 30 minutes straight, 3.29 miles. I was pretty excited because that's the most I've run since I hurt my knee and I felt great! We went to my dad's for our Sunday dinner with them to complete the weekend.


Uneventful, but pretty relaxing! We are going to Beaumont either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning for Thanksgiving. Tim is going to be sworn into the Bar by his dad on Wednesday afternoon. Since his dad is a judge, he is allowed to do the swearing in ceremony to officially make Tim a lawyer in Texas.


Hope everyone had a good weekend and has a great Thanksgiving!

Ridiculously Good Recipe

I think I actually got the idea for this from someone on The Nest, but I have to share it with everyone. I made it for a work luncheon a few weeks ago and people at work are STILL coming up to me and talking about it, someone has already made it at home, and someone else is making it for Thanksgiving for their family. It is delicious, but not healthy :) Worth the calories, though!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Ingredients
Cake:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
- To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
- Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Interview

The interview with Tarrant County went well, but they pretty much told me from the beginning that they wouldn't have anything to offer me since I haven't taken the bar yet. They told me to call and interview with the internship committee and to try to get an internship for after I take the bar and while I am waiting to get licensed. They give first preference on jobs to people that have interned with them, so they said that would be a good way to help me get a job once I do get licensed.

I would like to ask all of you to please, if you aren't already, say a little pray for Tim to find a job. We are getting by now because of his job as a law clerk, but it is so discouraging for him to keep applying for jobs and either get told that he isn't what they want or just not hear from them at all. I know the economy is bad right now so it is a hard time to be looking for jobs, but people are hiring - we just really need someone to hire him. I would very much appreciate all the prayers you could spare for him. He is keeping his hopes and head up about it but I am starting to get extremely discouraged and pessimistic about it.

Hope everyone is having a good Wednesday. I am going out for my friend Sandy's birthday tonight. Tomorrow is my Friday, so that's exciting!

Interview and Kate-ism

I had my interview today. It went okay. I felt kind of like I did the last time, which isn't great. But, I guess I did well enough the last time, so we'll see. There were eight people interviewing today and six of the eight are either currently interning at the Harris County DA or have interned there recently. I don't think that is very good odds! I had to do a voir dire and a closing argument. I hope I get an offer but I won't be heartbroken if I don't since we don't know if we really want to live in Houston. My interview with Tarrant County is in the morning at 10:40 at the law school.

Funny extra note: Brian, Tim's brother, was telling us a story last night about Kate, his 3 year old. She has a CD of Broadway music that used to be her mother's that she really likes. Apparently, she has memorized the order of the songs on the CD. They were listening to it in the car and Brian thought she wouldn't like a particular song so he changed it to the next song. Kate was very distraught by this and said "WHY would you do that to me?!" to Brian, as if he had just killed her dog. Hahaha. It reminded me of the Shelbyisms from Meg's Blog.

That's all! I'll update about the Tarrant County interview tomorrow.

Crazy Eights

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. House
3. Fringe
4. Criminal Minds
5. Law & Order
6. NCIS
7. Without A Trace
8. Army Wives...but, since it's over for the season, Cold Case

8 Favorite Restaraunts:
1. Carrabba's
2. 1424
3. Baris
4. Texas Roadhouse
5. P.F. Chang's
6. Fraelos (in Leon Springs)
7. Pretty much any Mexican food -- La Fiesta here in Waco
8. Carino's

8 Things that Happened Today:
1. Woke up
2. Took an affidavit at work
3. Went to two classes
4. Mailed a check for my physical therapy
5. Ate a snack (Diet Dr. Pepper & 100 Calorie Cheez Its)
6. Checked my e-mail
7. Looked up info about the new DA in Houston
8. Texted Tim about leaving for Houston

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas
3. Decorating our apartment with all the awesome Christmas stuff I have
4. Graduating law school
5. Buying Christmas gifts for everyone - I'm obsessed with finding the perfect gift
6. Getting done with my interviews
7. Figuring out where we will be living
8. Trying to train for a half-marathon

8 Things on My Wishlist:
1. For Tim to find a job
2. For me to find a job
3. The new Blackberry Storm (that comes out on Friday)
4. To know where we will be living, at least for a few years (looking forward to it but also wishing we could get it figured out)
5. New underwear (haha)
6. For all our law school debt to be magically paid off
7. For everyone to be happy and healthy
8. Whenever it is the right time for us, to have at least one healthy baby

I'm not going to tag anyone because I saw it on two other people's blogs. Just do it because it's a fun way to pass the time!

Weekend

My mom and my Nanny came this weekend to visit Tim and I in Waco. They got here Friday night and we went to Baris, this really good Italian restaurant in Waco. Saturday, we got up and went to this place outside of Waco called Heritage Homestead to eat lunch. It is a 510-acre homestead where these non-denominational Christians live. They are self-sustaining and grow their own vegetables and fruit, make cheese, milk, and desserts and various other things. They have a restaurant you can eat at and then a store where you can buy things they make as well as a pottery shop and woodworking shop to buy things. It was pretty cool but the shops were extremely expensive - like, there was a rocker that was a size for a toddler that someone that lived there made out of wood and it was $1,800!! It was pretty, but I can't imagine spending that much. The people can leave when they get older if they want to, but apparently a lot of them stay because they like the lifestyle. They were sort of Amish-looking but didn't wear bonnets or drive buggys. http://www.homesteadheritage.com/

After that, we went shopping at various places around Waco. My mom got some pretty stuff at this cool furniture store here called Spice. Saturday night we went to 1424 (the restaurant I talked about last week that Tim and I went to). It was just as good as the last time!

Today, Tim and I tried to go to about 5 different restaurants to eat breakfast, but they were all either too crowded or we got there just as they were stopping serving breakfast. I was very sad because I was really craving breakfast!

That's about it - not too much exciting stuff to talk about. I have my interview with the Harris County DA on Tuesday and the Tarrant County DA on Wednesday, so please keep me in your thoughts!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

More Job Updates

I found out today that I got an interview with the Tarrant County (Fort Worth) District Attorney! I am really excited about this one. It will be next Wednesday, November 19th. So, I'll have Harris County DA on Tuesday, November 18 and Tarrant County the next day. Luckily, Tarrant County is coming to interview at Baylor so I won't have to be driving all over the place two days in a row.

Tim is hard at work applying for jobs, so please keep us in your thoughts these next few weeks!

Happy Monday :)

Weekend

Tim and I were very excited for the weekend because of all the things we were celebrating. After I finished my final on Friday, we went and had lunch and then I came home and took a nap. That night we went to 1424, a restaurant we love, for dinner with some friends - Aaron, Clint, and Athena. We just came home and went to sleep after that because we were so tired.

Saturday, we went to the Zoo! I love the zoo and I haven't been to the one here in a really long time. Tim has never been except for our reception and he didn't see any animals then! Here are some of the animals we saw and I took pictures of. We actually have a lot of video and pictures, but I'm tired today so I just decided to put a few highlights.

After the zoo, we went to get ornaments for my ornament exchange this month and went to Hobby Lobby for me to get some stuff for another Christmas project I am working on. Then, last night, we had our monthly supper club. Our friends Lindsey and Justin, who got us involved in it, were hosting this month and it was at Justin's work. He works at a game ranch a little bit outside of town. It was so much fun and the food was delicious! We had some really great dinners this weekend!

Today we just went and got Wing Stop for lunch, I worked on my project and we watched football. We are going to go to my dad's in a few minutes for dinner.

I start school again tomorrow :( But, luckily, I don't have Friday classes this quarter, which is very exciting!! Hope everyone else had a fun weekend!

The Bar

TIM PASSED THE BAR!!!

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now he never has to go to school again :)

I finish finals tomorrow so much celebration will ensue for the end of finals, our six month anniversary, and passing the bar!

Quick Update From the Finals Dungeon

Just wanted to pop in and give a quick update...

The Harris County DA just called me to let me know that I impressed the attorneys in my second interview and so they would like me to come for a third interview with the Hiring Committee!

My interview will be on Tuesday, November 18th. I have to be there at 10:00 AM to watch a Misdemeanor Docket so that I will know what I will be doing if I receive a job offer from them. That will last for about an hour or hour and a half, then I will have a quick lunch break and have my interview at 1:00. The interview will last for 30 minutes.

They told me in my second interview that they were planning on letting everyone know BEFORE Thanksgiving whether or not they got a job offer. That would be less than a week for them to decide because they are interviewing people on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so I don't know if that will still be the case, but they decided relatively quickly this time and they have already called everyone's references so hopefully I will know when they said I would.

Based on the number of interviews, and assuming they are filling up every slot, they are going to be interviewing 30 people. Out of those 30, I was told they were planning on hiring between 8 and 10 people. It seems like they have narrowed it by about half everytime, except for after the first interview they narrowed by about 3 times (from approximately 300 to 60 people). Anyway, that means I have to "beat out" about 20 people in order to get a job offer. It may or may not happen, but I am excited for the opportunity to get some interviewing experience and that I have done well enough so far to keep getting more interviews.

This turned out to be a little longer post than I thought! Thanks to everyone who has been keeping me in their thoughts and prayers.

Back to the dungeon until Friday at 11:15ish....

Six Months of Bliss

Tim and I have been married six months today! We aren't doing much celebrating since I am right in the middle of finals, but we are planning on celebrating this weekend by going to dinner at a restaurant here in Waco that we love, going to the zoo (where we had our reception!) and FINALLY picking out the pictures for our wedding album.

Warning: Sappy post to follow...

I have to say that these six months have been all I could have hoped for in a marriage. We have not had any surprises that we did not know about eachother that made things difficult, we have not had any really bad fights - just a little arguing here and there, we haven't gotten sick of eachother (at least as far as I know!) even though we are together almost all day every day, and we have a lot of fun with eachother. It is exciting and fulfilling to wake up next to my best friend each morning and go to sleep with him each night. I could not ask for a better man to call my husband and I am thankful every day that I found him. In addition to being my husband, he truly is my best friend.

Here's to the next six being as great as the first six :)

Fall/Thanksgiving Decor

After my final this morning, I spent the day going to Hobby Lobby and then decorating our apartment for Fall/Thanksgiving. I wanted to show everyone what I did!

Wreath I made for the door

Kitchen table

Close up of cornucopia in the middle of the table

Side view of cornucopia. It's hard to tell here, but it actually has metal leaves making the sides of it and I filled it with small pinecones, gourds, moss, and leaves that were also on the wreath. Then I took some of the leftover leaves and wrapped them around it.

Centerpiece for the coffee table. The pilgrims are actually in the middle of one of those things you can put at the bottom of a candle for decoration. Then, I added some of the leaves from the wreath and cornucopia as well as some of the other decorations I used on the wreath. Behind them are a couple more gourds and pinecones.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend! I'm pretty tired now - I probably should've taken a nap instead of decorating!! Oh, and Gig'Em Aggies!!