Thursday, February 17, 2011

Happy Things

My day got crazy yesterday. Without warning I went from "I have a pleasantly full plate of work" to "Holy crap there are not enough hours to possibly do any of this well." I finished a Motion to Compel at 1:30 this morning (that hurt, I'm not going to lie, especially since I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep right away and I couldn't take any sleeping pills because I had to wake back up in 5 hours) and some other big stuff this afternoon, so I feel back in control again. In the midst of the madness and the not sleeping, these are the superficial things that have made me happy in the last two days:

(1) Music Video! I'm obsessed with this video of Eminem, Rihanna, and Dr. Dre at the Grammy's. I don't understand my love for Eminem, because I don't really like rap and my official position is to be offended at half of the stuff in his songs, but I do love him and I REALLY love the songs "Love the Way You Lie" and "I Need a Doctor." Best performances of the night, I say:

(It would be embarrassing to admit to you how many times I've listened to this video at work this week, but I think I'm going to be over it soon.)

(2) Office Art! Originally meant as a birthday present, but now designated as a "I didn't take any unpaid maternity leave plus I've been at the firm 2.5 years and should have something on my office walls by now" present, I bought two pictures for my office from FineArtAmerica.com (an 18x24 canvas of Windy City Nights and a 16x20 of Time is of the Essence, which seemed appropriate for a lawyer's office). I had them framed at Hobby Lobby (on sale, of course) and picked them up today and they look so beautiful! I'm so glad to have some color in my office.

(3) Snazzy Suit! I haven't bought a real suit since 2005 when I purchased my first (and only) Ann Taylor suit before 1L interviews. I wore that suit approximately 100 times before passing it on to my sister (and then borrowing it back before/after my pregnancy with Claire, and even after all that the suit still looks great and my sis still wears it). I bought two suits when I started work, but they were cheap ones from the Limited that just don't look nearly as nice as my old Ann Taylor one. I've put off the purchase of a "real" suit for over 2 years because they're so expensive, but on Tuesday AT's 30% sale for suits got to me and I drove over to the mall 45 minutes before it closed. I left with a new jacket and pants at 30% off + an extra 15% off with a new AT Card. I also got two extra tops on sale to go with the suit, and went back for a price adjustment today because they added the "extra 40% off sale items" 24 hours after I made my purchase. (I had to push, but they did it.) The suit is beautiful and fits me perfectly and has been informed that it must last me until at least 2017.

(4) Date Night! My sister is babysitting tomorrow night so JP and I can go out for a combo Valentine's + Birthday dinner using a gift card one of his swim lesson kids so generously provided at christmas. We don't do date nights often. Our kids go to bed early, so we already get 3+ hours of grown-up time every night to flirt and talk about things using words we don't say in front of the kids. Plus, we like being home. But it is fun to occasionally dress up in something special and linger over a glass of wine with my boyfriend.

(5) Pancakes with Peanut Butter! One of the associates in my section is leaving the firm tomorrow so we had a farewell breakfast today with breakfast tacos and 3 kinds of pancakes. A co-worker introduced me to a world of peanut butter + pancakes + a teensy bit of syrup and it is delicious. Also, it's 4:00 and I'm still full!

(6) The Shoes! You know the ones I'm talking about. I have a whole outfit planned to showcase them again tomorrow. I probably shouldn't have such a deep emotional connection with an inanimate object, but I do love them so very much.

(7) 30 Rock! New episode tonight! Last week's was one of the funniest I think I've ever seen. If you aren't watching that show, you should be. ("I want our daughter to be born in America so she can one day become president and declare war on Germany like back when we were awesome." and "I never sleep on planes - I don't want to get incepted." God, I love Jack Donaghy.)

Back to work.

7 comments:

  1. The "Time is of the Essence" picture is perfect for a lawyer's office!

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  2. Aw! I love that you called JP your "boyfriend" in point (4). That's the right attitude! :)

    [Also, small note, but just noticed you mentioned your sister's name in point (3). Not sure if you care or not, but thought I'd alert you to it if it was a mistake.]

    ... by the way, I like the numbered points. Can you tell I'm studying for the Bar? Easy organization is a beautiful thing! Just like rainbow order and all such concepts! Yes! ;)

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  3. we want to see the outfit mentioned in (6)! :)

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  4. Thanks MJS, I'll change it. I have no idea if she'd care, but might as well.

    And Anon, I'll try! JP has early morning practice and is coaching a master's swim class, so it's a single parent morning, but surely I can snap a quick, crooked, badly lit, non-smiling because I'm too focused on aiming the camera in the right direction, picture in my little bathroom mirror :)

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  5. Don't you love how low to moderately busy cases can ramp up to crazy busy status almost overnight?! I love the wall art. My walls are bare except for my lawschool diploma. I'm debating what to do with all the walls... I didn't comment on your prior post but way to go on getting a book offer. If you decide to go for it, I will for sure be one of your readers!

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  6. Oh, AMEN on Jack Donaghy. He is just brilliant in every episode. I have TWO saved up on my DVR and can't wait to watch them. :) Have a great weekend!

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  7. I remembered you wrote this post and was trying to email you about it, but can't find a way to email you. So, hopefully you notice this comment on an old post.

    Skylar Grey, the girl who sings the "I need a doctor, doctor, doctor" portion of this song has a new EP out (apparently). As a result of this, they are giving away one of her songs for free on iTunes. It's called "invisible" and it is REALLY good.

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