Hump Day

In case you missed the news, I am sporting a bump these days! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Monthly Motivation

Please link up with P!nky & Carolyn today for your Monthly Motivation!!

Closing Doors, Opening Windows

It's with sorrow that I am writing my last post on Illegally Blonde. It's been a wonderful, wild, glorious last three years of blogging here in this space of the inter webs. I have shared my first years as baby lawyer, the ups & downs of my marriage and divorce, finding new love, and changing jobs.  This blog has allowed me to grow as a person. I have shared my love, my faith journey, my trials and tribulations. I have made some wonderful friends and formed last friendships. I have met some of you IRL and have memories to last a lifetime. I have met my BOFF, Jessica, Jenn Neely, and Amber. This is what blogging is about. It's about finding yourself, exploring your passions, and friendship. But this is not the end of me. I'm not leaving blogging, just making a few changes. See, where God closes one door, He opens a window. I hope to see you in my new window of the world tomorrow. I have all kinds of exciting things happening in my life and can't wait to share it with you.

Oh Hey Friday

It's Friday!! So today I thought I would share my trip to Napa with you. I apologize now for the massive photo dump. I mean its Napa, it gorgeous....
We flew into San Francisco Wednesday morning and met le guy's mom and dad and his brother and SIL. His parents will celebrate 40 years of wedded bliss in October, so we celebrated early, Napa style.
We stayed in downtown Napa at the Napa River Inn, a historic old mill. The room was so quaint and the bed was so comfy I never wanted to leave. It had a cute clawfoot tub and breakfast was served every morning from the bakery downstairs.  I was in heaven!
But the best part... the scenery. I mean its just gorgeous as you drive up and down the valley going from one AVA to the other. So without further ado, I give you Napa.

Le guy and his dad and brother

St. Supery

Grape on the vine

dinner yumminess

the anniversary couple

crazy crab thing

learning about the grapes

straight from the barrel?

i heart him

the girls

cave at Close Pegas

The view

That is Napa, Part 1. More to come next week. Happy weekend ya'll!

Lately

I thought today would be the perfect time to let you know about my life lately....
I have a cold/cough/congestion that has taken up permanent residence in my sinus.
Sophie has been alarmingly excited to see me any time I walk in the door, like jumping up and down, licking my ankles excited.
Chloe has become a HUGE snuggle bug with mom.
I  have not eaten an apple in like 3 weeks. Yup, shocker to a lot of you.
I have worked out 3 times in in the last 2 weeks.
People ask me about the drive to work and I honestly say its not that bad. Its my personal quiet time.
I miss blogging.
I miss my City Group Family.
I have learned more about the law than I ever imagined in the past month at the new job.
I need new boots/booties for fall.
I have been wanting to shop, shop, shop, but have been saving for other things.
My entire perspective on life has changed.
I have been reminded  of how much I am loved by my friends and family.

I need a Napa

Don't you just hate the Monday after vacation? Ok, so hate may be a strong word. Just hard to get back in gear, but then again I am kind of glad to be back to my routine. Anywho, better recap to come, but for now enjoy a small token from my trip to Napa. 

Napa

Hello there world. I again am checking in to say hello. If you need me in the next couple of days, i will be vineyard side in Napa. Yup, Napa.

Oh Hey, Friday

It's Friday, and I thought I would take a quick sec to tell you all the 5 things I am thankful for this Friday.

• Friends. As in ones that are there for you no matter what, night or day, who have a sixth sense about them when it comes to you and who just love you , ya know for you.
• Fruit. Yup, I would like to thank God for fruit. I just have been in love with it over here, as in could eat an entire cantaloupe and feel just fine.
• My pups. Those sweet babies just make my sweet day.
• My brain. I am blessed with a brain that works and although slow at times, never seems to fail me. Its gotten me this far, I'll think I'll keep it.
• Faith. Self-explanatory.

Happy Weekend all!

Time

Time. Its precious, limited and something we all want more of. We spend so much of our lives agonizing over when to do something, or do we have enough to time to do it. Its about the right time for this or that. We dwell over timing of marriage, jobs, buying a house, children, you name it, American worry about the timing of it all.
Reality is that there timing will never be right. We will never have enough time and we will waste previous moments. So have a little faith.

I'm Alive!

Long time no blog. Yeah, I know awful blogger here. To tell you the truth, life has gotten in the way of blogging for me as of late. Hate when that happens. But between the new job, the new gym and all the other "new" in my life as of late, blogging has taken a very far to the back seat.
Don't worry though, I have been keeping up with all of you and your lives! And I promise I will be back very soon, just with a few changes. Don't give up on me now!

Monthly Motivation

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Welcome to the first installment of Monthly Motivation, a monthly healthy & fitness link up! I am joined by my BOFF Pinky and the lovely Carolyn where we will share our goals, trials, triumphs, successes and failure in each of our health & fitness journeys. We hope you will join with us the last Tuesday of each month and allow us to keep each other accountable. My fitness goals: 1. Tone my arms. I have an obsession with my arms. I had an arm envy over a girl I competed in Miss Texas with, and have been on a quest ever since. I have been slowing changing up my arm workouts so that I can achieve that sculpted v of a deltoid. Ya know that, muscle above your bicep and not quite your shoulder?

2. Change it up! I get in the worst workout rut. I do the same thing every time: 40 minutes of cardio, abs then weights. And my weight routine? boring and the same. I am going to work on changing up the cardio, add in sprints, intervals, high resistance. And.... doing more dynamic lifting. 3. Get up and move at the office. I need to get up every 30-60 minutes and take a lap around the office. It refreshes the mind and keeps you from being sedintary all day long. When you feel the slump of the back or the your eyelids start to quiver, get up and take a lap.  My Healthy Diet Goals: 1. Salad Sundays. I started this at the beginning of the summer and hope to keep it going. It gets my reset for the week. I hope to eat at least 2 salads at week. 2. Substitute yogurt for dessert. I just need something sweet. Hello greek yogurt! 3. Water, water, water! I have been trying to drink more water with my new water bottle. I just need to pack on the H2O! Water does wonders for the skin, digestion and metabolism! It also can decrease tummy bloat and fatigue. Add lemon, lime or other infused fruit blends, but what ever you do, drink your water! Alright, let me know your health & fitness goals. Let us keep each other accountable and motivated! What is one health goal you have? 

Just a Reminder

Tomorrow is the day! The Monthly Motivation Link Up. Get your health and fitness stories, goals, hopes and dream ready and share it here. This is to keep you accountable, to give you motivation and have a community of support.

Guilty as Charged #totalsocial

It's #totalsocial time again! This month's topic: Guilty Pleasures. 1. Dessert - Yeah, I like it. I need something sweet to tell myself the meal is done and you may move on. So I try to find things that won't ruin my diet. I LOVE Fiber One Brownies. I mean, its chocolate, fudgy bits, and well only 90 calories. I keep them in my desk and use them as an after lunch snack. I feel that sweetness, but don't feel like I ruined my whole day.

2. Netflix. Yes people I am addicted. Its my indulgence. I have taken to binge watching shows via Netflix. This month its Mad Men (currently on season 5), it has been Scandel, The Americans, OITNB, The Following and House of Cards. I just cannot help but setup shop on the couch on saturday and watch at least 2-3 episodes.

3. My pups. I cannot stop. I cuddle them, hold them, pet them, talk baby talk to them and take tons of pics of them... I even send pics of them to le guy with funny things I think they would say. Heck, I even send M some from time to time from Chloe when she does something I know he would think is funny. (I know I should stop that one, but hey it was his dog for 3 years too). I mean, can they get any cuter than this?

4. Decorating my office. Yes, everyone else has such cute stuff in theirs. Mine is well plain at the moment, and no longer purple, sigh.... But I am trying to acquire some cute items to line my shelves and oh yeah I should probably get my law license framed, huh? Ideas?

I Swear I'm Cool

Well, slap my hand and call me a bad blogger. I am not a single picture from what was a great weekend. I'm cool, I swear....
This weekend le guy's brother and sister in law came to visit. They had been planning a visit for a while, so it was nice to finally get to have them here. After an hour and fifteen minute commute home, where I saw 4 accidents and missed my exist twice... I got home just in time to change and hit up dinner at Bird Cafe in Sundance Square. There was wine and small plates and the best cinnamon, caramel, bacon ice cream of my life.
Saturday we had a Mexican brunch then some popsicles a la Steel City Pops. Next we hit up a local beer bar for a while so that others could get in some brews. I had my water and watched some ridic old movie on the TV. Next we went for burgers and more brews at Rodeo Goat. Yum! Its just so good!
Then the old farts, yes we are old, headed home and plopped on the coach to wine and a little The Other Women. I had been wanting to see the Cameron Diaz chick flick for a while, so I am so excited Holly did too! It was cute. I mean totally implausible, but it did the trick, love, laughter, a cheating mean getting his just desserts... I  mean what more can you want from a movie?
Sunday am I got up for a glorious 4 mile run. It was so nice outside. It rained the night before so it was cool, windy and perfect way to begin my Sunday.
When the rest of the crew finally got up, I made some egg muffins and we lounged around til they had to head out.
I'd say the rest of Sunday was awesome, but I don't count Sam's club and Target awesome. I did however, totally crave some chinese for dinner and ordered Pei Wei. Oh well, sometimes a girl just  needs some chinese food.
So that is my pictureless weekend. I am starting my first fill week of the new job, wish my luck as I am still trying to figure it all out. 

The Things People Say

I am constantly amazed at the things people say and ask of others. Like, wow your little one is so big, what did you feed him? Or, you're brave wearing that, I just think they make woman look fat. And one of my favorites, oh you're 31? when are you going to settle down and have kids? Or the most recent, oh, I mean that drive to your new job, how will you manage a family?

What is wrong with people? When is it your business what I do, wear or how I choose to spend my time? And who are you to judge me or someone else's kid? Do you have a filter? Did your mother forget to teach you its not polite to butt into other's business? Seriously.
If you would not want someone to ask you the question, then don't ask it of someone else. And, news flash, its not 1960, I can work, drive, have a family all at the same time!
Crawling off soap box now.

New Chapter, New Me

As I finished my first day at the new job and drove home, I began to reflect on my life. If you had told me a year ago I would leave my firm and join the ranks of Big Law in Dallas, I would have laughed in your face. I am that Fort Worth girl. It was where I wanted to be. I thought I would begin and end my career right where I started. I wanted stability and normalcy and a home. I should have known that all those things were mere comforts that I sought and not what He had in store for me. No, as much as I wanted to shy away from the words or just hang on, and it will get better and this is best for you, I heard more Him calling to me that there was more. There is more to life than what I ever expected. He pulled at my heart and called to me to. Funny, even when you want to put Him on a shelf, He still pursues you. For so long I let fear run my life. I took the safe way towards my goals. I overlooked my abilities and underestimated myself. I never thought I would be good enough for Big Law. I resigned myself to being content where I was. Yes, I learned so much from my first job as a lawyer. I was given so many opportunities and changes to learn and grow. I was loved and cared about. But, as time went on, I began to feel the yearn and need to fly, no soar. This change comes with a mix of fear and excitement. It will be challenging in both personal and professional ways. I will have to rise to the occasion, but I know I can. I know I am more than the pretty blonde who looks good in a skirt and smiles with southern ease. I know I am a force to be reckoned with and capable of more than  I give myself credit for.
I am fierce and fearless.

The Wheels of Justice

As you read this, I am either driving to the new job, sitting at the new job or doing something related to the new job. Yes, today is day 1. Nervous? Yes! Excited? Yes! Scared out of my mind? Duh!
This is the start of a new chapter in my life and for better or worse its coming. 
Meanwhile, yesterday, I spent most of my day doing my civic duty and spent some time on the other side of the bar serving jury duty. It was a DWI case, and needless to say I was struck. However, some things I observed: the prosecutor wad too eager and kinda annoyed me; the defense attorney was smart, to the point and did a good job engaging the panel; people in general are dumb. Yes, dumb. There is no right or wrong answer to their questions people. Just yes or no. See the point of void dire is for the attorneys to figure out based on your feelings how you might vote and if that would be in their favor. So, don't him and haw over answers, just yes or no. And if you want to avoid serving, you need to have a strong opinion one way or another. For instance, don't want to serve on the DWI panel? Tell them you cannot presume the defendant is innocent because if they were arrested they had to have done something wrong. Or, if you had a friend involved in a DWI, tell them that will sway your opinion and you cannot be fair and impartial. There is no need to be polite. You do not need to seem like a nice person or be the good citizen. You have your opinion and you stick to it. And the second way to avoid it, is the be in the back of the panel. 24 veniremen? You are juror 20? not getting picked.
See its the first 6 people not struck who serve on a petite jury and 12 on a full jury. Not they choose the best 6 or 12, but just the first ones not struck for cause or struck for no reason. So, want to avoid? Be unable to  be fair or impartial. Or be an attorney, like me.
Wish me luck today!

One Last Day

It's Monday, the last day of  my lil vacation before I start my new job. And... I have jury duty. Yup, the lawyer has jury duty. 
But, as you know I was in Miami last week. Yes, Wednesday through Sunday in the Emerald State! My sister from another mister lives in Miami so off I went for sun, sea and sand.
I arrived Wednesday afternoon and we headed for food at a lil Cuban place. The conversation was wonderful, the food yummy, and the mojitos--powerful. I had one too many and well.... Let's just say I rallied later and it was a good night.
Thursday we headed down to South Beach, walked around and grabbed some noodles. I also grabbed about 4 pairs of new flip flops! Ash may work at Haivainas....
Friday and Saturday were beach days. The sand was the best feeling between my toes and the water perfect. My skin was dying for a golden kiss and it got it. Saturday we headed to a beach for Dogs on Dunes. We let Dallas, Ash's pup, frolic in the waves and roll in the sand. It was awesome to see all the puppies loving the beach and sea. I missed my babies so much.

If only I had not missed my 8 am flight... Yes it took me an hour to get through security on a Sunday morning. Ran ummm 32 gates and watched the lady close the door.

I finally made it home and it was so good to see the pups and le guy. Now, its off to do my civic duty!