Grateful

I give grateful thanks for the following things:

A healthy babe.




A beautiful Girl.



The most fantastic Boy on the planet.



Family, forever and always.









Friends new and old.







The gift of education.



And the countless blessings which I enjoy on a daily basis. Make no mistake, I am a richly blessed woman. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may you all have as much to give thanks for as I.

"Lord, for the erring thought
Not into evil wrought:
Lord, for the wicked will
Betrayed and baffled still;
For the heart from itself kept,
Our thanksgiving accept."

-- William Dean Howells

Funk

I came home today in a general funk. I am just so ready for this semester, and this pregnancy, and the holidays and everything to be OVER. Third trimester malaise has set in and I'm snapping at everyone, my mobility is limited and I barely feel like anything will get done in the next few weeks.

I keep thinking about January, and a new semester, with classes that are demanding but of my own choosing, and a new baby, and the ability to walk. For once I'm actually looking forward to getting a new year started, and I'm confident that I've worked my ass off in school enough to survive this semester and then some.

I've worked my ass off on myself as well; it seems like a lot of things have changed over the last year. 2008 was a year of change, for certain. I am not the same person I was on the first day of law school, and for me, that's a good thing.

Classes are over, save for one last make-up session for Con Law and one last class for Misdemeanors.

I have my Negotiation take-home in hand, and while it looks like it's going to be a fair amount of work, my goal is to have it done by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. I don't want to have to think about it too much after that.

Study goals for the remainder of the semester (more for me than you, sorry if this bores you...)

This week:

Mon-Weds (11/24-11/26):
* Outline Negotiation take home
* Do Family Law outline
* Start Misdemeanors outline

Thurs-Sun (11/27-11/30):
* Write Negotiation take-home
* Finish outside reading for Property (Shadow Cities). Begin thinking/outlining for open book final.

Next Three Weeks:
Mon-Tues (12/1-12/2):
* Read last Con Law assignment; begin overview of outline/case studies.
* Finish Misdemeanors outline; meet with prof.
* Finish Family Law outline; write sample exam answers.

Weds-Fri (12/3-12/5):
* Meet with Family Law prof/possibly ASP tutor.
* Review Con Law, continue outline and sample case studies
* Last Misdemeanors class; review tests.
* If done, turn in Negotiation final and journal.

Sat 12/6:
* Last Con Law session. Study session PM to consist of outlining, case studies and finishing up Con Law prep.

Sun 12/7:
* Finish Negotiation if necessary.
* Study for Misdemeanors

Mon 12/8:
* Turn in Negotiation if not already done
* Study AM for Misdemeanors
* PM Self-scheduled exam: Misdemeanors

Tues-Weds 12/9-12/10:
* Study Family Law

Thurs 12/11
* AM: Finish Family Law prep
* PM: Self-scheduled exam: Family Law

Fri-Sat 12/12-12/13
* Review/markup Property outside reading and outline
* Prep for final

Sun 12/14:
*AM: Finish Property Prep
*PM: Property Final (scheduled)

Mon 12/15: OFF

Tues-Fri 12/16-12/19:
*Con Law Prep

Sat 12/20:
*AM: Sleep in
*PM: Con Law Final (scheduled)

I'm also planning to do Holidailies again, and hopefully the Bean will cooperate and maybe give me a really cool blog entry around the 28th or so. Somewhere in the middle of all this I still have to pick out a hospital and go to the OB and and and and...

(breathe, Kate.)

Even Flow

Alright, I'm two days shy of a month in neglecting my poor little blog. Let me explain.

No. Too much. Let me sum up.

Study, study, study. Score 26/30 on Property quiz. Leap for joy at successfully challenging known right answer, score raises to 27/30, leap further for joy at scoring 90% on something in law school. Quite the feat considering my current gestational level.

More studying.

Halloween.

More studying.

OB appointments. Bean still growing. Lurking pain in inner thighs and crotch drives doc to give me an internal, followed by peeing in a cup. Lab monkeys have fun at my expense, ten day course of antibiotics.

Pain between legs persists.

More studying.

All-nighter to finish family law paper, topic of which will likely cost me 20+ poll points and my first election due to lack of commitment to 'family values', despite the paper being written from a purely academic point of view.

More studying.

Change of season forces change of shoes from Crocs to very loosely laced Adidas. No other shoes fit. Stupid swollen feet. Looking forward to post partum, if for no other reason than I'm sick of wearing two pair of shoes.

Fall conferences for the girl results in possible referral to speech therapy. Fast and furious emails to friend from undergrad who is a speech-language pathologist.

Negotiations regarding Thanksgiving dinner ongoing. The Boy insists that he will cook dinner this year due to my lack of energy and/or willingness to be in the kitchen all day. Still contemplating pre-notification of insurance company, landlord and fire department.

New phone! Joined the mobile digital age with a new Palm Centro (in spiffy red color) that has unlimited data, text and enough minutes to get me through. Also? a phone, a video cam, and the world's smallest QWERTY keyboard. The phone signals the shedding of the last vestiges of our old home, as it carries with it a Minnesota phone number.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week, finals are in three, and baby's due in six. Where the heck did the time go??

If the baby is due in six weeks, then that means I get to start training in about eight to ten (lightly, lightly...). Pearl Jam's "Even Flow" came on Pandora tonight, and I was reminded that it is the first song on my "Run Like A Maniac" playlist. As someone who can barely walk right now, much less run or do anything athletic, the song is a good reminder of what I will be able to accomplish once I give birth. What I have accomplished in the past, and what can be accomplished next year.

Yes. I will do this.