Crystal Ball

I often find myself wishing I was in possession of a crystal ball.
I have questions that I need answered, such as
"Where will I live in a year? Two years? Will I be happy I moved if I do it?"
"Five years from now, will I want kids?"
"Ten or twenty years from now, will I be glad I went to law school?"

I can't imagine that most people don't have these type of questions. It's hard not to second guess making big life choices such as a career change or a move to another city, right?
And of course who wouldn't want to know "hey, AM I ever going to meet someone? Anytime soon?"

But honestly the time I most wish I had a crystal ball is when I'm standing in front of my closet in the morning deciding what to wear.

I wish every time I made a purchase I could ask "five years from now, will I wish I hadn't purchased this? Or will I kick myself for not having purchased two more in different colors?"

Today I'm wearing a stupid gray cotton 3/4 sleeve dress I bought online on a whim from J.Crew five years ago. I wear this dress year round, at least twice a month. I've worn it with leggings and boots to visit a client in prison, I've worn it with tights and a blazer to court, I've worn it to dinner with girlfriends. I wish I had purchased five of them.

Deep thoughts, folks.

One more week

One more week and the election will be over (barring any Florida in 2000 type issues), and I'm so glad. I am so sick of reading about it on facebook and twitter and the news and watching the debates and having to defend my beliefs/choices/votes to people who don't even understand what their candidate stands for.

I could give you 101 reasons why I'm not voting for Barack Obama.
I could give you just as many reasons why I'm also not voting for Mitt Romney.

Instead I'll just encourage you to:
-  check out the candidate you're voting for, and make sure you know what they stand for. And be okay with it.
- don't vote for the "lesser of two evils"

- And because duh, this is my blog and I get to talk about things that matter to me, check out Gary Johnson.

If you're curious about what Gary Johnson is all about and have 45 minutes to spare, I highly recommend this video:

As for those who say it's a waste of my vote... As Gary Johnson said himself: 

“Wasting your vote is voting for somebody that you don’t believe in. 

That’s wasting your vote."

And a new party candidate has access to federal election funding if they receive five percent of the popular vote. Getting a third party candidate access to federal funds sure doesn't seem like a waste to me. 

Halloween is SCARY

Dirk is NOT a fan of Halloween costume preparation....


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Hot Ginger Man

While gchatting with my friend Ninjy, she told me that someone on twitter had asked her to find a picture of a hot ginger man, and she was having trouble finding one. So I decided to help. 

And then I found this. 

It's Fall Y'all!

I can't believe it's already October 15th... the first part of fall 2012 has already been jam packed. Thankfully it's all been really fun stuff!

I've been to two bachelorette parties and two weddings in the last six weeks. Saturday will be my final hurrah of the 2012 wedding season. I'm kind of relieved because weddings are exhausting, but I'm kind of sad because I've had sooooo much fun at all of them.

And of course, what's a reception without all of the groomsmen taking their shirts off? What, that doesn't happen at all your weddings?

I also took a trip down to Champaign to see the absolutely dismal fighting Illini play. They are so so so bad but it was an amazing weekend, as always. Homecoming is coming up and I can't wait to go down again.

Speaking of road trips, I've recently been considering trading my car in for an SUV.

Not really... but he would probably like that.

Dirk is now 8.5 months old. He's about 100 pounds, and most of the time he's pretty good. ;)

There have also been lots of trips to the dog beach... it's the only way I can tire him out and I'm taking in every last second of warm air and sunshine I can get.

He got to be a spectator at the Chicago Marathon, which was fun.

Of course he has a festive Halloween collar.

And I realize this makes me a derelict of a mother since I haven't taken him to a pumpkin patch, but my friend who watched Dirk on Saturday night took this picture of him, and I think it's even better.

I think I'm the only person in the world that doesn't LOOOOVE fall. I think pumpkin spice lattes are gross, I know winter is coming, it's the furthest we can get from summer, and I know how sick of all my boots I'm going to be by the time April rolls around. But as far as falls go, I've got no complaints about this one. 

Gulp

The forms have been notarized, the check has been written*, the application has been sent. Gulp.


*the check for almost $1,200. Unreal.

I've had a hard time catching up on email during the evenings lately....

Someone seems to have taken over my couch.

Homeland

I hate myself for not immediately listening to everyone who said to start watching Homeland.

That is all. 

All [Catholic] Dogs Go To Heaven

October 4th is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, who is the patron saint of animals.
Most Catholic Churches hold a "pet blessing" ceremony on or around the feast day in honor of St. Francis. The priest does a short reading, blesses all the pets with Holy Water, and we all say a prayer.

My roommate and I brought Dirk (and Avery Jenkins the cat, but she never got to get out of her carrier) to get blessed.

There were lots of dogs and cats, and even a bird, a hamster, and a TURTLE. Lol. (In the pic of Dirk checking out the shoebox - Peg the Turtle was in the box)

I guess it seems kind of silly to a lot of people but as the priest said, when animals work for us and we treat them like family, it makes sense to take them to Church like the rest of the family!

A damn good place to start.

I have about a billion things I could/want to rant and rave about right now, but I'm afraid my blood pressure is already __/__ (uhhh some really high number? I don't know what high blood pressure numbers are) so I'm going to take a deep breath and share this instead. Because this video is amazing. 

"Kids are walking around the hallway

Plagued by pain in their heart

A world so hateful

Someone would rather die 

Than be who they are

And a certificate on paper

Isn't gonna solve it all

But it's a damn good place to start"

Things that are terrifying

Scene: Sitting at your kitchen table on a beautiful early fall Chicago day, looking out over beautiful Lake Michigan, tapping away getting things done while your dog snoozes on the couch... 

Then all of the sudden you hear a man talking outside your window. 

OH MY DEAR GOD. 

I forgot that the facade repair to my building was on this side this week. 

Dirk never moved. Thanks for looking out for me, Dirk. 

(praise Jesus Mary and Joseph that for some strange reason I decided against opening the far right shade this AM)

MPRE... again.

$140 to take a test I've already taken and received a passing score on. Because my score wasn't high enough for Texas.

$140 to wake up way too early on a Saturday morning to sit in a room full of law students to take a test I thought FOR SURE I would never have to even think about again.

This is fun already!

Honesty is not always the best policy

Scene:  Driving from a doctor's appointment to soccer practice.
Myself in the front seat, 10 year old girl in the back.

Out of nowhere...

Girl: Do you miss Elle?
LF: I do. 
Girl: What did you do with her body?
LF: I had her cremated.
Girl: How do they do that?
LF: Same way they cremate humans. 
Girl: How is that?
LF: How do you think they do it?
Girl: In a furnace?!
LF: Yep.
Girl: And where do you keep the ashes and stuff?!
LF: She's in a  box that sits on my nightstand.
Girl: Oh my GOD! Next time a kid asks you should just say you buried her in a graveyard or something!

Lesson learned.