By popular request

First off, thank you so much for the amazing outpouring of love and support regarding my recent news of acceptance. I am grateful to be in at BYU, we shall see what these other schools say.

NOW, there was a request a few posts back, a request for me to tell WHY IN THE WORLD I AM GOING TO LAW SCHOOL! And, because I do not want to let my readership down, I shall tell this tale. Get RIVETED! To understand the whole picture, I need to start at the beginning...the very beginning.

When I was a young lady, my father decided to go back to law school. Naturally, this was a painstakingly difficult decision for my parents. I am the youngest of three. My brothers were both in high school, I was in middle school, and this would mean quite a change in our financial circumstances. But my parents went forward with faith, my mother went back to work as a first grade teacher and my dad went to law school full time. Watching my dad go through law school put a bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing. Many of the most difficult memories I have relating to my growing up, take place during this period. As a result, I swore to myself that though I was certain I could be anything, I would never be a lawyer.

Fast forward a few years, I entered college. I was excited to see what I could do for the world. I was set on becoming a doctor. I was planning to study International Relations while getting in all of pre-requisites for medical school. The night before my first day of college, I had a total melt down. I was too intimidated by my stack up of classes, and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea to just put off chemistry a semester. So I did. In that first semester, A LOT of experiences steered me toward a study abroad in Paris. I had never really had much of an interest in France, but everything just kind of fell into place and that kicked chemistry out another two semesters since I needed to take French 101 before I was allowed to go and then the study abroad itself took up a semester.

The more and more I have reflected back on this series of events, the more I have realized that going to France was a pivotal changing point in my life. I honestly wonder now if I ever would have been able to come to the conclusions that I did while I was there if I had remained at BYU. I think I am just stubborn enough that I had to get entirely out of the country to feel insecure enough to humble myself some. Needless to say...I never did end up taking chemistry in college.

While in Paris, I was confronted with where I was really going in life, and the more I reflected about my decision to go through medical school, the more my resolve weakened. I knew that I could go to medical school, but just because I COULD didn't mean I SHOULD. So, I began considering other options, other ways to help people, other ways to indulge in my insatiable curiosity about the world, other ways to make a difference...but NOT LAW. That was the only option I steered clear of entirely. For about a month, I thought daily about what I should do and why I was there in Paris, what important thing I needed to learn. THEN, one night, I sat in my room listening to various talks from some very inspiring women. Should you want to listen to these talks, this is the link. In these talks, my mind was caught up in the quandary of what I should do with my life. I was certain of one thing, I KNEW that at some point hopefully I would be a mother, and I wanted to be the best mother that I could be. So then I began to ask myself, what should I study to become the best mother I could be...and the answer will likely surprise you as much as it did me. LAW. I am telling you it was as clear as a bell...I practically heard someone say it to me.

And yet, despite this overwhelming assurance, this strike of clarity regarding my life...I was a reluctant follower. For another month, I studied this out in my mind and thought about it often in my heart. I couldn't deny that I knew that this is what I was supposed to do, but my goodness I didn't want to.

I finally told my parents about a month after I had this experience. I knew they would be excited for me, because they are always supportive and excited for me, but I knew my dad would be especially excited, because he truly loves law with all his heart.

This experience happened about three years and two months ago. Since that time, I have taken the steps needed to ensure I would be able to attend law school, but I have considered and earnestly desired other fields. This has been one of the most difficult choices for me in my life. I know that I have been blessed in many ways to be able to move forward with this choice most especially the most supportive husband a girl could ask for in this regard...that man is honestly willing to pick up and go to school wherever I want...crazy talk! But I still struggle to know why I am supposed to go and what I will do with it. At times, I feel that I have had a small glimpse...but never enough to answer that big question of WHY? So for now, I am going into that first day with my fingers crossed :-) Wish me luck!

Verdict...

Well folks....it appears I have been accepted to BYU Law School!

in with the NEW!

Well, to all you faithful blog followers out there, the in with the new is that I have an interview with the Dean of Admissions at BYU Law School today at 3:00pm. This is the first school I have heard anything from. Interviews aren't generally part of the law school process, so I am rather curious to see what this is all about...but just having this interview is making law school seem more real. Crazy to think that THIS YEAR, 2011 will help me fulfill a goal I have been working toward for three years in earnest! Wish me luck! Here is the fellow I will be meeting with...he looks nice enough right?

CORRECTION

Alright, so just after posting my last post...I saw this news release which has put me much at ease...when I said it had been FOREVER discontinued...I was jumping the gun...the Ultra absorpency ones have...but it turns out that there was just a temporary glitch in shipping out A LOT of tampons...so crisis averted...I guess. Way to go Johnson and Johnson. Here is the link to the article.

IN MY DEFENSE, this article did just come out yesterday...and I only just saw it, so the desperation expressed in my last post is still warranted I think :-) have a good Friday!

Out with the OLD...

Well folks, I knew 2011 would bring changes. I knew it and I thought I was prepared...I really did...but then the unthinkable happened: Exhibit A.

Exhibit A

It took me YEARS, years I tell you to find a feminine hygiene product that worked for me. I did my time with Tampax, Playtex, Kotex and all the others...nothing felt right, and then one day, I happened upon these little beauties, and it was as if I was seeing the world in color for the first time...k, it wasn't that dramatic, but IT WAS SURE LIFE CHANGING, in a small but SIGNIFICANT way. And do you know what???? Several weeks before Christmas, I went out to stock up on these cotton treasures...but they were no where to be found, all the stores were out. I thought to myself, I know that I live in the most liberal part of Utah, but this has never been a problem before. Why was there a run on tampons? Does Utah get a smaller amount of these tampons because they don't sell as well here???? WHAT WAS THE REASON? I went home dejected...so I figured that I may as well order some from Walmart on line, because I didn't want to drive the 13 blocks it would take me to get down to the store. ALL OUT. Now, tell me how a shopping Mecca like Walmart with an ONLINE store to boot can be out of stock? It just wasn't adding up...and that is when folks, that is when the research began...and the depression set in. It wasn't Utah folks...it was the manufacturer.

THE O.B. LINE OF TAMPONS HAS BEEN FOREVER DISCONTINUED...they are selling for like $40.00 a box on Amazon etc. I am sure I could get them elsewhere on-line, but no more will I see that petite box greeting me in the grocery store. What did I learn from this? I learned that I should be less hard on this great state of Utah...and I learned that Johnson and Johnson may make some great baby shampoo, but they can't see a good women's product if it hits them between the eyes...alas...that is the out with the OLD part...my next post should bring in the NEW.

LAW SCHOOL!!!!

Alright readers, I figured that I should include you on the wait to find out where I am going to law school. It is, after all, killing me to have to be patient, thus I figured why not let you in on the agonizing pain of THE WAIT :-)

First, let me just set the stage. Parker, my beloved and oh so handsome husband, still has three and a half years left before he graduates from the University of Utah. He will, at that time, be graduating with a Masters, but he is planning on doing the joint B.S./M.S. Computer Science degree. As a result, my options are a bit limited as far as law school is concerned, seeing as I would like to live with my husband during the next three years. I know that everyone has that special story about some couple that was much more magnificent than us, who were able to be at different schools, in different states etc...but I don't think I am cut out for that. Where Parker goes, I will go, and where I am, HE WILL BE! So, anyway, THAT SAID, Parker has told me many times, that he is happy to go wherever I want to. BUT WHERE IS THAT? Yikes, that is the question huh?

HMMMmmmm, well, marriage complicates things as you can see, but complicated doesn't mean bad. It certainly has limited my options of where to apply, but in the end, I think everything will work out just fine.

Let's talk application fees. Every school charges you to apply there...lame...but probably smart too, without the deterrent of a fee...probably everyone would apply to Harvard, because what have they got to lose? You following me? Generally, those fees range between $50.00-$80.00 per school. THAT ADDS UP QUICK. Additionally, we all have to go through this organization called LSAC to assemble our application, and they charge a $12.00 fee per school you apply to as well. So, in essence, per school, just to apply, there is generally a fee of $62.00 - $92.00 per application. In our world, that means like 8-12 Cafe Rio salads just to have a bit of paper turned in. LAME.

Complicating matters more, Parker and I really only have a plan for if I get into the U or BYU, and our plan for BYU is still a little hazy...so this begs the question, why apply anywhere that you don't think you will actually go to...and further, why pay a bunch of money to just see if you can get in somewhere that you won't actually go?

SOOOOOO, where did I apply you may be wondering???? Well, I am proud to say that I did not pay a single application fee. Not one! After you take the LSAT, like millions of application fee waivers start coming into your inbox from different schools that really want you to go there. Usually, they are to no-name schools, but occasionally, you get some real treasures. The funniest part to me, is the randomness of it. I have had schools way out of my league, contact me, tell me I am perfect for their school, and waive their application fee without me asking....case and point, DUKE, and I have had other schools, that I ACTUALLY am perfect for based on the class profile, turn me down when I wrote them for an application fee waiver, case and point UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON. Luckily, BYU and the U were giving of the application fee waivers. The others are just thrown in their for fun.

So here is the WAIT AND SEE list folks! I have cataloged each school based on TIER, RANK, LOCATION, AND TUITION AMOUNT FOR THE FIRST YEAR.

Tier	Rank (U.S. News)	University	Location	Tuition First Year
1	11	Duke	Durham, NC	$46,930.00
1	28	William and Mary	Williamsburg, VA	$24,375.00
1	41	Brigham Young University	Provo, UT	$10,000.00
1	43	University of Utah	Salt Lake City, UT	$18,000.00
1	64	Baylor	Waco, TX	$26,096.00
1	72	Temple	Philadelphia, PA	$30,000.00

So far, if I got in to Duke, we have a semi-plan for Parker's school, but we are mostly crossing our fingers for the Utah schools seeing as they are the cheapest and pretty well ranked. The problem with Temple is that I would need to learn how to spell Philadelphia...and I still mess it up every time I try to do it on my own...without auto correct.

Anyway, where do you think I should go????? I am all ears. The application period isn't through yet folks :-) Cast your votes!

P.S. The researcher in me feels I must include a source for my information: most of it was accessed from the U.S. News Rankings for 2010 which can be located here. Any conflicting information was gathered from the law school's individual websites.

An Epic CHRISTMAS Fail

Why do I show you this picture you may ask? What a bizarre way to start a post! But dear friends, it will all become abundantly clear why such a picture was chosen as this post progresses.

As some of you may know, I studied International Relations in College. I loved it. I still love it, and sometimes I miss it. I studied a great deal about the treatment of women through out the world for research during this time. I even got a grant to research the Exclusion of Women during Menstruation (link). Should you be interested in reading or looking at any of these things...my research group was called womanstats and they can be accessed on womanstats.org, and the link to a quick overview of my grant research is listed above. For more detail on either, just ask. Most people get more than their fill from the mere mention of either, so I don't want to overwhelm any of you :-) Anyways, this is all building to something I PROMISE.

So for Christmas this year, I wanted to do something cool. I fear it wasn't very original, but I still wanted to do something humanitarian. So I decided to buy each couple in my family a duck from worldvision.org. This is a fabulous site if you have ever been interested donating things for those in need here or abroad. Anyway, eachduck would provide a source of protein rich eggs for a family as well as a possible way to make some money. I was very excited that I had purchased these ducks in honor of my various family members, and I was just trying to find a good way to present it to them.

NOW comes the explanation of the picture above, this is not the exact picture I used, but it is close. I want you to look at that picture...I want you think in your minds about how that picture would look from far away if it was a close up on that little boy's face with just a duck's head next to his own and printed with black and white ink...just think about it for a minute.

Then, I want you to think, how would you present this gift to your family? It took me days to figure out something cute, but on December 24th, 2010 while waiting for my brother and his wife to arrive at the airport, Parker and I struck inspiration. RUBBER DUCKIES! Of course!

One trip to target and three rubber duckies later, we were ready to roll. I quickly printed off three photos as mentioned above and attached a paragraph of explanation to the bottom of each.

I wrapped the gifts in such a way that the ducky would be opened first, then in a box underneath, each couple would find that printed paper with the picture and the paragraph of explanation. I thought I was so clever :-)

When Aaron and Becca reached for that present Christmas morning, I was so excited I practically screamed...and then I instructed each couple to grab their own similarly wrapped present. Wonder spread on their faces, my mother got this worried look, and I was still confused.

Then they each unwrapped their rubber ducky. MORE SURPRISED FACES, and I was still confused. My mom kind of whimpered a little when she got hers, Parker was rubbing my tummy at this point. My mom said, "Well this is a sudden surprise!" Still confused.

Did she know what I had given? Why was everyone looking at me? Why was Parker rubbing my stomach and saying he was so excited? It was strange.

I quickly instructed, "Open the next part!" Feeling confident that this would clear up any confusion...but I was wrong.

Everyone opened the bottom part. My dad was not sitting very near my mom, and from far in the distance, that sweet picture of the little African boy with his big white smile and the white head of the duck look strikingly similar to an ultrasound. PANIC. Panic spread across the faces of my dear sweet parents.

It was in that moment that I knew, that everything came clear...that it suddenly made sense why Parker had taken to rubbing my belly. Oh dear. What a lamo...in my moment of need and distress he plays it up to a pregnancy joke...lame.

I quickly cleared up that we were not having a child, that in fact, we were just giving everyone a duck. And in that moment, more Christmas wishes were dashed than I will probably ever know...no cousin for Lucy and her soon to be baby brother, no Wightman grandchild, no leverage for convincing my other brother to start a family...just a duck...a measly old duck...and an Epic Christmas Gifting Fail.

P.S. My family actually did think the gift was pretty cool when all was said and done...but for dramatic effect I decided to leave my audience of readers wondering...this kind of literary planning isn't found in every blog folks...just sayin' this is a one of a kind treat here :-)

2011...

I am in a fight with blogging. It has been a struggle lately to think of things to even post...and then I did...and I began to post and somehow, mysteriously, the blogging window timed out or something and my whole entry was lost. I was so mad at blogger that I denied it for weeks...but you know what they say, the only person getting hurt was me, or something like that. So anyway, I have decided to give blogger a second chance and hopefully to save as I go in the future so I won't becoming a hating cranky pants again.

Christmas was lovely. Parker and I went to Oregon for like 2 whole weeks. Did we bring our camera for Christmas you ask? Why yes, yes we did :-) Did we take any pictures you ask? Why no, no we didn't. In fact, in that whole two week period, we didn't even take the camera out of our suitcases once. What is wrong with us you ask? Well...clearly we are not fit to ever be parents. I don't know why we are so terrible at taking pictures...but we will try harder in 2011 to document our lives. I think my dad took some pictures, so perhaps I will get some from him, but for now you will just have to imagine our cute little faces being so happy and full of Christmas cheer while loving on my family in Oregon.

While there, I fell in love all over again with my little niece Lucy. She is quite possibly the most adorable child ever, but of course I am biased. Anyway, it was a blast. My whole family was there, and it was so fun. We miss everyone already, but hopefully it won't be as long this time before we see everyone again.

When we came home from Oregon, Parker's family through us a Christmas all over again. I think that my in-laws are probably the best I could have ever hoped for. They are so generous and kind. It was a bundle-o-fun. Thank goodness for happy memories and happy times to tide me over Winter.