Well it is GO Time!  Today will be a little break from the 15 Day Blog Challenge because I am out running 26.2 miles through the windy city!

Click HERE to use the Runner Tracking website.  I am Bib # 39657.

I am nervous.  As always, I just haven’t trained enough.  My tapering pretty much equaled zero running.  On the bright side, when I ran my first marathon I was sitting at a desk an average of 12 hours a day and now I am walking non-stop 3-5 hours a day…so overall I am know I am in better shape.

I am excited.  I have people watching me!!!!  My roomie from college is coming down for the weekend, my mom & neighbor from home are coming in, and my hubby’s entire family is coming up.  When I ran the Austin marathon my hubby biked around the entire city to meet me throughout the race.  And all of my lovely friends sent me texts and Facebook posts of encouragement, but it will be nice to have people smiling at me at the finish line.

I am sad.  Trooper was waiting for me at the end of my first ever marathon.  Trooper helped me survive every single ice bath.  Bar results are announced, Trooper helped me survive law school. I wanted to share these two events with Trooper.  My heart will ache but I know that he is proud of me.

Day 10: Give a picture of your 5 favorite famous people and explain why you like them.

Lets be honest here…why do most people like famous people? Because they are beautiful.  Because they have star quality.

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I don’t even need to explain this one.  Duh.

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There are some people who are just universally attractive.  Men, women, everyone can look at them and admit they are a good looking human being.  These people are Denzel.  Plus…this guy never ages, ever.

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Eva Mendes…if girls were my thing, she would be the one.  I think she is just a beautiful woman (and she wasn’t stick, although lately she has been a bit waify).  Plus…she was in a Fast & Furious movie and I love those.

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Ellen…because the girl rocks the pant suit, is funny, and dancing to her own beat (literally, she dances on every show).  She is beautiful, funny, successful, and doesn’t take off her clothes.

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Recent Emmy winner Melissa McCarthy is also beautiful, funny, and successful.  And she reminds us all that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.  And her new TV show Mike & Molly is pretty freakin’ hilarious, you should watch it!

Day 9: Describe Someone Who Fascinates You

Hmm…this is a tricky one.  After working at the DA’s Office and a small claims court in Houston there is very little that people can do to surprise me, good or bad.

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I will be honest, I am a bit fascinated with Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge.  I am fascinated that everyone is so fascinated with her.  I am fascinated with how extraordinarily average she is.  She is a pretty girl, but she is not a gorgeous girl.  In fact, if you just walked by her on the street you probably would not even give her a second glance.

I admit, I watched the wedding.  In fact, we were flying out to Denver that morning so we got to the airport extra early so I could secure a seat in front of the TV to watch.  I admit, I check out the tabloid stories, I followed their North America visit, and I really love her clothes.

Maybe what fascinates me is that she is portrayed so normal.  I would love to think it is true, that she is really that well mannered, poised, conservatively fashionable, and interesting enough to snag a prince…but I have my doubts.  Will I continue to follow her in the news?  Yep.  Will I envy her clothing choices?  Yep.  Will I stay on the bandwagon that pulled me in in the first place?  Yeah…probably.

Who fascinates you?

I passed the Colorado Bar!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am actually a lawyer now.

I was not going to look at the results (which weren’t supposed to be posted until tomorrow) until after I ran my marathon.  Having Trooper pass away 10 days before the Bar Exam meant that my mental state wasn’t what it should have been those two days of testing and I honestly had no idea whether or not I passed.

I was driving to work and I kept getting all of these “congrats” texts and Facebook posts.  I really thought all my friends had just gotten the date of my marathon wrong, but then my friend Christy sent me the following text “You passed!!!”  Now, I was confused.  Mackey had eaten an entire pack of gum overnight so we spent our morning rushing him to the vet to basically have his stomach pumped and put on observation (the little guy is fine now, but it scared us).  Anyway I responded to my friend Christy “Passed what?”  She and all of my other more informed friends told me that I had passed the Bar.  I called my husband immediately and told him to get on a computer and look up the website.  Sure enough, results popped up and he told me my name was on it!!!!  I screamed out loud, pulled my car over, and just cried.

Today is extremely bittersweet for me.  I never imagined getting this news without the little guy who sat by my side studying every hour of the day.  I asked my mother to go out to Trooper’s grave tonight and tell him I passed. I could have never done it without him and I know that he fought to stay here with me as long as he could.

I am happy today.  And I am happy to be headed to Chicago to run a marathon with my family and friends.

Thank you…

to everyone who has encouraged me, shared war stories of 1L year, sent me reassurance, helped me grieve the loss of my pet, and made me feel like a part of this wonderful blogging community!

Day 8:  What is one of your favorite TV shows?  Explain

Where do I start!!!!!

Newest Faves

• Two Broke Girls on CBS:  Freakin’ Hilarious!  Seriously, I actually laugh out loud.  I love the brunette’s (girl from Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist) attitude.  Crude, harsh, and awesome.  Seriously, watch it.
• Suburgatory on ABC:  It is like seeing ‘burb life through my twisted vision.  It was what the suburbs are to me…terrifying!
• Revenge on ABC:  I actually thought this show would be awful because of the previews.  The show is totally addicting.
• Blue Bloods on CBS:  Only in its second season and on Friday night but it is worth it.  Stars Tom Selleck and is about a family of cops and daughter who is a DA.  Also starts Mark Whalberg’s brother who is awesome.

Old Faves

• NCIS on CBS:  Great show.  Gibbs is a wonderful character.  Plus they play reruns on USA Network all the time.
• The Good Wife:  Great female attorney..getting steaming scenes this season.  Chick show but I like it.

Other Networks

• Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime :  Stars a women who doesn’t starve herself.  Funny and the girl can sing!
• Against the Wall on Lifetime: Great show about a family of cops, leading lady is only girl sibling who just went to IA.  Plus it takes place in Chi-town.
• In Plain Sight on USA:  Can you tell I like shows about women in the criminal justice system.  Leading lady Mary has a sharp, sarcastic mouth and I like it.

The Runner Tracking website is up and running (get it?).  Click here if you want to track me this Sunday, October 9th, as I run my first ever Chicago Marathon!!!

I am Bib #39657

Words of encouragement, hope, and tequila shots are all welcome if you are going to be in the windy city!!!!

Day 7:  Describe your relationship with your parents/siblings.

Well members of my family read this blog so I want to be courteous.  My family life is dysfunctional and strained but I have a feeling that is becoming more a norm.  I have a brother whom I haven’t spoken to in over two years.  It makes me sad some days, we were close growing up, but things change.  I have always had very high morals and values regarding what is right and wrong.  I work very hard and choose to do the right thing regardless of how hard it is.  I have been in school my entire life in order to put wrongdoers in jail where they belong.

Part of growing up is realizing that you can chose who you want to be.  Unfortunately it reached a point where I needed to make a decision.  I could decide to risk the life I had built for myself, continue to allow wrongs slide, and pretend that people will change or I could accept the facts and remove those people from my life.  There was a long period where I spoke to no one from my family.  I felt very betrayed, abandoned, and ashamed.  I cried a lot.  I have never been very close to my family but feeling like your entire bloodline has abandoned you while you are destroying yourself in law school is rough.

I don’t want to talk anymore about it.  I have come to accept that I cannot tell my family members who or who not to talk to.  As long as they respect my wishes when I go back home I will remain in this position.

I am also incredibly lucky to have married an amazing family.  I mean like perfect-movie-family people.  They have welcomed me, praised me, and every single one of them is coming to Chicago to watch me run a marathon.  You chose who want to be.

** To anyone reading this post, take no offense.  This is my blog.  These are my feelings.  These are from my perspective. I have no hard feelings, I am so lucky to be where I am today and every single event in my life has lead me here.

Day 6:  If you could have any job in the world what would it be?

Isn’t that just the million dollar question!  Well, I don’t know.  I want a job that doesn’t make me want to stab out my eyeballs every morning. I want a job that is fulfilling.  I want a job that pays enough money to pay my bills.  Indirect answer huh?

How about I just tell you about all the jobs I thought I wanted growing up….

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First I wanted to be a ballerina.  Who didn’t at some point in their life?  That dram didn’t last long.  I wasn’t coordinated and never took a dance lesson.

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Please don’t judge this one…I am and will always be a Boilermaker.  I bleed black and gold.  But…my grandma loves Notre Dame and I love my grandma.  So…for awhile I wanted to be a Notre Dame cheerleader when I grew up.  Apparently I didn’t believe you did anything after college????

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Next I wanted to be a teacher.  That one did not last long either.  I don’t like kids and I don’t have patience.

And finally, I wanted to be a lawyer.  In 5th grade we did this exercise in class where we read a book (possibly To Kill a Mockingbird) and argued a mock court case.  I was assigned to be an attorney and I loved it.  I organized the heck out of my little manilla folder and felt the rush of debate.  From that point on I knew I was going to law school.

Day 5: Do you have any favorite websites?  What are they?

Of course I have favorite websites!

• Google/Gmail:  My life line.  I could not live without Google and my email.  Google is a verb.  A verb.
• Daily Mail: I love my gossip/celebrity stalking.  There is also news headlines from around the world…which I occasionally read if the picture catches my eye.
• Weather.com:  I am always checking the weather for here, for Houston, for Chicago, for Indiana.  I just like to know the weather for some reason.
• Facebook:  This one may be removed from the list if it continues to invade privacy, stalk everyone, and be overall weird.
• Hulu:  I don’t have cable.  Enough said.

Day 4:  Put your iPod on Shuffle & list the first 10 songs to come up.  How do they describe you?

The minute I read this challenge I thought of my friend DD Marie.  She loves music!  In high school and college she would burn me all these mix CD’s and they were awesome.  In fact, I still have them.

1. Real World by Matchbox Twenty
2. Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce:  I love running to songs like this.  Empowering.  Plus…everyone knows the world would be better if girls ran it.
3. Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms:  I LOVE the Gin Blossoms!  Songs always remind me of times in my life.  Anything Gin Blossoms reminds me of siting around on hand-me-down couches drinking cheap beer and singing out loud.
4. Far Away by Nickelback:  I actually only have this because I downloaded Now That is What I Call Music Vol 23.  (Volume 23!!!!  I remember Volume 1 being the coolest thing ever!)
5. The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert:  I LOVE this song!  This song really hit home for me when it came out.  I was struggling in Houston, struggling in law school, struggling in life.  Unfortunately I do not really feel I had a “house that built me”.  My parents moved, divorced, and I shuffled between houses until I turned 18 and moved out…but I feel that “home” is a feeling more than anything.
6. Poker Face by Lady Gaga:  “I want to hold ‘em like they do in Texas please.”  The first line is fitting.  I am honestly not that big fan of Lady Gaga, but the song is catchy.
7. Is It You by Cassie:  I really don’t know what this song is but it is on the Step Up to the Streets soundtrack.  I freaking love that movie!
8. Mean by Taylor Swift:  If this isn’t the soundtrack of my life I don’t know what is.  And now I am living in my second big city, a lawyer, and proof that mean gets you no where in life.
9. Shake Your Pom Pom by Missy Elliot:  Another great song from the Step Up to the Streets soundtrack.  This song makes me dance…even when I am running.
10. Ordinary People by John Legend:  I really like this song.  Makes me want to drink a glass of wine and reflect on life.