holiday?

Well, Tom has been on spring break and I have had to work until today because today is apparently a holiday even though I don't know anyone else who had the day off that doesn't work at UCLA. It is Caesar Chavez Day and thank goodness. It was a very long week and it was only four days long.

Despite the fact that I had to work while Tom stayed home, we had a rather enjoyable week. We got invited to dinner twice this week with two wonderfully nice couples in our ward. Both of these couples live in the University owned apartments (The Village) and after seeing the apartments, I think we've decided to move. The apartments are bigger and nicer than ours and they are closer to the other ward members, so I think we're going to give in.

We celebrated Caesar Chavez Day by doing a little apartment cleaning and making snickerdoodles. We don't make cookies very often since our oven is only big enough for a half-cookie sheet, but we are trying to avoid a certain frozen yogurt place in Westwood so we made cookies to satisfy our craving for something sweet. Pinkberry (the frozen yogurt place) is a ridiculously trendy place a few blocks from our apartment. We had avoided it until recently because it usually has a very long line full of teenagers, but the other day as we were walking by the line was pretty short so we decided to try it out. It is really, really good. And overpriced.
Here's Tom with some snickerdoodles (don't worry, he didn't eat ALL of them):













I would also just like to say that it's a good thing we don't have to drive our car very often because I don't think we could afford it. I took this picture on Wednesday and yesterday it was a little higher ($3.39). The national average is $2.64.

Happy Anniversary To Us :)

Well, tomorrow is technically our anniversary, but since tomorrow is Sunday we decided to celebrate it today. It does not seem like we have been married for a year, but it has been a wonderful year.

We woke up early (well, early for a Saturday) and went to the temple and then went to lunch in Santa Monica. The temple was VERY crowded since each stake in the temple district is having a temple day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LA temple (our stake's day is in a couple months). We went to this fantastic, trendy little burger place in Santa Monica (The Counter) and had some wonderful burgers and sweet potato fries.

In other news . . . well, there's not a lot of other news. Tom has spring break this week which he is looking forward to, and I have officially ended my probation at work so I can finally use my vacation days. Here are a few we've-been-married-for-one-year pictures from the temple this morning:

A word from Tom

I'll add some words of my own here by saying that this was a huge blessing for both of us. Most large firms only hire 1-3 1st year law students (1Ls) a year (hundreds apply and dozens are interviewed from the top schools in the country). When I interviewed with Irell they told me that the main reason they hired a couple 1Ls was because they acted as advertisers for the class which will interview for summer jobs at the beginning of their 2nd year. The emphasis is definitely on 2nd year law students, with most large firms having programs with around 20-40 2Ls. I had already been rejected from nearly every other firm I had applied to, in part because I waited too long to apply. I was initially going to go for an internship with a judge, which is very prestigious (although it doesn't pay anything), but the time to apply was right during finals and I decided I was too lazy to try and deal with it in the middle of that crazy time. I ended up getting a lucky interview with Irell only after someone else fell through for them. If this hadn't worked out I was going to interview for a research assistant job at the UCLA library this summer, which would have been fine too, although the pay would have been substantially less.
The reason why I like Irell so much, apart from their great location, is in large part their very interesting client list, which includes many people and organizations I and most of you have probably heard of. A list of recent notable activity at their firm is very impressive: Recent Matters
They are one of the top IP firms in the country with a large emphasis on entertainment law as well.
Most of the lawyers I interviewed with (I had to interview with 6) were fairly young "married with children" types who genuinely seemed to like their job. It was encouraging for someone like me who is still somewhat convinced it is impossible to strike a decent work/family balance a a large firm like Irell. They assured me that such was not the case. Erica and I are looking forward to this summer and we will keep you posted on how things go down in the coming months.

more exciting news

After months of stress and several hours of interviews, Tom has a wonderful job for the summer.

www.irell.com

The firm is called Irell & Manella and, well, Tom should be writing this because he knows a lot more about it than I do, but it is a really great firm and Tom was REALLY excited after interviewing there earlier this week. One of the best parts about the firm is that it is really close to our apartment:

MAP

(the LA temple is on Santa Monica just to the left of Manning Ave. Tom said you can see it from some of the offices at the firm.)

We are very excited (especially since this means we won't have to take out as many loans next year) and a weight has definitely been lifted off of Tom's shoulders :)


p.s. Tom has asked me to mention that we have both been working toward establishing a more healthy lifestyle and since we have moved to LA we have both quit drinking caffeine, Tom has lost about 10 pounds, and I have lost about 7.

where have we been . . .?

Tom and I frequently talk about where we want to go in the world. We would pretty much like to go everywhere, but here are the places we have already been.

The top 2 pictures are mine and the bottom 2 are Tom's.

holiday weekend

Well, I have been very neglectful about posting so I guess I should say a few things. Life has been very boring. Tom is busy with school and is still doing well although I think his professors are a little more boring than last semester. I am still busy with work which is becoming a little more interesting every week as we take over new departments from the hospital.

I have been attempting to improve my meager cooking skills. It is not going very well, but Tom has been very helpful and supportive.

Los Angeles is still fantastic. It was 90 degrees the other day. Unbelievable. This morning to woke up to rain, which doesn't seem that unusual, but it is the first time it has REALLY rained since we moved here. It was the top story on the news all day.

My little sister, Kara, moved to Denver last week where she is doing a cosmetology apprenticeship. I always figured we would both wander a little ways from home and I'm proud of her for deciding to take this step.

We spent our afternoon in Santa Monica walking up and down the pier and enjoying some Mexican food. Thanks to our student/employee IDs, we can take the Big Blue Bus to the coast for 25 cents.

Anyway, I think that is all the news that I have. Here are a few pictures from our day and one of my new niece just because she's cute.

exciting news

We just discovered some very exciting news . . . Tom got a 4.0 his first semester in law school :) I think we were both a little surprised, but very excited since this should help him get a good internship for the summer. The excitement was a little tempered by the fact that he got a B on a writing assignment for a 2-semester class (which means that he has another assignment this semester which contributes to the grade he gets at the end of the year for the class. . .).

Back in LA

We've been back in LA for about an hour now. We have unloaded the car and Tom is playing a video game he got from my parents for Christmas. He actually drove the ENTIRE way back because I didn't sleep well last night and I have to work tomorrow. Considering how exhausted I feel right now, I can only imagine how tired he must be.

Christmas day was great. We spent the morning at my mom's house opening presents, playing Mad Gab, and eating cinnamon roles, followed by the afternoon at my dad's house.

Tuesday was mostly spent running errands all over Salt Lake. Since many stores aren't very accessible to us in LA (because of traffic and because we hardly know where anything is), we were able to take care of some errands and pick up a few things we needed. That evening we had dinner with Tom's brother Brent and his wife Miranda and their two daughters. It was really good to see them since we haven't had a chance since our wedding.

The drive back today was okay. We left around 9:30am and only had to deal with a little rain and a little traffic. It was great to visit family, but it is also nice to be back in our own place. Here are a few pictures from the rest of our trip:

1. My brother (Chase) posing for a picture while we waited for my sister (Kara) to fix her hair before we opened pictures on Christmas morning
2. Tom posing for a picture while we waited for Kara to fix her hair
3. Kara making her grand entrance
4. Carly and Kelly opening presents
5. Tyson modeling on the couch
6. Girls playing Mad Gab
7. Guys playing Mad Gab
8. In front of my dad's
9-10. With Tom's brother and family
11. My silhouette in front of my parent's mostly-lit house

Christmas Eve

Well, we have had a very eventful last couple days. We left LA at 4am yesterday and arrived in Salt Lake at 5pm last night to a full house. My mom's family was having our family Christmas party and the house was packed with aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins when we arrived. We did a gift exchange and enjoyed a nice dinner. It was very nice to see my family. I feel like my little sisters have grown six inches since the last time I saw them.

Later that evening we got a call that my sister Aubrie was in labor. Since Tom and I were exhausted we went to bed instead of heading over to the hospital, but we were woken up around 5am to be told that she had given birth at 3:35am on Christmas Eve to Hailey Elizabeth.

Sunday we woke up early to go to my parent's ward. Afterwards we headed down to Orem to visit Tom's grandmother. We had enjoyed visiting her frequently while we were living in Provo over the summer, so we delighted to be able to visit with her on our brief little trip.

Afterwards we made our way over to the hospital to visit Aubrie. Hailey is sooooo cute. She was very still and quiet (but I'm sure that won't last too long). Pictures included below.

We then visited with my step-grandparents in Murray (which was near the hospital) and then came home for a lovely prime rib dinner. Tom and I have (essentially) given up eating red meat so we were a little apprehensive of the meal, but it was delicious

Now we are relaxing. My sister Kara (who just finished cosmetology school) just gave me a much-needed hair cut and she is currently trimming Tom's. The next couple days should be just as busy as the last so I will try to update this week after we get back to LA.

1. goofy picture of me with my mom and Eric (sorry, didn't take the time to fix the red eyes)
2. me with my grandparents (my grandmother fell down the stairs the other day, she doesn't usually look that bruised)
3. My cousin Hayley hugging a little Santa Claus
4. Tom and I with his grandmother in Orem
5. My new niece
6. Me holding my new niece

end of semester

Well, not quite. Tom has one more final on Monday. He is pretty much in agony at this point trying to prepare since he has been taking finals for close to three weeks. We're not sure when he will receive his grades, but I am very proud of how hard he has been working and how much he has learned. Also. . . . Tom's birthday is this Wednesday. He is so old. Practically ancient. Twenty-four.

We are planning to spend Christmas in Utah. We will be leaving LA on Saturday morning and will spend a few family-filled days in the Salt Lake area. I imagine that we will need to dig our coats out of storage since the temperature hasn't dipped much under 60 since we've been here. New Years, on the other hand, will probably be spent wandering around Westwood. Since all new UCLA employees are on probation for their first 6 months and can't take vacation days, we have to hurry home. Though while we are there, my sister Aubrie (who is about eight and a half months pregnant) may add a new member to the family. It could be a very exciting, short little trip.

Ketchup

Well, it is nearing the end of Tom's first semester of law school. At this point he only has two more days of class, but those two days are followed by three weeks of finals. He has started to study but the next three weeks should be intense and stressful. On the bright side, he already knows his schedule for next semester and he will be spending a little less time in class than this semester. Tom is also trying to figure out what kind of internship he will be applying for this summer. More information on that in the coming months. . .

My job is still going well. The department is hiring several new employees to prepare for the move to the new hospital next year. The current hospital (which is about 50 years old) is being turned into a lab/classroom building in order to move the hospital to a new building (Ronald Reagan Hospital) which will comply with new earthquake regulations. The new hospital was actually designed by I.M. Pei (who also designed the Louvre) and is the main reason why we're digitizing all of the records (there isn't much room in the new hospital for paper records).

We spent our first Thanksgiving as a married couple with Tom's parents in Bakersfield. We enjoyed a delightful dinner and did some visiting. We spent the rest of the weekend resting and eating leftover turkey.

I'm sure many of you will be delighted to know that Tom shaved his beard a couple weeks ago. It had gotten kind of long so he decided to change things up. I thought I liked the beard until he shaved it. Now I'm pretty sure I like the clean shaven look. Here is a picture somewhere in between:

















In conclusion . . . . here are several photos. Some were taking with our new cell phones and are a little blurry.

Here are some photos that Tom took in and around the law school:































































Here are some of the view from my window at work, of the scanners that we use, and one of my desk:































































And a couple of post-Thanksgiving pictures:

Warm November Weekend

Tom and I spent this warm weekend trying to relax before law school gets crazy. The next month is going to leave Tom little time to do anything other than cram and sleep. And probably not much time for sleep. We actually both got new cell phones on Friday (they're the same phone) because we switched to a family cell phone plan, and the phones take decent pictures so I'm going to try to add to the blog more often with pictures taken from my cell phone. Tom changed his phone number to a local number (310-880-5866) and my phone number will stay the same (310-691-9966).

Saturday we went to a nearby outdoor mall and wandered around for a while. I actually wanted to go to The Container Store (which recently opened), they also have an Apple store (which we both enjoy), and while we were there we were starving and decided to eat at the food court (which we didn't expect to be anything special). It was actually the fanciest food court either of us have ever been to. All of the food court places were like nice little restaurants. We ate at a delicious Korean BBQ restaurant. Yum. Anyway, here are a few pictures from my cell phone on Saturday: