Eggs

What, you ask, would bring me out of my blogging hiatus? Well, two things really: First, procrastination. See, it's finals time at old SU Law and what that really means is that I have way more time than I have all semester to procrastinate (e.g. blog, do my prenatal yoga video, walk the dog on long walks, brush the dog, etc.). Second, Pregnant Lady Eggs. What do you do when you are seven months pregnant, there's nothing good to eat in the house, and you want something delightful and salty? You make deviled eggs with pimento olives of course. (The absurdity of this statement makes me giggle.) So that's what I did, and I tell you, they were quite lovely, so, I thought I'd share the recipe.


Pregnant Lady Deviled Eggs:

2 hard-boiled eggs, halved and yolks removed
3/4 Tbs light mayo
1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard (I think Maille is the best)
3 pimento olives, cut into quarters lengthwise and sliced ever so thin
1 spin fresh cracked pepper
2 dashes paprika for garnish

Directions: Mush first three ingredients together in small bowl to desired consistency. Add pepper and olives and stir. Delicately place mixture in the hole of the egg white, sprinkle with paprika, and enjoy! (Note: I didn't use salt because I suspected the olives would be salty enough; my hunch was correct.)

m.e.

Update

Hello all! Sorry no posting recently, I will update soon.

You too can make ricotta donuts

I got together with the few remaining (remaining in Seattle, that is) members of my 'book group' for a little donut making session this Friday. MC had the recipe, AW had the apartment (and a delicious spread of salads, cheese, and fruit), and CE had the board games. Breeze and I were pretty much along for the ride, and the ride was delightful. Everyday I feel so lucky to have met such wonderful, amazing, intelligent, fun women while I have been in law school (gush!). We pretty much played Catchphrase (CE and I won) until 1 am at which time we had the sense to head home... so fun!

Vermont, you elusive destination...

So, as many of you know, Ryan spent the week of June 17 back in Vermont at his residency week. I stayed here and cared for Gus, attended a Huckleberry conference for work, and managed the home purchase details. I planned to take a red-eye flight on Thursday night to JFK and then connect on a flight to Burlington, Vermont where I would meet Ryan's parents at the hotel and drive with them to Northfield for the graduation ceremony (Friday afternoon at 4:30).

So, Thursday night I was celebrating my friend Dave's birthday at his house and waiting until around 10 for my other friend, Mo, to take me to the airport so I could catch my flight. I checked my flight status online before leaving only to find out that my flight to JFK had been delayed until about 3 am -- arriving so late that I could not make a connecting flight to Burlington in time to see Ryan graduate nor could I rent a car and drive from the airport to the ceremony (a six hour drive). I totally flipped out and almost started crying. Being east coast natives, Brian, Michelle, and Dave told me to try and see if I could just get on the Boston red-eye and drive from there (only a 3.5-4 hour drive). I got on the phone with Jetblue as Mo and I headed to the airport and asked for a miracle. The operator/helper person said that there was no way I could get on the Boston flight; it was completely full.

I arrived at the airport in a panic. I marched in the doors of the airport, walked in front of about 75+ people in line at the counter, and begged a gate agent to help me get on the Boston flight, or back east in any way possible. He said no luck. After attempting to reason with him, I knew he would not budge. He said that three people had not checked in for the flight, but that there were three people already checked in for standby. I was overwhelmed with sadness at the thought that I would have to miss Ryan's graduation after he worked so hard for the last 18 months. I turned to a female gate agent, Sondra, who had heard my conversation, and started to cry. I begged her to help me get on the flight, or back east in any way possible. Sondra took pity on me and called in a favor to her friend at the gate. She gave me a print out and ran me through security. I was the last person to board the flight and I butted off another standby person, but I made it.

Once I got to Boston, I rented a car and made the drive, with some Dunkin Donuts coffee and an atomic fireball to fuel me. It worked out better than could be expected. I got to the hotel in time to work out, take a shower, and take a cat nap. Then I got dressed and drove to Ryan's graduation, which was amazing! I am so proud!

Ryan, his parents, and I tooled around Burlington for a few days. We had some wonderful meals (Trattoria Delia and Penny Cluse), walked around downtown, and then visited Shelburne Farms (please follow the link, this place was amazing!) where I got to play with baby goats, pet a baby cow, and see baby chickens.

Ode to Suz

My dear friend Suz is spending her summer rubbing elbows with international women and men of mystery at the ICTY (Yogoslavia). I missed her a lot today, so I had an Ode to Suz evening: I went jogging around Capitol Hill, made a pizza (home made crust) with caramelized onions and sausage, listened to PJ Harvey's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, and drank a glass of wine. This one's for you Suz! Hope all is well!! XOXO

Well, we did it

Ryan and I have officially joined the ranks -- we purchased a home!!!!!!!!!! It is in West Seattle (Delridge area) and we are so excited. It is a lovely little town home with a decent little yard. Everybody far and wide, there is ample guest roomage so, as of July 12, we say COME ON OVER and stay a while!

WOO HOO!

Reading Stresses

So, I am a little stressed out about this book I am reading. As you can see (on the right) I am in the middle of The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Frankly, I don't love it. I'm not even sure if I like it. The only redeeming quality of the book is that the chapters are short, so I can make some decent headway before wanting to take a spoon to my eye. BUT, I kind of feel obligated to read it (obligated to like it even). I mean, it is the 2006 Booker Prize winner. Usually I love most, if not all, Booker winners and short listers and I generally feel like it is a waste not to finish books (remember my pledge to finish all of the books I started in law school and didn't complete??). So, HELP! Do I finish it, or at least commit to finishing it, all the while supplementing the tedium with better books? Or do I just let it go?

Birthday Tip-Off

Tuesday, June 5 was my dear friend MV's birthday. A group of us headed to Via Tribunali to celebrate. These festivities were the catalyst for a better than average week, which I will summarize.

Tuesday - MV's birthday celebration started over excellent wood fired pizzas and the evening commenced at a new bar named Moe (right by Neumo's). Moe was excellent because when we walked in they were playing Minor Threat's Good Guys Don't Wear White, which I haven't heard in forever and we sang and sang until it was over.

Wednesday - The other interns and I met with Senator Fraser, who is on the Natural Resources Committee (the committee I was assigned to for the summer) and is also the senator in charge of the capitol budget. She was delightful and wonderful and completely engaged in our meeting, which was awesome. After meeting with Senator Fraser, I left feeling inspired and excited about state government (dorky) because she spoke in depth about problems constituents had presented her and was genuinely trying to remedy their situations through the legislative process. She meets face to face with her constituency; how many people could meet with their U.S. representative... not many, and that is why state government was so cool to me that day.

Thursday - I went to bed very early after doing my Computer-to-5k training (it is actually called the Couch-to-5k program, but I renamed it because it is not like I have been sitting on my couch for the last two years).

Friday - I made pizza for MV and Ryan and then we went and saw Knocked Up -- so incredibly funny I can't even begin to explain.

Saturday - I had the best brunch and best conversation of all time at the Kingfish Cafe with AW. We chatted about books and school and work and life and love. All of this over a shared plate of crab cakes and poached eggs topped with a spicy hollandaise sauce (yum) and a pot of black tea. After brunch, Ryan and I headed into the evil demon realm of Seattle real estate for the day. We found some promising things, but nothing quite right. Then we headed out to dinner with P & MW and had a delightful evening indeed.

Sunday - I read Plenty (see Read and Recommended) which I highly, highly recommend to you all. The tone of the book can be a little condescending at times, but the message is an important one and it is well written. In between chapters, Ryan and I headed out to look at some more houses, AND we found one that we are going to put an offer on... so I'll keep y'all updated on that. After finding our dream townhome, I went to a CCLS fellows dinner/strategy meeting, which was fantastic and inspiring and wonderful. I feel so lucky to be involved with CCLS, and it keeps me interested and excited about law school when other things fail to.

Monday - I met with MC after work for a drink. We had hoped to go to Licorous, but they are closed on Mondays so we ended up at this cute new wine bar, Poco. It was so good to see MC, and as we chatted I realized how quickly the summer is passing and how many more fun times there are to have...

Tuesday - My fellow interns and I were able to meet with the Governor. It was super exciting to meet with her and chat about lawyerly things. Again, I felt so happy to live in a state with a female governor (who also happened to be the first female attorney general in WA) and marveled at the beauty of state government (dorky, I know).

So, that was my fantastic week. LOVELY!

Kites as Catharsis

Dictionary.com defines catharsis as "a release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit." Ryan and I chose to release a little tension this weekend by flying a kite at Gas Works Park for about five hours. The "overwhelming experience" I was trying to purge, obviously, is the last year of law school.

It was a beautiful day on Saturday. Breezy sunniness with a scattering of fluffy clouds that kept you from getting too warm. As we flew our little kite (a Parafoil 5, which my mom gave us) and sat on our little blanket with Gus, I focused on a couple of things that I hate about law school, and I released them, thereby restoring and refreshing my spirit :)

The following are a few of the things that I dislike about law school and am hoping to change:

1. I start books and don't finish them. When I am in school, I will start a novel and get about 150 or so pages in and then set it by my bed and forget about it until I hear someone mention it. As a result, I have decided to finish reading all three of the books that I started and didn't finish this last semester (starting with The Sea by John Banville).
2. There is no consistency to one's schedule in law school. This last week, working a regular 8-5 job has been one of the most relaxing things in the world to me. Just knowing what time I will have open and when I can fit personal time into my schedule, knowing that any meeting I have will fit nicely into my work day (no 9:30 pm journal meetings, no 7:30 am oral arguments...). My plan for this issue is to embrace my 8-5ness (really, 5-7ness) and utilize my personal time to its fullest, so that when I head back for my last semester in the fall, I have created positive habits and can look fondly on the summer, knowing that shortly, I will be able to have personal time again (post-bar).
3. Over-processing is a major problem for me in law school. This goes back to the whole qusi-codependency issue my friends and I have. In a typical day I will tell 4+ people about what is giong on with me and in my life. This means that by the time I get home from school and see Ryan, I want to remain completely silent. For example, this is a common conversation at the Eagan/Heffernan abode:
Ry - "Hi. How was your day?"
me - "Fine."
Ry - "How was your interview/meeting/presentation/etc.?"
me - "Fine."
Ry - "Why don't you tell me about your interview/meeting/presentation/etc.?"
me - "I don't want to, I've been talking about it all day."
Ry - "Please, I really want to hear about it."
me - "Tell me about your day."
The result of this conversation is that we will be out with friends and someone will say, "Pretty cool how you got that job/aced that meeting/presentation/won a million dollars," and Ryan will say, "What?!?" And I will say, "Oh yeah, didn't I tell you, we're millionaires." So, I have decided to save little gems of information to share only with Ryan so he feels let in on my professional life, after I tell him, I can tell everyone at school and process away with them.

That's all.

Last weekend

On Saturday, Ryan and I took Gus to the dog park. He had so much fun, but was a little ill behaved. Sunday, we headed to our friend GT's birthday party. The party was at KG's grandmother's house in Maple Valley. It is right on the river looking out into this totally lush, beautiful green belt. Little ducks kept floating by down the river. It was so relaxing to just hang out, eat some good food, and throw the frisbee with friends. Fun times.

^ Gus at the dog park with drool on his face.

We headed to SS's house for a homemade Indian feast later in the evening. Great times talking about two things you are never supposed to talk about with friends -- religion and politics. I for one hate that rule, and think that it should be abolished entirely.


So, all in all a nice relaxing weekend with friends, family, and dog; however, the end to our placid weekend was TOTALLY CRAZY and involved Ryan and I riding in a POLICE CAR at midnight. We parked our car after dinner at SS's and as we were walking down the hill to our apartment, a car came careening down 10th, cruised over the round about, and absolutely destroyed the fence surrounding the construction site near our apartment. I told Ryan to call 911 and we reported the accident. While we were on the phone, the driver of the car got out of the car and switched places with the passenger. The passenger tried to get the car off of the fence, all the while the wheels whirling and screeching.

We were a little terrified that the tires would catch and the car would accelerate in our direction, so we kept our distance (yes mom, we were careful). The car finally came loose and the driver pulled the car to the side of the street. The driver (former passenger) got out of the car and checked the damage. My trained Jedi mind was certain that the two scoundrels were going to take off, so while feigning concern for their safety, I got the license plate. The people gave me the thumbs up and then took off (bastards). We ran inside the apartment and wrote down the license number then bolted back outside to meet the cops.

An officer promptly responded to the call and asked where the car was, we told her they had taken off, were heading east, and handed her the deets on the paper. She sped away. We waited outside with Gus, while being pelted with freezing rain, and waited for the other officers to respond. We gave them our information, and they asked if we would be willing to ID the suspects if they found them, we agreed thinking that they likely wouldn't need us. We went back inside and got ready for bed. Thirty minutes later our door buzzer squealed (our buzzer makes the most discombobulating sound in the world). It was the cops.

We got dressed and drove into the ID in the back of the cop car to identify the suspects-- positive on both counts. The cops drove us home and thanked us for our dedication to justice. The back of the car was really uncomfortable (plastic seats and awkward seat belts, no door handles or window roller-thingies). I secretly hope the whole building saw us getting out of the cop car and lives in fear of what we might do to them. By the time we got home, it was 12:45. I set the alarm for 5:00 am and readied myself for a tired first day at the Senate Committee Services...

Best Day Ever

One of my favorite things about Seattle is the drastic nature/urban dichotomy (SLC is a little like this, too). This is exactly why Friday was the best day ever. I woke up at about 8:30 (with no classes to attend!) and rang SS. She was heading up Mt. Si and invited me along. The hike was really, really great. Almost exactly 8 miles round trip with excellent views -- a perfect day. At the top of Mt. Si, you can look west and see Lake Washington, Capitol Hill, and downtown Seattle floating like a little glistening northwestern mecca. Looking to the southeast you can see Mt. Rainer hovering like a white cloud over the Cascades... so beautiful. (The pictures don't show the views that well, but if you enlarge them you may be able to see the city.)

After the hike, SS and I raced home and got ready for the best evening ever downtown. We were celebrating the birthdays of MD and AW, two delightful women in my book club. We started the evening at the Pink Door, a fantastic restaurant in Post Alley. Amazing food, amazing wine, and amazing friends! After dinner, we headed up to 611 Supreme on Capitol Hill and were joined by some other friends. The night was the most fun, fantastic evening in ages and to that I say, "Yes!"

JhuLa, Brunch, and a state senate

Monday night some friends and I attended the Seattle Reads discussion with Jhumpa Lahiri (or JhuLa as we began to refer to her), the author of Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake (two books I recommend, more so the former). Seattle Reads typifies one of the reasons that I love Seattle. Each year, the Seattle Public Library hosts a major author for a series of free programs. Everyone in Seattle is invited to participate by reading the chosen book and attending the discussions with the author. This 'community reading program' was the first of its kind and has been the catalyst for many similar programs across the country. The discussion was hosted at the MOHAI.

Tuesday, I hosted brunch at my apartment for some girlfriends. We had a lovely time!! I prepared fruit salad, caramelized onion quiche, and mimosas. Delicious!

Today, I had my summer internship training in Olympia, WA. It was so fun to tool around the capital grounds. I found out today I have been assigned to the Natural Resources Committee, which is so awesome I cannot even stand it. Everyone at work seems so nice and my fellow interns will be great, too.

me (+5)

Last night was a going away celebration for three of my closest friends (SS, MD, LG). The party was at this excellent Haitian restaurant and lounge, Waid's. We got to put together a list of people who were allowed in without a cover, which made me feel a little bit like a rock star. The DJ was excellent, and while casually sipping my Stella I began to think about what life would be like without my friends here this summer.

Law school creates weird relationships. There is an element of co-dependency to my law school friendships ("How much are you going to study? How much should I study? Will you read my resume? What should I do this summer? Are you going to read your homework for that class? Should I?"). With my close friends, this co-dependency has left the purely scholarly realm and infiltrated my personal life as well ("Should I buy these shoes? Or the purse? Or both? Should I study, and then go jogging, or should I just go jogging and see how I feel? Are red onions better caramelized, or should I just go with the yellow?"). It's actually kind of weird. My theory is that the general climate of law school is the catalyst for this phenomena. There is so much negative reinforcement in law school, that I sometimes feel as though I have become fearful of making my own decisions on the off chance that I will be reprimanded or do something completely stupid -- better to bring someone down with me.

I also feel frighteningly close to my law school friends. Eight of the nine women in my book group were in our first year section together. What this means, for those not familiar with law school in general, is that we spent every single class, studied for every single test, and went to every single extra curricular activity together for an entire year. I would say that this probably amounted to, on average, 9 hours a day of interactive time with my law school friends for an entire school year (this is more time than I spend with my husband).

So, I am really, really close to these friends (is what I am trying to say). These eight women are some of the most awesome, amazing women that I have ever met. All of them are bright, driven, kind, and interesting in unique ways, and, three of them are leaving for the summer (SS for a whopping 8 months). To me, their departures this summer symbolize an end to the wombesqueness that is law school. In a year's time, some of the best friends that I have ever made are going to scatter across the country to pursue life dreams. This summer is just the prologue. My friend SA would say that this is happy because people will follow dreams and live lives and it will be fantastic, but to me, it is mostly sad.

So this is what I thought about last night between Stella's and dancing and gabbing and laughing.

Ultra vires

I woke up bright and early this morning thinking about the ultra vires doctrine and how it relates to administrative law, the law of business entities, and my life in general. This is unfortunate because I finished my last final on Thursday (meaning I shouldn't be thinking about doctrines better left in Latin). Alas, there I was pontificating power and its limits.

My day has been an endless transition between internet surfing, reading, dog walking, and dog scratching. To most people, this probably sounds like heaven, but to me is absolute purgatory. I have nothing TO DO. Consequently, I decided to start a blog so my family and friends can be informed of my goings on (I also secretly hope that the pressure of blogging will inspire me to lead a more interesting life in general -- one worthy of at least a few paragraphs on the world wide web).