First Day of Law School Orientation

So, today was my first day of law school orientation. I tried to look cute, but still felt somehow very underdressed when I arrived. It is so strange to be back in school. All day I had this sinking feeling, a realization of just what I was getting myself into. I just wanted something to reach out and say...you are meant to be here, but I did not really feel that way. It's hard to be at a new school. I still seem to have these nervous moments where I wonder if I really made the right choice in coming to this school. Going to BYU though adding a commute, would have really simplified things in a lot of ways. I certainly would have had more friends coming into day one, but I just kept trying to reassure myself there was a purpose in me being at this school at this time.

**Funny Story Alert**

The day was moving a long just fine until we had to introduce ourselves. I don't know why, but I really hate doing this. I know it seems simple, but I would much rather have to answer a question in class that I don't know the answer to than try to piece together my purpose in coming to law school and something interesting about myself in two sentences that will delight and endear a crowd of peer onlookers. UGH, but that is what orientation week is all about.

The day had been going along just fine. They pre-made name tags and desk name placards. Halelujiah. I was growing increasingly confident that the whole day would pass without me having to so much as say where I was from in front of everyone...but then the instructor said those infamous and not altogether believable words, "...but enough about that, I don't want to talk, I want you to talk. So, let's have everyone introduce themselves. Go ahead say your name, where your from, why you want to go to law school, and....hmmmm, I don't know...how about something interesting about yourself." My heart sunk. Then it sank a little further when he started just three people away from me. Shoot! I only have moments to come up with something clever or moving...or both?

The moment came. I said, "Hi, I'm Rebekah Wightman. I am from Dallas...Oregon. Yes...you probably didn't know there was a Dallas in Oregon. (Girlfriend in the back row screams, "I DID." Well thank you for that, real helpful!) So, ummmm....you know, Law School is the only thing I said I'd never do and well, here I am. So we will see how this goes."

(Phew...done with that! But oh no, Mr. Instructor man has to pipe in.)

Mr. Instructor Man: "Wow! That's a big change, never going to law school to suddenly enrolled in law school...what made you come? How did this change occur?"

Me: Crappity crappity...I didn't think I would have to defend this. "Ummm, well, I don't know, I just felt like I should." Awesome answer, Bekah! Really wowing the crowd.

So in an effort to redeem myself I figured I would finish off with a fun fact about me. So then I threw in my standard....."and I am a champion leg wrestler." It was only after I said this that it occurred to me, although he had said to include such a tidbit....no one had, as of yet. So, let's just recap on what I told ALL my new PEERS and COLLEAGUES about myself today shall we????

In short, my name is Rebekah. I come from a want to be town from nowhere minus one person to whom it is somewhere. I am a want to be lawyer that doesn't want to be there and that doesn't know why she is. She is crossing her fingers and hoping for the best....while crossing her legs because apparently she is a champion leg wrestler...which is after all a want to be sport. GOOD. Real good Bekah.

And this was just part of day one...

2 Years

Well, Monday, August 15, 2011 was our 2nd wedding anniversary. This year was Parker's year to plan, and the day was absolutely perfect. Especially since I started law school orientation today, it was so fun to go have a lovely relaxing day with Parker.

There are many things I love about my husband, but ranking among the highest is his genuine creativity. If I name a day, give him a budget, and tell him I want surprises...he delivers :-)

This year was certainly full of small, simple, perfect surprises.

Here in Salt Lake, we have a public transit system called Trax. However, there is a very fast train called the Front Runner that takes you all the way up to Ogden in about 45 minutes. It is a smooth ride too. Since I recently acquired my new University of Utah Student I.D., I now ride for free, as does he because he is also a student. So, SURPRISE #1: Riding Frontrunner to Ogden while watching episodes of a show we like the whole way there :-)

Then once we got to Ogden, a cute little bus that looked like a Trolley picked us up and took us around town. The trolley was free so that was fun too. In Ogden, they have this cool place where you can indoor skydive and indoor surf. We went and watched people do this, it was way cool.

Then Parker convinced me that there should be a special occasions clause in my "no sweets for a year" resolution...so we went over to subzero and had some ice cream.

Parker has also decided that each year on our anniversary, we should set aside a little money to get something to improve our home. This year, we had a kitchen focus. We went to Sur la Table at the Gateway and picked out some items that would make our kitchen more efficient. We got a super duper scrubber thing, a lemon juicer that catches the seeds, and a slotted spoon with scalloped edges. Super FUN!

Then, we finished off the evening with dinner and a movie. Parker and I were both born in August. Thus, we are part of the Tocanos Birthday Club :-) So, for dinner, we used our free birthday meal.

The movie of choice was The Help. I really enjoyed it, and I think Parker did too. The whole day was wonderful, and a perfect start to the craziness of law school. Thank goodness for my sweet husband. All night, all I could think was how truly lucky I was to find Parker.

A friend told me recently that Parker was a good man, and I really deserved him. I had to tell her as much as I wished I could take that compliment, there really wasn't any deserving about it. I just got lucky, and that is the truth. Parker took a chance on me and me on him, so far it is proving the smartest choice I have yet made in my life. I am glad Heavenly Father brought Parker into my life and even more glad I was willing to sacrifice a part of my life plan for a better one.

DIY: Cinder Block Palace

So, I promised that I would provide pictures of how we decorated our new two bedroom apartment. After cleaning and cleaning before we left on vacation, the thought occurred to me that I should take some pictures, but I simply had too much to do. As a result, I have decided to display the pictures of our cute little apartment in installments. You see, I simply will never have everything clean all at once again I don't think, at least not for a great while, so I am just going to post pictures one room at a time as they get clean. This is our front room/kitchen. I love this room so so so much.

This picture was the theme for the whole room. It is just above the sink which you did not get to see because my dishes weren't done. However, if you cannot tell what it is, I will tell you. The picture is by one of my favorite artists Charley Harper. This is called "The Last Sunflower Seed." This depicts a pile of cardinal birds all trying to get to a sunflower seed but the one on the very far right has made out with the loot.

So this is probably my proudest feature of the room. I got all the frames for those pictures for $1.87 at Target. They are super cute and I love the character they add to the room. The bench is actually just a bunch of 15inch by 15 inch by 15 inch ottomans that I got for $8.00 a piece at Target. Then I covered them with material. The solid red is a bed sheet, the top cushion part is covered in my curtain fabric from our kitchen window in our old apartment. I love them. I also sewed the pillows with the large design. When I was in Paris, I worked with an older couple from Hawaii. I danced in a Hula and was given a strip of fabric for my wrap around skirt. It had three large square panels in it. Those panels became these pillows on the bench and couch.

I made this little scrabble art at the Boys and Girls club. It is made out of an old scrabble game. I love that it gives a cute personal touch to our shelf.

Parker and I are not big TV watchers, and I disliked that it usually takes up so much room, so I have stowed it away under that bookshelf behind our front door. Should we want to watch, we can roll it out into the middle of the floor and plug it in, but then we can roll it back when we are done with it.

This wall is not finished for me quite yet...but I have not decided just what I want to do with it. The mirror was a dumpster find. It is beautiful with beveled edges, I just painted it and presto! It went great with our room.

The curtains are a microfiber fabric and were very inexpensive, but my sister-in-law helped me sew them...as in, she sewed them for me. She was such a big help. I am so grateful for her!

Since I used Oops paint for the turquoise wall color, I only had to spend money on the white and red paint. In total, I think I probably spent around $150.00 to remake the whole room, perhaps a bit more, but I can't tell what a difference it has made for the peace I find in coming home. While I still think there are some finishing touches to be had, I like where our room is at. I can't seem to keep it clean all the time, but I am doing my best. Please stop by sometime and see it...but maybe call first, so I can make sure it is tidy :-)

STRESS AND PANIC

I think I am entering the phase of my life now called: Stress and Panic.

I just returned from a blissful vacation in Moab, UT. We went with Parker's family, and it was lovely. Unfortunately, I am not sure how many pics I will be able to recover.

Immediately before leaving for that, as in the day we left, I finished our house. I am family content with it. I PROMISE there will be pictures posted of that soon.

BUT, it has occurred to me that I really should probably start preparing myself for law school seeing as orientation begins on Tuesday. YIKES. I think reality is beginning to set in. I am nervous as all get out.

Some of you may know that my birthday is coming up, August 24th :-) Wahoo. I will be 23 years old. In my effort to get myself ready for school, I decided I better look up some of the necessities and make a birthday list. Seeing as how my current backpack is a leftover from BYU and was well loved during my tenure there, I decided finding a good book back would be my first stop for internet shopping/ list assembling.

I desire a book bag...something more professional than a backpack, but still of the backpack caliber. So, I went to Amazon.com, typed in 'law school book bag, ' and this is what popped up:

Which is rather appropriate if you have ever seen a standard size law book, but it was about that moment when both PANIC and STRESS set in...Indeed, I do believe law school will be rather HEFTY and to think, this is only the beginning!

Action Plan Step Two: NO SWEETS FOR A YEAR

I know I need to write an update on my life. The first part of the action plan is going well. Today I am instituting the second. Here is the deal, everyone says that law school is pretty tough, especially that the first year is really tough. Throughout my life, when the going has gotten tough, I have invariably turned to food, particularly SWEETS. I wish this was not the case, but as I have felt myself becoming more nervous in anticipation for school, I have noticed my reserve and moderation in regard to these delicious desserts completely evaporate. As a result, I am publicly declaring that starting today August 1, 2011, I will not eat sweets/desserts/candy etc until August 1, 2012. Doesn't that sound terrible? I think that it might be, but I am hopeful. I know the holidays will be hard, but I have thought this out, and I think I can do it. ALSO, a small disclaimer is that Red Mango, which is real frozen yogurt, no want to be frozen yogurt, stays in my diet, so if I get really desperate, I can always have that...and I think that will be my salvation at least for these first few months. More than anything, I will miss chocolate, but I have grown too dependent on it, so this will be good for me.

I do not plan to never eat any of these again, but I want to teach myself that I am in control this year, so that when I add this back into my life, I have a better chance of keeping moderation in there too. WE SHALL SEE...but I will keep you posted.