Single Digits

As of today, we have 9 days until the wedding...FINALLY! Today is also the start of many much waited for and anticipated events...including:

1. Mark getting to Utah (YAY!!)
2. Going through the temple for my endowments (this is another one of those 'finally!' sentiments)
3. Driving to Missouri (A little nervous about this, but excited for it as well)

...and of course, the wedding in California NEXT WEEK! I feel pretty excited because instead of 1 day to celebrate, I get several weeks of events all tied to the wedding - from moving to MO, to flying to California and then back to Utah and Missouri. I have time to take it all in and enjoy the beginning of this new stage in life! Mostly I'm just excited that Mark and I don't have to be separated by 2-3 states worth of distance...and that when we go anywhere, we'll mostly be traveling together rather than away from each other.

The past couple of weeks have been filled with packing and planning for the next several days (If you could see my room right now, you'd probably wonder what on earth I've been doing all this time because it doesn't look like I've made any significant progress... but, trust me! I've been working on it!!) and it's nice to finally be able to carry out those plans. It all starts tonight, circa 730 P.M. as I head to the airport to pick up Mark. :) (Except for the fact that it really started around 1030-11 am as Mark got ready to catch his Shuttle...long day of travel!!)

Halfway Through

Another stressful semester is finished. While I won't find out my grades for a couple more weeks, it feels great to be done with finals. The picture to the side is all my notes from this semester. To be honest I don't think the picture does justice to all the material we covered in my classes. For example, my outline (the summary of all the information we covered) for Business Organizations was 94 pages. Too long? Absolutely. But it was necessary to have information about all the topics we covered (Agency, Partnerships, Corporations, and Securities).

I am so happy to be done with this semester and to be halfway through law school. Now to focus on the next big event: January 6, 2011.

Engagements - A Sampling...

The Waiting Game

So the past couple of days have been spent in anxiety...

Pictures should be here any day now and then we'll finally get to see how it all turned out. I think I'm TOO excited...Mark would say that I'm guaranteeing my dissatisfaction because I'm letting my expectations get too high. I really think we're going to be happy with the way the pictures turn out....BUT just to be safe, here's my attempt at lowering my expectations:

1. I blinked during the perfect shot

2. Mark is right when he says that he really can't smile in pictures

3. I had lipgloss on my teeth, Mark had pepper in his teeth. (Where it came from, I have no idea since we didn't eat until after the shoot, but no matter...it was there!)

4. As beautiful as the scenery around us is, we end up as just blah...

5. The camera ends up catching Mark's eyerolls and my mouth stretches - for every shot.

No, this is not an attempt to fish for compliments, but just a way to keep me down to earth, so that I'm pleasantly surprised. I'll let you know if it worked.

*UPDATE: Here's a good low expectation from Mark: "On the one picture where we are actually smiling, your dress is bunched up or my tie is off to the side." ...Just a few more days to keep our fingers crossed...

Mark in Town!!

This past weekend Mark flew to UT for a much needed weekend together. 8 weeks is the second longest amount of time we've spent apart and we've both determined that it is not something that should happen often. Lucky for us, I get to see him in 3 weeks when I fly to Cape for Thanksgiving. (22 days and counting...)

After 8 hours of travel door to door, Mark was finally back in UTAH...and that made me VERY HAPPY. Thursday night was spend driving back from the airport after a quick stop at Downtown Salt Lake. The construction makes for a very interesting drive, but it's incredible to see how quickly it's all changing. When is that supposed to be done again??

Friday was a busy, busy day! Mark and I met for a quick breakfast before I headed into work for a few hours. After work, he and I had to finish preparations and get ready to take our engagement pictures! We had originally planned on doing them Saturday, but because of the weather forecast, we moved them to Friday. It was a good thing we did because Saturday afternoon was cloudy, rainy, and gray. Friday's weather by contrast was BEAUTIFUL! Blue skies, sun, and fall colors. We went to the Utah County Courthouse - a place Mark and I would walk to almost daily when he was here during the summer, the oh-so-popular brick wall at Sammy's (someone was getting her bridals taken when we got there...Actually, she was also at the courthouse...), and Utah Lake (we beat the bride to the Lake though :)). We're both anxiously waiting to see how the pictures turned out - but it was a fun experience. Heather was wonderful to work with and she even made Mark smile during some of the pictures.

That evening, we headed back to Salt Lake to see Ballet West do Carmina Burana. I am a fan of the ballet...I have even taken a few lessons throughout the years. But I enjoy going to the Ballet and watching the pros make steps that are incredibly difficult look effortless. Their grace and strength always amazes me. It was a selfish date, but I was really happy to be able to share something I love with Mark.

Saturday was a great day to relax, enjoy the weekend, and cross a few items off of our to-do list. We had lunch with our friend Shelley at Rumbi's, did some window-shopping, and watched a few football games. Sadly, Mizzou lost and USC lost. Shelley was also able to help us decide on what flavor of cake to do for our Utah reception. We had 3 options and the unanimous favorite is..... a surprise! You'll just have to come and taste it for yourselves. :) We also stumbled upon an invitation store in the University Mall...by the end of the night, not only had Mark and I agreed on a style we BOTH liked, but we had also ordered proofs, and hopefully within the next couple of weeks, we'll be able to check one more thing off of the list!

Sunday was the dreaded day...Mark had his flight back to MO. Having a weekend together is always wonderful, but just as you get used to having the other person around, you get that email reminding you that it's time to check-in for your flight. It's always so disappointing! Mark leaving this time is made better by the fact that I'll be seeing him soon and that in 66 days we won't have to be apart anymore.

One last thing before I close up this really long post...I am so thrilled for Mark and his internship! After seeing all of the work that he's done to get an internship lined up for next summer, I am very happy that he's not only chosen which one to take, but that he had options from which to choose from. I love how happy it has made him and I hope that it'll be a great experience for him!

Shamberg Johnson & Bergman

Going into law school I tried to lower my expectations. My goal was to get through. Doing it in the normal three years would be nice. So far those low expectations have worked out pretty well. Not only am I in good academic standing but my grades are good enough that I've been able to interview with quite a few firms on Campus. This is very fortunate considering the current economy.

Yet those firms have really varied. Some were in rural areas of the states, others in St. Louis and Kansas City. The firms I received callback interviews from were either Big 4 Public Accounting Firms interested in law school students to do tax work or Trial Attorneys. Polar opposites. However even with their differences (or perhaps because of them) it has been challenging to make a decision which direction to go. Each has its pluses and minuses.

My decision: Shamberg Johnson & Bergman in Kansas City, MO. The attorneys I met there all seemed very bright, they are well-known and well-respected in the trial attorney community, and I feel that my experience there will help teach me how to be a real attorney. So I anticipate a steep learning curve this summer but I am excited for the experience.

Now if anyone has tips on affordable apartments in Kansas City, please let me know.

My new favorite wedding site...

Utah Bride Blog ... check it out, you won't regret it.

PS - the latest post features wonderful Heather Bliss, who will be taking our engagement pictures in a few weeks. I'm VERY excited!