It's Still July

I'm sick. Which seems to be a thing I am a lot this summer (maybe every summer the last couple years? as I look back there seems to be a theme), but when I'm sick it means I can't concentrate long enough to do the legal work I need to do so I'm turning my attention to my personal laptop and blogger. I have a fever, cough, stuffy nose, sinus pressure, and a need to be napping almost all the time. Let's see where this goes!

When we last left off we were headed to beautiful Silver Lake to celebrate the 4th of July and honor my grandfather.

It was a long journey but a perfect trip. I have been going to Silver Lake since I was a baby (and since my babies were babies) and I really think it's the only place on earth that remains as wonderful in reality as it sparkles in my memories.

My whole family was there, so it was a reunion of all the Rice cousins, plus most of my own Nordin cousins!

#TeamNordin

We had a really wonderful time and it was very special to remember my sweet Grandpa at his most favorite place on earth. I really truly believe he was there with us, especially on the 4th as we shared stories about him and heard stories from my mom's cousins (my grandpa's nieces and nephews) who had wonderful tales we'd never heard before but captured his joyful, loving, generous, inquisitive, and wonderful self.

It was a really lovely few days.

We came back and dove into work (me), one last try at qualifying for Olympic Trials (James; just missed it!), more swimming (Landon), babysitting, room decorating, and swimming (Claire), and swimming and missing the one week of a sports camp we signed her up for because she got sick (Cora).

This is how I start my day each morning at work. I get to my office, plug in my laptop, get my Ember mug from its charging pad and the special tea that I have delivered to work because the kitchen tea is subpar, and go to the kitchen to fill up a firm mug with a strong straight Super Irish Breakast tea and then my Ember mug with my delicately flavored Breakfast in Paris black tea. I drink the Irish tea first and the Ember mug keeps the Paris tea warm until I'm ready. It is the way.

Claire's new built-in shelves look amazing. I love them so much and can't believe they ever weren't there. She loves them too.

I got 6 inches of hair cut off.

It felt very scary but it's the very best thing. I can go from the shower to completely dried and styled hair in about 8 minutes.

Short hair is a life hack.

Landon turned 17 on Monday. My little law school baby is nearly a legal adult. I cannot even.

He picked a local Mexican restaurant for dinner so he could get his chicken chimichanga.

And then we opened presents. He got a laptop from us (we realized he was writing his college recruiting letters on his phone and when I asked if he'd like something with a bigger screen and keyboard his face lit up like I'd just invented something amazing), hat from my brother, cool computer accessories from my parents, a swimming t-shirt from Amanda, Colorado tees from my sister, and sweet cards and treats from the girls.

I really can't believe he's in his last year as a minor, but I know we are enjoying every minute of these last few years with him at home. He is so fun and SO funny, so smart and responsible, and so dedicated to his swimming. The hours he spends draped across my office couch or bed, chatting about nothing and everything, generally only when I’m really busy with something else (“Mom, you need to lock in”), are everything I hoped being a mom would be.

He does all his own meal-prepping, college-planning, and AP studying, but he still sometimes forgets to close the refrigerator door. This is 17 and we’re here for it.

Speaking of children being older than they should be, the girls got their hairs cut today at the salon I usually go to. We go on our big national park hiking trip in a week and when we come back school will be days away from starting (!!), so we're getting all our ducks in a row now. We've got shoes, school uniforms, books, backpacks, and now hair cuts!

Cora loves hers and felt so confident afterward! Gotta love a new 'do.

I am counting down the seconds until we leave for our hiking trip in Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons National Parks. I just need to kick this cold and do about 100 hours of legal work in the next week and we're off!

IT'S JULY

I guess this is how I blog now. One meager post a month, exclaiming that it is indeed the month the calendar says it is.

Tomorrow we leave for Wisconsin, to my grandfather's home, to the lake we love so much and that he loved most. My mom's whole family is gathering, all the kids and all the cousins, and we'll play on the shores of his beloved Silver Lake, wear our "Team Nordin" shirts, honor his favorite holiday, and fly the flag that covered his coffin at the funeral.

I miss him so much, every day, and while I wish more than anything he could join us, I also know he'll be there.

He loved hearing about my work and work is going so great. I've been working a LOT but on great matters, with interesting issues, and with wonderful clients. I love it. I love being busy and needed and full. The kids have mixed feelings.

I flew to DC for a night in mid-June to attend a summer associate Palm Royale party. It was a good time and I got to wear a dress I bought with my mom at Dirty Dillards over a year ago that was feeling sad it hadn't been worn.

Speaking of trips, we surprised Landon with a trip to watch swimming Olympic Trials for an early birthday present and it was the best. I got to use airline miles from all my work trips, he got to join his two best friends who were already traveling up there with their family, and while he didn't give us a lot of information while he was gone, we definitely got a full download when he got back.

The day after he got back, he and James had a big swim meet and it was actually in Dallas, so the girls and I went to watch.

They overlaped in one event, swimming in the same lane, one behind the other (James is in the black cap; Landon is in white behind him).

I loved seeing them together and though they've been to a million meets together, I finally got a picture of them both on deck!

Landon dropped time and actually beat James for the first time! Pretty big milestone in this family. The 50 free isn't James's best event, but it isn't his worst either, and I did love getting to sit with him in the bleachers at finals so we could watch our baby boy together.

Claire finished up summer school and has been babysitting almost every day. It's keeping her in all the Sephora and Homegoods bags her 14-year-old heart desires.

Her birthday present was built-in shelves and a desk in her room. The project just got finished and it looks AMAZING. Just like it was always meant to be there. She's been busy assembling drawers and curating her shelves and I can't wait to see it all done.

She picked out this chair from Homegoods and Milo thought it was for him.

She moved her old desk to the landing so I could list it on Facebook Marketplace but next thing we knew Landon had moved in, so now he has a desk too! He's very pleased.

Cora is doing great. She had oral surgery two weeks ago to remove a baby tooth that had gotten trapped under two adult teeth. She did great, though hated how sleepy the anesthesia made her for the rest of the day (which is hands down my favorite part of surgery). She watched a lot of nature documentaries and was back at swim practice the next day. Speaking of, she just had a great met this past weekend- her first ever long course meet- and got all A times and one AA! She's really enjoying swimming and I love seeing her on deck with her friends.

Random work 'fit photo. Bonnie has gotten me more into neutrals and I put this outfit together all by myself.

Also this Veronica Beard blazer deserved a pic. A pre-owned find on The Real Real, I love it so much. Orange, navy, sky blue, and pink - who knew I needed a tweed in this color?

I've spent a few weekend days by the pool, soaking up the shade, reading or watching the kids play. I find when I'm working this much, in my off time I only want to sit with the people I love, curl into a soft chair and read a fantasty book, or sleep. So that's pretty much what I've been doing, though I did manage a happy hour with some new yet already dear friends from the Dallas legal scene.

I'm sure I've written this before but truly the best part of private practice is getting to connect with so many strong, brilliant, amazing women in the field. We need more, but man we've got some good ones.

And finally, this made me laugh.

I can 100% see myself doing that.

Other random things I put in a note on my phone to mention the next time I write a post:

(1) I just learned about book podcasts and am currently obsessed with A Court of Faeries and Fangirls, a podcast with two best friends who are breaking down every Sarah J. Maas book (and they're starting Throne of Glass, my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE of her series, in the fall). It's fun and smart and funny and I've gotten a lot of great book recs from their chit chat at the beginning of each episode.

(2) Landon turns 17 in less than 2 weeks. My heart really can't take the college recruiting letters he's already getting.

(3) I LOVED Bridgerton Season 3 and I am sad that I watched it so quickly.

(4) I've given up on exercise and clean living for the rest of summer. I'm not going nuts about it, but it's too freaking hot, I'm too busy, I travel too much, there's too many summer events, politics are too terrible, and summer is the absolute worst here in the 7th circle of hell. I will be healthy in the fall, winter, and spring, but summer is our time for reverse hiberation. It's frozen margaritas by the pool and if a cookie makes life worth living at 2 pm (and your summer program keeps providing them), you eat one. It's fine. There's only 2 (to 4) months of truly terrible temperatures left.

(5) I got sick three days ago, which seems to be a thing I do in summertime, but steroids, sudafed, mucinex, and sleeping pills seem to be dragging me around the corner?

(6) Which is good, because our first flight leaves at 7:40 a.m. tomorrow morning. And so, I'm off to bed. I truly miss you all when I don't write, which is funny since I don't know many of you who read, but blogging has always felt like talking to a friend and I hope you're all doing well.

IT'S JUNE

Oh my goodness you guys. Life! It is so much! I have two half-written posts from May and I do want to go back to them, but I'm sitting here on Sunday night, watching swimming Olympic Trials on TV surrounded by the rest of my crew on the couch and I am DETERMINED to draft and post something before I need to log back into work when the swimming is done. And so, we're jumping to June. The month started with the kids in Houston with my parents and the rest of my family. They had a blast with their cousins and did lots of lake swimming, bowling, arcade playing, and more.

James and I continued to camp in our own house until the power finally came back on after 5 days without. We did enjoy a few extra date nights with our children gone (and with our house too hot to stay in until the sun went down anyway).

The real highlight was the Saturday we got that was kid-free, with electricity, and without my having to work. We went out for brunch, napped, and went out for dinner and it felt as luxurious and restful as a multi-day vacation. (Also, I love that navy blue dress because I feel like I have butterfly wings from the back.)

The kids got back very late Sunday night after a new round of crazy storms grounded their plane in Houston, had them deboarding, and then reboarding, and then finally back in Dallas. Claire started summer school the next morning (she is getting her health credit ahead of the fall, which is great because she gets a feel for the new school and has a routine which we have learned is VERY CRITICALLY IMPORTANT for her but hard to keep in the summer) and then celebrated her birthday on Tuesday!

That's right- our chunky little baby biscuit is now a 5'6" lanky 14-year-old about-to-be high schooler!

I had to be at work early, but she wanted me to join her in the honor of her birthday Starbucks, so she was up early with me and got that strawberry acai lemonade before 8 a.m.

She requested her beloved BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad for dinner and snickerdoodle cookies for dessert.

Oh! and on Monday night I was walking to my car to head home from work, planning to swing by Target to pick up a little something for the next day's birthday girl, I saw an email from NBC Universal asking if I could be on CNBC Last Call to discuss E*trade user Keith Gill (aka "Roaring Kitty") using social media to discuss his trading. "Absolutely!" I texted back, while immediately googling everything about the end of that last sentence. I got home, re-curled my Day 4 hair (knew I should have washed it that morning, but I was going to work out and the kids got home so late Sunday night), put more makeup on top of my morning makeup, moved around my office to make sure nothing weird was showing up behind me, and signed on to the Zoom link I was sent.

Five minutes later I heard "five, four, three, two, one, you're live" and off I went.

As always, my kingdom for an advance list of questions, and to be honest I still haven't actually watched my clip, but it was fun!

On Wednesday I was up at the crack of dawn to take the fancy bus to Houston to be the moderator of a panel with the Regional Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office of the SEC (my old boss/my old home!), a dear friend and former SEC colleague (and now partner at another firm), and one of my own corporate partners, for a great discussion on all things SEC Enforcement.

I was very glad I had my suitcase with me because my original outfit had a blazer that perfectly matched the background, so I switched it out for another minutes before we began. Our panel was as exciting as an SEC panel can be and then I was back on the fancy bus, this time to Austin, to attend a summer associate event that night and spend the next two days prepping a witness for, and defending my witness at, SEC testimony.

I got back Friday mid-afternoon, fairly certain the week had been 100 days long, and I had another email from CNBC asking if I could appear again and OF COURSE.

Once again with the re-curling of unclean hair and layering of makeup and I was back, now in a hot pink blazer that kind of looked red on camera, but it worked. James and the kids were watching me live on the TV in the living room with three of Claire's best friends over because we were hosting her birthday party as soon as I was done!

And so, I logged off the NBC Zoom and went straight to Gloria's where Claire had requested her birthday party dinner be held. The girls were so sweet, sitting at a separate table, while James and I got a date (and the check for the teen table) several tables over. After dinner we all came back to the house for a nighttime swim for the party goers and an ice cream cake I made about 10 minutes before they were ready to eat it.

And so what felt like the longest week of the year ended, this time with power and without an expected tornado.

This past week was also pretty full. It began with a bang of hosting a dinner at the house for all our female associates and summer associates in litigation on Monday night.

25 amazing women in total, we filled all our tables the girls helped me decorate, ate catered fajitas, and drank delicious frozen margaritas I picked up from a nearby restaurant. (Funny story, the restaurant doing the catering doesn't deliver margaritas, so I ordered two gallons to go from a restaurant near our house. They said I couldn't order alcohol to-go without also getting food, so I added a single serving of their chocolate cake to the order and walked out with two one-gallon bags of margarita and a little doggy bag of cake.)

Maggie wore her finest dress and was a natural at networking.

It was such a fun evening. I really enjoy recruiting and mentoring and love anytime I can spend extra time with smart, strong women.

Tuesday at 5 a.m. saw me on my way to Houston for work, I got back Wednesday night, and I had to be at work very early Thursday morning. Thursday was also Maggie's first day of doggy daycare!

We've been looking for a Dallas boarding place for her and this one has great reviews and requires a day of daycare to make sure the pup fits in with the rest of the pack. We've been having someone come to the house 3x a day while we're gone, but Maggie just really likes other dogs and being deaf, I think she takes her cues on what's happening in her world from having people around and so gets verylonely and sad when we're gone.

And so off to daycare she went, my Apple AirTag letting me know I'd left her behind, in case I had misplaced my bulldog on accident.

She had the BEST day, though I was white knuckle driving to pick her up about 1 minute before closing at 6 pm. It cracked me up that after all those years of fighting daycare closing times for my human children, here I was voluntarily signing back up for it for my dog. But she loved it and I think she's going to go once a week for as long as it makes her happy. The owner said she doesn't run a lot, but she stands in the middle of groups of dogs and just smiles and looks so happy and that sounds exactly right.

Friday night was our firm's Casino Night- our biggest summer event. It was Western themed and everyone got a hat. As always, I loved my hat in the moment and yet know I am unlikely to ever wear it again now that I'm home.

And today is Father's Day! We celebrated our favorite dad with cards, presents, and a trip to the delicious biscuit place we loved in Savannah that just opened in Dallas! James was so excited.

The afternoon was watching Olympic Trials prelims, swimming, and enjoying being together all day which doesn't happen all that often on the weekend anymore.

Inspired by the Olympic Trials, I too got in the pool to swim.

Dinner was all of James's favorite things: roasted beets and spinach salad, grilled salmon, beet greens, and mashed potatoes made with Japanese sweet potato mixed in. It was a great day.

And that's a wrap! Somehow we're halfway through June. Work is busy, summer is flying by, it's already way too hot outside, and Olympic Trials Night 2 just ended! Time to jump back on my other (work) laptop but I'm pressing publish first. Happy Father's Day to those who celebrate, and Happy June 16 to everyone!

I was never meant for the Oregon Trail

I have half-written at least five posts since my last one, which you all gave such beautiful comments and sent such beautiful emails after reading. I've been super busy at work and life and just trying to be fully present for all of it. With the holiday on Monday, I got really close to actually finishing a post, but there was so much to catch up on that I ran out of time. Plus we needed to have some lazy family pool time, and then Landon had a date that night and I wanted to be suitably unoccupied when he came home so I could hear about it.

Then on Tuesday morning at exactly 6:05 am we SHOT out of bed as our phones screamed at us at a higher volume than I thought my permanently-set-on-silent phone could go.

TORNADO WARNING. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

I jumped up to fully standing by the bed while James rolled over and silenced his phone. I went downstairs and saw a green sky. I ran back up and bumped into a Claire emerging with wide eyes from her room under a blanket. The wind was WHIPPING around the house, lightning was crashing right on top of itself, and the thunder was so loud our picture frames shook. I heard the tornado sirens and decided it was time to move the family downstairs. Cora popped up when prompted, but Landon took about five hard shakes and even then, as the entire world sounded like it was crashing down from heaven into his room with its wall of windows, finally woke up with an exasperated "what?!!!".

We assembled in our little cubby room hallway between the garage and the house. Plenty of room and no windows, with doors that close on both ends. At one point, we felt the pressure change. My ears popped. Milo went full poof. Maggie, our deaf dog who barks once a year, starting barking like crazy. It felt apocalyptic. I'm certain a funnel cloud was nearby.

A few seconds later, our power went out. Cell service was down. The storm raged. And so we sat on the floor. Eventually, the wind calmed a little and we moved out to the living room. Around 7 a.m. we all tumbled onto the couch and fell back asleep together. I woke up again at 8:15 and realized we still didn't have cell service or data or power and I really needed to get to work. And so I did, getting ready with my cellphone light as the sky outside was still black as night.

Once at work I had about a million emails that had come in between 6 a.m. when I lost cell service at 9 a.m. when I arrived in the office in jeans, very unwashed hair in a bun, and no makeup. Work was constant. No one I'm currently working with is in Dallas, so the day started at 100 mph and stayed that way until about 10 pm.

The girls joined me at one point, to borrow the office WiFi and air conditioning and cold beverages. James came for a bit and set up shop in a guest office. Everyone (but me) went home at 7 and James made dinner by lamplight because he is more frugal than I am and wanted to use up things in the fridge. The only things that work in our house are the cold water, the oven, and the stove top. He made some delicious burritos and washed everything in cold water. I got home at 10 and ate a cold burrito that was incredible.

Landon and Cora were able to sleep at friends' houses who had power. Claire, James and I were able to sleep fairly comfortably in the house, since the storm had brought in a semi-cold front. Claire needed all 3 lanterns in her room, but was able to sleep after some initial doubts.

On Wednesday morning, all 3 kids went to the airport to fly to Houston for a pre-planned, but now incredibly well-timed, trip to stay with my parents for a few days. They packed their suitcases with dirty clothes they couldn't wash before they left. I worked a lot and used some hotel points to make a reservation near the house in case we still didn't have power. James and I met for a 7:30 dinner reservation by my office and then headed home to deal with the pets. The house was pretty warm and stodgy, but we felt the pets would be okay for the night, so we packed our bags and headed to the hotel about 9:45 pm.

Where we were turned away at the front desk because they were out of rooms. "But we already paid for the room?" I though I very reasonably countered. "Sorry." said the front desk clerk who was not sorry. And so we walked back out to the car with our bags and our home printer under James's arm because he needed to print a bunch of shipping labels for Fike Swim orders. From the parking lot we were able to book another, pricier, hotel further away.

We finally checked in at hotel 2 at 10:15 pm and passed out immediately. Hot showers were enjoyed in the morning and then I was at work, wearing the same jeans and hairstyle I wore the day before, and James was back at our hot house taking care of the pets. As a side note, I will be wearing jeans on my person and my hair on top of my head until power is restored.

Another storm came through midday with tons of lightening and our estimated time of power restoration went from "end of the day Friday" to "hopefully by the end of the weekend."

Luckily (?) I guess, the new storm brought lower temps again, so James and I are back at the house, planning to spend the night with our animals like the pioneer people we now are.

Tomorrow is Friday and if we still don't have power I'm blowing all my Marriott points on a night at the Ritz. This week has been INSANE and this was supposed to be our special fun time without children and dammit we will enjoy it. Even if all my food is rotting in my fridge and my kids helpfully washed their dishes before they left without realizing the disposal doesn't work without electricity and so now things should start growing out of my sink drain any moment. Also our roof is leaking even though we just paid a roofer what seemed like an unreasonable amount to fix the leak (in this 4 year old roof) a month ago. But EVEN IF all that, we will have a nice Friday night, here in a house in the 21st century (maybe, yet increasingly unlikely) or in a very nice hotel that allows dogs so Maggie can live the luxury life she deserves.

In truth we're very lucky right now. The house is fine, other than the occasional smell, the kids are happily ensconced in Houston, and James and I can deal. My office has power and that's where I spend most of my time anyway. But would I still like for the power to be magically restored by morning? Yes, yes I REALLY would.

Tortured Poetry

Law School 3L year, 2007

I have so many pictures from the last two weeks as I've been launched back into the real world. It's been so busy it's hard to imagine that only a month ago I still had a uterus. Now I'm back to very much full time hours, multiple great, active cases, two work trips done with NY and DC scheduled for next week, cute Spring outfits ready to go thanks to a recent visit from Bonnie, squezing in walks before work (or after), and not having nearly enough time to blog or finish the TV shows I started. I write all these great posts in my head while I walk along the lake and I never get to write them down. So tonight, while Cora is finishing her "energy efficient house model GT project" to her insane perfectionist standards (I thought I had high standards, then I had Cora and learned that my standards are garbage), I am determined to get this one thought written down.

And that grand, incredible, must-blog-it thought is this: I really like "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" by Taylor Swift from The Tortured Poets Department.

TTPD is not my favorite album of hers, but I do really like a few of the songs and this is one of them. It just speaks to me. And while I was walking today (after 9.5 hours at the office and before picking up Cora from swimming while James took Claire to the doctor to get a pink eye diagnosis), and listening to it on repeat, I realized why:

'Cause I'm a real tough kid, I can handle my shit
They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I did
Lights, camera, bitch smile, in stilettos for miles
He said he'd love me for all time
But that time was quite short
Breaking down, I hit the floor
All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, "MORE"
I was grinning like I'm winning, I was hitting my marks
'Cause I can do it with a broken heart.

This is working mom life to me. Maybe it's all life, but I've experienced most of mine as a working mom and this is it. I am a tough kid. I do handle my shit. Lights, camera, bitch smile now rocks through my head before every Zoom call. I may not wear stilettos much anymore, but there are days when I'm walking out the door in my business clothes and I'm leaving one metaphorical mess or another behind me and it's just that: lights, camera, bitch smile. This is my job, it pays for our life and everything in it, and sometimes you have to walk your stilettos right around an emotional teenager, an annoyed spouse, a sad bulldog, and/or whatever else you know you're going to have to pick right back up when you get home again.

I've been pretty head over heels in love with James since 2001 so the romantic heartbreak I think our goddess Taylor is alluding to doesn't hit with me, but I have absolutely had pieces of me shattered on the floor with my emails chanting MORE. I've been grinning like I'm winning, I've been hitting my marks, and I've been doing with with a broken heart.

I've been in important on-the-record testimony in another city while a child was blowing up my phone, sobbing and terrified, in a full-blown previously unknown mental health crisis. I've had mornings when I have to leave things with James unfinished, both of us annoyed, neither of us able to fix it in the hectic morning rush and hating, absolutely hating, knowing that my marriage, which is the often taken-for-granted absolutely-rock-hard foundation of my life, is shaky and weird and I simply cannot fix it right now. I've missed things: not any big things, but plenty of little ones. I've worked through family drama, personal spirals, health issues, and more. We all do. We can do it with a broken heart.

I love my job. I mean, I wouldn't do it if I didn't both need money and get paid, but I do genuinely like it. I love being a counselor to my clients. I like the statutory certainty of the federal securities law framework combined with the persuasiveness of case law and regulatory interpretation. I like the order of working in my own office, I like spending most of my days reading and writing things, and I like being around other adults pretty much all the time. I love business development- I love speaking and writing in my area of expertise, and I genuinely enjoy making connections with people in the market. But it's hard. The actual work is hard, but FAR more than that is the hard of doing it while the rest of your life is being lived in and around you.

I never want to focus on the negative, and I don't. But I've found it's important when I mentor our younger associates to let them know that yeah, this feels hard because it is. I have missed things. I have had really hard moments where I was a better lawyer than a mom for that short time block, and while it makes me sad, I'm also still certain it was the right thing to do right then. None of us are doing this perfectly. We need to judge in broad strokes, and in my quiet moments of reflection, I do think I'm a good lawyer who serves her clients well, and I do think I'm a good wife and mother to the people who matter the very most to me.

But it's hard. And sometimes you're doing it with a broken heart.

Law Firm Partner Retreat, 2024