Elle Belle

She is starting to walk!!! Only a couple of steps at a time, but still she is trying to move those little legs.

Get ready scary pictures below. Her incision kind of makes her look like a football. Actually, she really looked like one for a couple of days.

This was when her back legs were not working at all. Now she has some movement. However, despite immobility she quickly found things that make a doggy life especially fun.

For example,

There were still laps to lay on. And,

There are still sunny spots to lay in and bask. And of course,

There is still a doggy bed to curl up in and sleep off the pain meds. Overall, still a good life.

But the happy news is she is definitely starting to walk. Other changes in her life, she isnt quite so happy about.

For example,

She has been demoted to sleeping in a crate next to mommy's bed rather than in the big soft bed. This has been the cause of much whining and complaining.
And also, in mommy's rush of concern about Elle's bare little back there are new things to endure, like...

YEP, a faux fur coat. Clearly, some things are not great in a dog's life.

some Fall Break Love!

Hi everyone,

Poor baby Elle, I think has hurt her back. She no longer jumps onto anything. Now she goes from room to room and I hear muffled grunts if she wants either to get on the bed or the couch. So, I get up from whatever I am doing and put her in bed. Hours later, I hear high pitched yaps coming from the bedroom which means she is ready to be put on the floor to check out her surroundings again.

This is usually followed by growling for food, going out, and then grunting to be put on the couch. Not with me I might add, but where the most blankets appear to be piled up. Better for burrowing into. She remains there until we repeat the cycle. She has a tough life.

Andrew and Elle say hi.

This week we also visited Taughannock State Falls Park. Gorgeous. The waterfall is 215 feet and is about 30 feet higher than Niagara. Clearly not quite the same amt of water is involved though. This park is about fifteen minutes from Ithaca.

The park has several trails, we took the gorge trail which leads us up to the waters bottom. Next time we will do the rim trail which takes us around the top. Apparently there are stairs on that trail though. Here, we have the boys trying to see if they can get across the water without getting wet. Andrew tried and made it across but his shoes WERE wet.

It really was a beautiful day, but it is already insanely cold here. So annoying. We also had our first snow flurries today although no accumulation. Apparently we get to have a couple more weeks before it accumulates really. Out of control. And a final shot of the bottom of the trail near where it starts from the creek/river/whatever it is bed.

TEXAS

I'm headed back to TX tomorrow-- I was hoping to knock out interviews in one trip but that didn't happen. It will be a brief trip this time with no traveling all over the place.



When I get back here I have to crank it up a notch as I am currently WAY behind and I think in total I have missed about 30 classes this last six weeks. I guess I should thank the outbreak of flu since all of my missed classes are on tape. Still...the flu sucks.



Anyway, for those of you interested you can google Cornell Law Blog and see what pops up. That is where a majority of my blogging time is going lately really.

I don't have any recent pictures -- been too busy to take any, so I cant put a delightful picture up to let you all know that I am doing well, but just know that I am.

Although I am severely depressed about Baylor's QB being out for the season. So bummed.

Back to NY

I'm home again after a great week in TX. I am so totally behind-- there is great potential
i could fail out of law school this semester. Excellent.

I also just switched the account that I post this from to the email I use more often so hopefully this will help with my posting frequency.

I took no pictures in TX. Bummer. But I got to see lots of ppls and that was super fun.

Ok, this is just to let y'all know I'm still alive. I'll try to post more now that I've switched admin accounts.

It's too late to apologize.....

Name the song C.D. :-).

I truly apologize dear readers. The neglect has been terrible. I agree. I've started a new blog Cornell related that has kept ALL of my time in the last month. I've decided my wealth of ridiculous and unhelpful information that I am known for in my class should be put in print form so that all may benefit.

So, I have been working on that blog quite a bit. The address you say? Oh no. Not here. SUPER STEALTHY SECRET.

Those of you that I know and love I MIGHT tell.

I'm going to DC this weekend and next. I'm also going to Texas in two weeks and then Philadelphia after that. I can't wait till I'm actually only worried about class and writing my note. This traveling and job hunting is STRESS.

Speaking of writing a note-- I need a topic. I have so far narrowed it down to international tax law. I might need a SLIGHT narrowing still. PERHAPS.

Anyway peoples. I cant wait to see you all. I'll take pics of my DC trip this weekend and post them. I'm quite excited.

I'll try to update soon. Having two blogs-- my time is just SO demanding. Ridiculous really.

It's really just not right people. It's just not.

Blue Suede Shoes. Sixteen Candles. Paper back writer. Yes, people. These are songs. Songs you would expect to hear nicely wafting through the speakers at your local neighborhood Friendly's.

These are NOT songs you expect to hear coming from a 40ish year old man dressed in a long sleeve TIE-DYE T-SHIRT, belting them out at the top of his lungs for his children to hear while eating dinner at your local Friendly's in public.

But oh yes- Andrew and I were lucky enough to experience SUCH a treat.

Sigh. Such was our dinner experience tonight. Seriously. The whole family was in tie-dye. The two kids who sat on the booth that backed up to mine and rocked it (the booth not the tie-dye) the entire time were attired in muted colors. Not so their aspiring performance artist father. Think of all the colors of the rainbow plus at least 9 more and you might get his shirt. For those of you lacking imagination-- something like what you see below.


He did Elvis impersonations. He sang at the top of his lungs. He asked his kids relationship advice for his best friend (these kids were like 7). No lie. Marriage definitely came into the conversation. (you cant make this stuff up people) He whistled tunes. He encouraged the kids to jump up and down on the booth. This I might add was especially troublesome to me as I was in mortal fear of food or liquid flying through a straw and into my hair at any given moment. I received punches through the booth into my back about every 3 minutes throughout dinner.

His kid ate "the monster" for their ice cream dessert. I have no idea what the monster looked like as I was sitting staring away from them. Andrew watched the whole scene and had to keep dodging the guy's eyes for fear that their eyes would lock and he might encourage a spontaneous duet.

Oh, but our personal favorite exchange.

Tie DYE: Kids, it's time to order desSERT!
Waitress: Can I take your dessert order? (No smile, no interest)
Tie Dye: ARE YOU READY FOR THIS ORDER WE ARE ABOUT TO GIVE YOU? CAN YOU HANDLE THIS? (kind of spoken in the style that most people say something like "arrrrre you ready to ruuuuuumble?")
Waitress: (completely unmoved and deadpan) Don't ask me that. (glares, shakes her head)
Tie Dye: (pause) (pause-- a bit taken aback) Oh, well he would like the "monster."

Never fear this lack of enthusiasm by the waitress only made him pause for half a second and we were back to his rendition of blue suede shoes. I might add his kids seemed to have no appreciation for Elvis. Perhaps it's just their father impersonating Elvis. Who knows.

Kudos to the waitress for not caring. If I had a nickel for everytime a customer had asked me "can you handle this order?" I'd be rich. If I had a nickel for everytime I had the guts to say back "Dont ask me that" and just glare--I'd have 0 cents.

This really was one of those you had to be there moments. But, I wanted to share with y'all just a little nugget of the kinds of treasures upstate NY holds.

Counting down...

There are like a million things I feel I'm counting down on. Seriously.

1) My last day of work. Why? Because I am inherently lazy and would like to do nothing with my summer. I will miss my coworkers though.

2) Finding out my fall schedule. I cant wait to find what new classes I get to take. I'm a glutton for punishment cause the idea of school just THRILLS me. I actually miss 1L. If only I could be paid to professionally take classes.

3) The NYC August job fair in the hopes that I will be able to attain some sort of paying job next summer. This market--- EEK the whole thing scares me. Let's just hope I meet up with some college football loving interviewers that fall in love with me and just MUST hire me. Shout out to Covington, (my boss not the firm) cause I'm pretty sure that's why I got hired at Hines. If he had only known the future abuse he would take. Thank God, he didnt go to A&M...the abuse would have been unbearable.

4) We did just find out about journals so this doesnt properly fall on this waiting for list. But, I will be on the International Law Journal. I'm wishing Cornell had a tax journal but it doesnt, so oh well. I'll find some way to incorporate my love for numbers into the note I write. (and by note I dont mean a do you like me? check a box kinda note)

5) The hot weather to come. Oh wait, that's not going to happen. I'll reserve my thoughts on this because it wouldnt be appropriate for young ears. Let's just say SUNBATHING is a foreign term now in my life. Oh, Galleria Oaks and your pool and hot tub, I mourn, I truly mourn.

6) My next visit to HOUSTON, TEXAS and the food and friends and family that will follow. No, not necessarily in that order, relax. GEEE.

7) The return of my friends to Ithaca. Rebecca is gone so I have no one to go eat with me whenever I want. I've found I find these friends no matter where I go. Shout out to Sandra for being that friend in Houston. Ah Chick-fil-a and shopping, oh how I miss you. (and paycheck)

I might add I was recently chastised for my crappy blogging lately (by an unnamed female sibling) and informed that both younger siblings are "beating" me currently. I love how everything in our fam is a competition. I mean I was actually unaware there was a race, but rest assured as a professional student this is something I could TOTALLY win. When is Matt gonna jump on the bandwagon? Seriously. Even typing with one finger he could get something out. He knows how to text....

I saw Harry Potter the 6th one the other day. I liked it but they did take a few liberties with the book plot. Not a fan of that. It's so sad (the following statement not the former although that is also sad.) I made Andrew watch 5 of the 6 movies in 5 days so he could experience this with me. This is very important to our marriage. I told him we could probably never be complete otherwise. He doesn't seem to fully grasp this necessity still. It's sad. (see here I say it again to show emphasis) Everytime I meet someone I havent previously in depth discussed Harry Potter with I get so excited because it's a new person to just really get into a long conversation about HP.

My coworkers this summer are AWESOME at this I might add. Constant references to dementor attacks, and imperius charms, and patronuses. We find ways to incorporate it in. I feel bad for anyone that works in the office that doesnt understand when we say things like "wow, that meeting makes me feel like I just went through a dementor attack, I'm going to get chocolate." Tragic really.

I'm still an HGTV addict. I have vision now for all of our rooms, closets etc but I have no way to act out such vision. STRESS. I have no idea what I will do if I ever have a house that is fully upgraded. I will have no opportunity for vision. TERRIBLE.

Oh, and in honor of the college football season, Andrew and I are planning to purchase a second TV. For the fall we will set both up in our living room. We have also purchased a bean bag chair and organized our frig for easy beer dispensing. I did draw the line at a beer bong-- that ship has sailed for me. (Sailed I might add without me ever trying it) We really cant waitfor the season! Shocking really that we are purchasing a second flat panel, and some people we know still havent got one.... sigh... siblings that live in Houston in a lovely house...perhaps if I too were an A&M fan I would have no desire to see them any better on a tv but whatever...mmhmm.

But, our house promises to be quite the party central come Saturdays this fall. Our joint google calendar is already filling up quite quickly for Saturdays. Google calendar for the win by the way. So great for scheduling.

The rat has given the go ahead for the parties, she is up for some more attention she informed me. She seems to be doing well, and is now on a permanent really expensive diet. Good thing she is miniscule and eats 1/3 can per day. Cant imagine if she actually were a real dog size.

Ok, I must go to bed, but I felt the need to defend my blogging honor.