Single digits, baby.

That is all.

I don’t mean to harp here, but . . .

I’m waiting for bar exam results.  Yeah, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it or not.  Colorado bar takers are now 16 days away from having results.  16 DAYS!!  I’m reentering the anxiety phase that I felt pre-exam, that’s all.  That. Is. All???  That’s all.  I’m anxious about results and I’m not going to say much else.  After all, nothing can change what happens now.  Anyway – just b  r  e  a  t  h  e.  It will be here before we know it.

Worst Drug Name Ever.

AcipHex.  Seriously.  At first I thought it was a spoof.  Touted to help prevent heartburn, I can’t help but wonder what the side effects  are – you know, the usual suspects – gas, diarrhea, anal leakage . . . I’m just saying.

Fortunately for the drug, the most common side effects are headache and allergic reactions.  Maybe they should have brainstormed a little more with the name.  I can’t help but laugh every time I hear the commercial.

The President’s “Strategery”

Yesterday, my almost-six-year old daughter heard that President Bush was going to reveal his strategy on the war in Iraq in an address to the nation tonight. She kept asking me what his strategy was going to be and I told her that we would watch his address this evening. So tonight, she was in the shower while Dubya addressed the nation. When she got out, she asked if the President had revealed his strategy yet, and I explained in terms, I hope, that my daughter could understand. I told her that Dubya was supporting a gradual withdrawal of the troops stationed in Iraq. Her innocent response summed up my feelings: “I thought his strategy was going to be that he was going to run the country.” My husband and I just laughed and thought . . . exactly.

Disappointed.

As embarrassing as this is to admit – I was rooting for Britney. I recorded the VMAs tonight just so I could see her “comeback.” I saw the Allure photoshoot a while ago and thought she looked really good. What a difference a stylist and good makeup and hair people can make. Seriously. How bad did her hair look tonight? I expected her to look great (at least) – I mean how could she not for the VMAs? I didn’t really expect anything for the sound or the dancing, but really, I thought she would bring it. This was supposed to be her comeback, y’all.

I didn’t watch it live – rather, I watched it after watching and hashing out my other guilty pleasure with mi esposo . . . that would be Big Brother 8. I felt like I was watching someone who was sedated (by whatever drug or drink of choice) and who could care less. Her performance sucked. She looked bad, the song was bad, and the dancing was barely there.  Britney used to bring it and tonight she just didn’t. I’m disappointed.

My Pain in the Neck

No, not my husband. Really. I have a pain in the neck. I am heading to the chiropractor this afternoon to get some help. I need help. Lots of help.

The first time it happened was about 6 years ago. I just woke up and could not move. I really thought that I had just slept on it wrong. When I had it x-rayed, the doctor told me that it was the worst “something or other” (twisted vertebrae or something, I don’t remember) he’d ever seen without an actual accident or incident to set it off. I was seeing a chiropractor just about every three days trying to “realign.” Eventually I stopped going because I just hurt more after every session and the pain wasn’t going away. Now, every six months or so, I get a really bad bout of the neck pain, seemingly not caused by anything seriously stressful. Sometimes, it comes when I am drying my hair after a shower; other times, if I just turn my head too quickly. I can’t ride roller coasters any more . . . and I. Love. Roller Coasters.

It happened again this past weekend on vacation. Nothing happened in particular – I woke up fine, so it wasn’t that I slept on it wrong. But after breakfast, it just started hurting. I don’t remember any jerky movements, it just hurt. Like hell. Six days later, it still hurts. BAD. So, I’m headed to the chiropractor this afternoon. Wish me luck. Bone crackers scare the hell out of me.

Update: This bone cracker was excellent. I explained my fear of chiropractors and she took me seriously. She explained every thing that she was going to do and made sure I was comfortable. Plus, she was way cool . . . like, I’d want to be her friend. Oh, and she made my neck feel 90% better. Hopefully it will get better over the next couple of days. But she totally rocked!

30 Days

Bar Exam results are now about 30 days out. The test was over a month ago and I am still having dreams and/or nightmares. The other night I had a dream and a nightmare in one night. First, I dreamed that I passed the Bar. Someone called me and told me that I passed – and that was the end. The second was a nightmare, and it certainly is more vivid. In that nightmare, I dreamed that I failed the Bar. I could not find my name on the Colorado Pass List. I kept going back and looking, but it was nowhere to be found. I started checking other states’ Pass Lists. My name was not on those lists either. I was frantic and did not know what to do. FRANTIC. I’m trying not to think about the results for the next 30 days, but really, who couldn’t?

Congrats to those who have already received results (North Carolina – why didn’t we move there?) and good luck to those still waiting. It’s a long road ahead for many (Texas – that’s one reason I’m glad we moved – results don’t come out until November), try and keep sane. We’re all in this together.

Playing Catch Up

Warning: This post goes on forever!

The last two weeks have been fabulous! Meredith and I went to San Antonio to spend a week with some of the best people in the world (you know who you are!). We had a fabulous time – shopping, eating Mexican food, scrapbooking (sort of), swimming, and just getting to spend time together. That is truly missed, so I’m glad we got to hang out. You guys are going to have to come and visit soon!

The night we got back from the trip, we went to a Beatles tribute concert (1964: The Tribute) at Red Rocks. It was amazing! Dave and I love the Beatles (who doesn’t?) and Meredith’s teacher last year played the Beatles in her classroom, so she was excited (although tired) to go hear the music. The venue was packed, amazing, and gorgeous. It was everything we were looking forward to. I think we are going to make it an annual outing. Here are a few pictures from that night.

This past Wednesday, I came one step closer to becoming a licensed attorney. In Colorado, the Colorado Supreme Court requires applicants to attend CLE entitled, “Practicing with Professionalism” before they can be sworn in. So, results are still 32 days away, but I’m prepping so that I can be sworn in (knock on wood) on October 22 pending passing results. I met a fantastic girl (Hi Casey!) and hopefully we will end up being friends – we seemed to click!

Anyway – after those grueling six hours of CLE, the family headed over to Ouray for the beginning of our long weekend vacation. Dave and my mom’s husband were going to climb their first 14er (Mt. Sneffels – 14,150 feet). We got to Ouray late (around 10) and the men had to be up around 5:30 am in order to meet the guide at 6:00 to begin their trek. The boys were off and my mom, Meredith and I headed to Durango to shop for the day.

When the guys came back, exhausted and sore, we were thrilled. It was so exciting to hear about their adventure and I’m so glad they did it. You can probably find more details here at some point in the future. All I know is that they took the “moderate” way up with the guide, there was an 18 inch wide section with hundreds of feet of drop on either side, a 20 foot slide down scree (loose rocks) on the way down, three men tied together, helmets, a beautiful view, a little bit of altitude sickness, and one hell of an experience.

T

The next day, we all drove into Telluride from the house in Rico and did the Bear Creek Canyon trail. The last time I did this trail was 5 years ago (almost exactly) and I almost died. Or at least I felt like I did. This time, it was great. I was able to do it without too much trouble and the view at the top was amazing. Meredith also did the five-mile round trip hike and at the top, there were a couple of people that congratulated her on the long trip. (Side note: Nobody really had to take any breaks and on the way back down, we saw two teenagers who were having a little bit of trouble with the hike up. Way to go Meredith – you were awesome!) Here are a couple of pictures from hike and the waterfall at the top.

The Telluride Film Festival was also going on this weekend. Telluride was packed with film industry folks, and Dave and I tried to spot some celebrities. Unfortunately, we didn’t see anybody we recognized, but we really enjoyed sitting in the park and watching the people.

There is so much that happened these past two weeks and this is (really) the short version. There are plenty more good pictures over at our flickr. We are exhausted and glad to be back in our place – and happier to be back in our own beds. We had a fabulous time in Texas and in Rico/Telluride and can’t wait to go back!!