Where does time go?

HELLO TO ALL MY BLOGGING FRIENDS!! Let me start off by apologizing profusely for my lack of blogging. I know you don't want to hear excuses, so I won't give you them all, except to say that time has officially hit the fast-forward button in the Snyder household! Deep breath........ok here's a look into what I've been doing for the past month and a half (and I am sorry there aren't pics):

1. The Job. The job could not be any better! I seriously, truly, honestly LOVE my job. Heavenly Father really blessed me and guided me to my place. My boss, Charlie, is such a smart and sweet guy. He's funny and is very encouraging. He has slowly let me do more and more. Actually, he tells me that he has let me do more and trusted me more than any other associate he's had in the past. He likes my work product and lets me send out letters/motions/discovery without him editing it now. I'm happy that I'm making my boss happy, b/c I want to stay here. Joe, the other attorney, is seriously one of the funniest people I have ever met. He makes me laugh everyday. For instance, he had to interview a doctor by the unfortunate name of Harry Hamburger. Afterwards, he asks me, "Do you think when he was playing football in high school, his coach would slap him on the back and say 'Well done, Hamburger?'" I died laughing. I love punny jokes. Both Charlie and Joe have been so great to work with. They are so willing to answer all of my questions and they always have teaching moments with me. They are very supportive, and they remember what it was like to be a first-year attorney.

I got to do my first deposition (questioning the plaintiff under oath). I was nervous at first, but then I calmed down and I think I did a good job. I also got MY FIRST business card! Haha...I was so excited when they arrived at my office. I also do doctor conferences now and am in charge of medical reports, which can be tedious, but interesting. I also do pre-trial hearings, which is kind of exciting. I have my first mediation scheduled on January 3, 2008, which I am stoked to try out.

Right now, my desk is in a sort of cubicle, but my boss is having an office built for me. We are just waiting on the official estimate and building permits now. I can't wait for my office; I'll feel so official! :)

I love my job, but I will say that working full-time is a definite adjustment from going to school. I remember being super busy in school, and I know school is hard. But, so is working. At least with school you don't necessarily HAVE to be there everyday from 8-5:30. I don't miss school by any means, but I am having a lifestyle adjustment with having to get up so early everyday. Plus, I have to find time to exercise. And then where does blogging come in!??


2. Mom, Papa, and Jamie....came to see us the week before Thanksgiving! It was just for a few days, and I had to work, which was a bit of a bummer, but we had fun anyways! They spoiled us rotten! We had good food, good company, and I got all sorts of gifts. They bought us a fancy new printer that does copying, faxing, scanning, pictures, um...you name it, it does it! My favorite was that they all took my diplomas and Bar Certificate and got them professionally framed, and they look amazing! I totally need to take pics to show them off! It was hard to say goodbye to them, but I really appreciated that they came to see us. I miss you guys!

3. Thanksgiving. We weren't able to come home for the big celebration my family was having. My family all went up to Brianhead and froze, while Elliott and I went 2 hours north and went surfing and basked in the sun! Of course, I forgot my camera, and my friend still hasn't emailed me the pictures. Naomi, a fellow optometry student, and her husband Marcos were going to Naomi's parent's home in Melbourne for Thanksgiving. Her mom invited all of us optometry couples for dinner, so me, Elliott, Jeremiah and Dano ended up going. We left Thanksgiving morning, and when we arrived, Naomi's mom had a hot breakfast ready for us. Then the parents sent all of us off to go surfing while they cooked the meal. We attempted to surf. I ended up being drug across the bottom of the Ocean by the force of a massive wave. Then when I came up from that, another wave hit me and once I regained my feet again, I tripped over my surfboard leash. I then decided I'd rather work on my tan! :) It was fun though, even though I got Ocean Bottom Burn. Then we came home, cleaned up and had a great dinner. Then we watched Shrek 3, had dessert, and just had a great time. Tinkerbelle was invited too, so she had fun with Naomi's doggie. Then we left. It was so nice to go somewhere that felt like home, even if it wasn't "home."

4. Elliott's School. Elliott FINISHED his first semester at optometry school! YAY!! He did really well, finishing with a 3.48 GPA. GO ELLIOTT! Finals time was really crazy with him studying 24/7. We celebrated him being done by going to PF Changs that just opened here. YUM! I'm so proud of Elliott, and it's nice that he's got one semester down!

5. Our 5 Year Anniversary. I can't believe how fast 5 years has flown by for us! I still feel like it was yesterday that I saw this cute guy at Mormon Day at Wet N' Wild and I couldn't stop myself from flirting shamelessly with him. Elliott has been such a light in my life. He calms me down when I get too crazy. He makes me laugh everyday. He makes me want to be a better person. He appreciates everything I do, and tells me everyday that he is so lucky to have a wife like me. The truth is that I am lucky to have him. He's such a sweet and fun guy, and I'm so happy he's mine!

6. Christmas Plans. Well, we are not going to be able to come home this time. I didn't find out what days I could have off until airplane tickets were already like $1600. Plus, I only have 3 days off, so that doesn't leave much time for visiting with everyone since traveling back West takes a whole day. I was really sad about not coming home. I miss my friends and family. However, now I'm excited because Elliott and I planned a getaway for ourselves. At first we were going to go to Disney World, but the cheapest package we could find was $1300, and that didn't even include a great hotel. So, we started looking around for something else. Elliott found a part of Sea World called Discovery Cove. Discovery Cove is a more exclusive part where you have to have reservations to go and they only let in a maximum of 1000 people per day. It's an all day thing where you get (1) a 30 minute swim with the dolphins, (2) unlimited access to their snorkeling gear and coral reefs, (3) access to sting ray wading pools, (4) unlimited access to all of their pools, (5) food, drinks, and snacks, (6) showers/lockers, PLUS (7) a 7-day pass to regular Sea World....all for $250 a person! So, we are doing Discovery Cove and 2 days at regular Sea World. Plus, we made reservations at a really nice hotel....all for cheaper than Disney World OR coming home. We are so excited to go on our vacation. We haven't been on a vacation with just the two of us (and not going to see family as our destination) since our Honeymoon. It will be so much fun!!!


Man, so much has been going on, I can't even begin to write it all. I'm hoping to get in more of a routine with my new job and thus make more time for blogging (i'm way behind in reading them all too!). Life is great here in South Florida, and we sure love it. We do miss everyone though, and we hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Love you!

I'm alive!

Yes, I am alive. I'm sorry that I haven't blogged in over a month. It's crazy. Stay tuned for the best blog ever....it'll take a while.

Oh Remember, Remember the 5th of November

Today was a good day. I GOT THE JOB TODAY!! Not "a" job, but "the" job! The job I've been praying for; the job I've been wanting; the job I've waited oh so patiently for (ok, maybe not that patiently, but still). I was supposed to find out if I got the job on Friday, so I called to hear my fate, but he hadn't made his decision yet and I was told "sometime early next week" the decision would be made. So, I didn't have much on my to-do list for today since I was just waiting to hear. So, I cleaned the house a bit this morning and then went to the gym and finally took a shower. When I got out, I had a message on my cell phone from Mr. Martinez asking me to come in for a second interview today. So, I immediately called the office and set up a four o'clock interview, which meant that I had to get crackin on prepping my lasagne and dessert b/c I was having the missionaries over for dinner at 6:30. So, I rushed to get all that done and managed to look decent for my meeting. I was so nervous because I REALLY, REALLY wanted this job. Here's how the meeting went:

Mr. Martinez: "Well, thanks for coming. This isn't really a 2nd interview; it's more like a job offer."

Me: "Great! (with a look of disbelief)

Mr. Martinez: "You had some tough competition though. I had it down to 5 people and then down to 3. For some reason though, I felt comfortable with you, so I picked you. You're the one."

Me: (huge grin coming across my face) "Thank you! I really, really wanted to be the one!"

Mr. Martinez: (chuckling) "I'm just going to give you the $60K you asked for. I was going to offer you less, but I decided to just give you what you wanted."

Me: (trying to contain my excitement and the cheesiest grin ever) "Thanks!"

Mr. Martinez: "You're benefits will kick in after 90 days, and we'll see how well you do and then we'll talk about bonuses."

Me: "ok."

Mr. Martinez: "You start next Monday, but in the meantime here's a research project for you....."

And thus, I was hired. OH HAPPY DAY!! I'm so excited to actually be a lawyer now. It's insane to think that I am one. It's unreal to me.

This firm is THE job for me because of several factors. First, it is a small firm. I'm the 3rd attorney. I love small firms because you get more hands on work and the atmosphere is more supporting instead of competitive. Second, I'll be working with the owner. He is my mentor. He wants me to pretty much be his shadow for the first few months I'm there. I really wanted someone to train me how to be a lawyer. In law school, you learn the law, but you really don't know anything about actually practicing law. He remembers that you need to be trained out of law school, and he wants me to learn from him. I'm stoked about that. Third, the office is not very far from me. It's about 20 minutes away (with good traffic...not so sure about rush hour morning traffic, but still). Also, it's not on the busiest highway here; it's on the nicer, wider, and less congested one. Fourth, the office is in a really nice neighborhood. There's golf courses around, an elementary school, and lots of other law offices. Fifth, it's civil litigation (they specialize in worker's compensation defense...we defend the companies...companies like PF Changs, The Cheesecake Factory, and Miami Dade School District, etc.). I'll be settling most of my cases, but some will go to trial. The trials, though, are just in front of a judge and not a jury. I'll also get to do a lot of depositions, mediations, negotiations, and hearings. I'm super excited for the experience. Sixth, it's everything I wanted including the salary!!!!!!!

The Lord has really blessed me with this job. I've been praying for a good job that will be a good learning experience for me and one that will help Elliott and I pay for his school. This job does just that. I love the Lord!

Happy Halloween!

Double YAHOO!!

I guess Jamie's husband decided he would take off work and be with his kids, so now my mom gets to come see me too!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAHOO!!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!! My dad and my sister Jamie are coming to visit me November 13-17!!! My wonderful mom offered to watch all of Jamie's kids just so that she could come see me with our dad! What a wonderful and brave grandma!! :) I mean, Jamie's kids are great kids, but let's face it, 3 kids is a lot for a grandma! Oh, I'm so excited!!

I had a great interview today. I'm actually really excited about this one, and I really hope I get this job. It's a small firm in ritzy Miami Lakes that does exclusively worker's compensation defense. The man I interviewed with started the company 9 years ago and has a great reputation and is young and energetic. He also remembers how it was to go from law school into actual practice...that is, you don't know anything. So, he would have me shadow him and he'd personally teach me...which is what I TOTALLY am looking for! He seemed to really like me. He told me that he gets about 100 resumes/day and so he's very selective in who he contacts for an interview, and so I stood out. Also, in the past week he's interviewed 10 people and has only asked 2 people (including me) what their salary requirements were, so that is a great sign. Plus, he liked that I did my undergrad in 2 years and that I went to BYU. He's not mormon, but you know how us BYU-ans have a reputation for honest hard work. :) Overall, it was a really positive interview and I really want this job. I kinda don't want a job until after Nov 17th now b/c my dad and sister are coming, but then again, I need a job now.

For those of you who don't always feel like cooking...

I love to cook, I really do, but sometimes (probably too often) I just don't feel like cooking. I don't want to do the grocery shopping, the chopping, the preparing, the eating, and then the cleaning. Sometimes, I just want someone else to do the work while I enjoy the fruits.

That being said, has anyone tried Arby's new french dip sandwich? Now, I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur of French Dips. I love them. I order them a lot when we go out to restaurants. And let me tell you, these Arby French Dips are one of the best I've ever had. The bread is nice and firm, yet surprisingly soft. The Au Jus is piping hot and delicious. The roast beef is good, and let's not forget the stringy-melty cheese.

I know; it's kinda sad that the only thing I can think about to blog about is food. But, not much is going on these days, and I thought I'd let you all in on a lovely treat for those days when you just don't want to do the cookin yourself.

Tagged Again!

Here goes my second tag of the week.

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago:
1. I was hating being in 8th grade instead of high school
2. Playing volleyball on a constant basis with my club team
3. Having a major crush on Tyler Coon
4. Learning Spanish for the first time
5. Wishing I could drive

5 Things on My "To-Do" List Tomorrow:
1. Send out more resumes
2. Try to get a job
3. Pray for a job
4. Hope for a job
5. Beg for a job

5 Things I Would Do If I Had a Million Dollars:
1. Stop worrying about a job
2. Get pregnant
3. Go home to visit
4. Buy a house
5. Pay off school

5 Things I Will Never Wear Again:
1. Big t-shirts with that little plastic thing on the side that you would lace the T through. You know what I'm talking about 80s people?
2. My wedding dress....but I still must keep it
3. PJs with feet
4. Booty shorts
5. A backpack full of schoolbooks (yahoo!)

5 Favorite Toys:
1. Tivo - our newest and most loved addition to our home
2. My laptop - I use it everyday
3. Boats - I don't have one of my own yet, but they are still my favorite
4. My sewing machine
5. Cricket - ok, I don't have this either, but it is the coolest scrapbooking toy ever.

5 People I'm Tagging:
1. Annie
2. Haley
3. Stacy
4. Marylin
5. Brandi

Tagged!

I've been tagged twice, so here goes the first one. I'm supposed to write 8 weird things about me, and whoever reads this is tagged too!

1. I am a neat freak. I can't think straight if my house is not clean. It must be dusted, dishes clean, everything put away clean before I can be productive in any way. I like things to be at right angles. Everything must be organized. I believe I get this from my parents. Annie has it too.

2. I love lotion. I put it on everyday after my shower and a thick cream on my hands and feet every night. I can't sleep without it. And, now that I live in Florida, I really don't need it, but I still love it and have to have it.

3. I have a really hard time calling people that I don't know. I'm not shy and I'd talk to them face to face, but over the phone....too hard for me. This makes visiting teaching and networking with lawyers a little challenging.

4. I'm addicted to Diet Coke. I have to have it in the morning so as to avoid a pounding headache. Whenever I'm stressed, Diet Coke is there to let all of my worries go away. It relaxes me and is so delicious...and sugar free.

5. I love the smell of gasoline. I don't know what it is, but it just smells so good. No, I don't go around trying to get high off of it, but when I fill up my tank at the gas station, I get a few yummy whiffs.

6. I like to put chips in my sandwiches. I especially love salt and vinegar chips put in my sandwich. It adds that extra crunch and is so, so good!

7. I like to make cookie batter, but I hate actually baking the cookies. I love putting all the ingredients in and watching my Bosch mix it. But, I hate standing by a hot oven and rolling the dough and waiting for them to bake. My mom is the opposite. She likes to do the baking and doesn't like making the batter. So, we love to make cookies together b/c we each get to do the part we love!

8. My head has its own gravitational pull. I seriously hit my head on something everyday. Be it the wall, the cabinent, the car, or whatever! Elliott thinks this is so funny about me. He told me he is going to buy me a football helmet to wear around the house. Haha.

So there you have it; am I too weird for you? Make your own post so I can laugh at you!

I Heart Ikea!!

Wednesday was the grand opening of a brand-spankin new Ikea store. It just happens to be 2 streets down from my house (literally!), so of course I had to go. Ikea has some sweet deals on good furniture and odds and ends for your home. I love it. So, I went there with my friend Dano who just bought a condo and has no furniture whatsoever and needs to buy everything. It was fun to go with her b/c she liked to look at everything, just like me. And when I say everything, I mean everything! We were there for 5 hours. It was wonderful. I love shopping. I went to find a bookcase b/c we are in desperate need of extra space for books. There was this one specific brand/style that I loved. It came in all different shapes and sizes in the dark wood I was looking for. But, the one size I really liked and wanted was $130 and I could only afford about $60. So, I wasn't going to buy anything and I was going to bring Elliott back to see if he really liked it and maybe we could reallocate our bookcase budget to get this one I really wanted. Well, just before we were going to leave (both empty handed), we saw the "As-Is" section. This section has furniture already put together and was either a showroom piece or has some sort of damage to it. We browsed through, and what should appear, but my desired bookcase! And, it only had a few scratches, but nothing a nifty furniture pen wouldn't help! It was 50% off!! So, I bought it for $65...I was so happy b/c it was the exact one I wanted and in our original allotted budget! I love finding good deals! Oh, and my friend found a beautiful full size mirror with a pretty frame at 1/2 off too! Here's a pic of my beauty:


And I so love that I have room to grow into this bookcase! I love books, and Elliott has 3 1/2 more years of school, which help add to the collection. Yay for Ikea!

Miami = far away

Elliott and I had never driven to Miami since we moved here. Yesterday was the first time I made the trip, and wow....that would be one heck of a commute! The office was 34 miles from my home, and it took me a good 45 minutes without traffic (I went at an off traffic time). The guy I interviewed with said it'll be 1 1/2 hour drive with the traffic. Blah!!! To get there and back took a whole 1/4 tank of gas, so it would be expensive if I got this job.

As for the interview, it went pretty well, I guess. It was kinda weird. He didn't want to talk about my experiences very much or about my qualifications. Instead, we talked for an hour about sports. Interesting topic for a job interview, but I just happen to like sports, so I was okay with it. He wanted to know if I liked them, what teams I liked, if I liked college football, and if I was a competitor. I told him I was very competitive, and that I played volleyball for 8 years. He seemed satisfied. He said he liked my resume because I wasn't "cookie-cutter Florida law school graduate"...whatever that means. As long as he liked it, I guess I don't care.

The job seems really interesting. It's federal law subject matter, which means I'd be arguing in the fancy federal courthouses (WAY nicer than state courthouses), and that I'd have to take 2 more bar exams...these are easier exams though, b/c you just learn the federal rules (uh, already know those, thanks) and take a test specifically on those rules. The office was really nice...on the 28th floor of a skyrise in downtown Miami. I liked the firm b/c it is small. There are only 4 attorneys, so I'd be the 5th. I like small firms because I think you can learn more and have better working relationships. They are offering "between $50,000 and $60,000" plus benefits. I was a little bummed at the salary especially considering I'd have to spend so much on gas for the commute, but it is a good salary considering the size of the firm.

They have a pool of applicants, so he said he'd get back to me within a week to let me know if I should come for a 2nd interview with the other partner. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because at least they have shown interest. I don't really have any other options, and beggars can't be choosers. Plus, I think I'd learn a lot since each file they have they assign to one partner and one associate. So that means I'd be working side by side with a partner which is such a great way to learn. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Another Interview

I got another interview! Yay! It's tomorrow with a firm that does Maritime law work. What is Maritime law? Well, I know very little about it, but it involves the law on the open sea/waterways. The firm I'm interviewing with represents yacht owners and shipowners. They help with financing it, or any personal injury claims that may be raised against them (for instance, if the company owns a boat that takes divers out for scubadiving and something should happen). It sounds so interesting to me, so I'm way excited. It's all the way in the heart of Miami, so the commute would be kinda bad. However, salaries in Miami are like $20K or more higher than Fort Lauderdale, so I think I can deal with a commute! I'm excited, and I'll fill you in after the interview! Yay!

My First Turkey

Why is it that people are afraid of making/preparing turkeys? I was definitely scared. I was scared I was going to screw it all up, that it'd be too dry, that it wasn't the correct 180 degree temperature and thus that I was going to poison my friends. You may be asking yourself why on earth I would be making a turkey in October. Well, Columbus Day (this last Monday) is Canadian Thanksgiving. No, I'm not Canadian, but our friend Pete is and he and his wife always celebrate it. At first, they invited us over for a nice dinner with other friends, and only asked that I bring my famous candied yams. No prob. But, the people who were going to do the turkey bailed on them due to scheduling conflicts, and since both Pete and Barbara work, they asked me to do it. (Since, you know, I have no job and have nothing better to do than fuss over a turkey all day.) Barbara wanted me to use this special orange glaze on the turkey, stuff the turkey with dressing, and make the gravy. I agreed, but I admit I was a little bit put-off at all the work. The turkey, after all, IS the dinner and the work. Plus, I had the added pressure of never having done a turkey in my life. This combination made me have a few meltdowns during the cooking process. But, in the end, the turkey tasted good. Everyone complimented me and Pete and Barbara were very thankful. I personally thought it was a little dry. I couldn't use a turkey bag b/c Barbara wanted me to use the glaze (I had to baste it every hour), and that turkey bag makes all the difference in the juicy-ness of the turkey. The stuffing was pretty good, though definitely not up to my mom's. (She doesn't stuff the turkey with her dressing, she makes it all from scratch). And the gravy...well, it was orange-y from the glaze. Overall, I'd rate it just okay. Luckily, I had the experience before I throw my own Thanksgiving dinner. Since Elliott has tests before and after Thanksgiving, we won't be going home for it. Instead, I'm having all the optometry couples over and making a full blown turkey dinner. Now, I'm not as scared of the turkey. I now know what those giblets are and what a turkey neck looks like. I know exactly what to expect now, and my 2nd turkey is going to be lots better!

P.S. Thanks, Mom, for being on emergency turkey on-call. Sorry for disrupting your day so many times, but turkey carcasses are a little scary. :) I couldn't have done it without you!

Is it fall yet?

Because I can't tell down here in Florida! It's still really hot. And humid. And hot. And humid. My body feels like it should be changing temperature, but it's not. It's so wierd! And I'd like to change wardrobes, considering I've been wearing the same 4 shorts for the past 5 months. But, I'm pretty sure I'd die if I wore pants and a sweater. And oh, how I miss my big poofy jackets. I love wearing those. Guess I won't be needing them here.

Happy Birthday Shelby!!

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by since my cutie niece Shelby was born. She was just so tiny:


And beautiful,
And now she's a year old,
and still beautiful!
We love you Shelby! Happy Birthday! Your Aunt Molly and Uncle Elliott miss you tons!

1st Interview

FINALLY!! Finally someone wanted to interview me! I tell you what, this job search is annoying. But, I finally had an interview with a recruiting company. What they do is interview you first and then recommend you to the company you'd actually be working for. Then you interview with the real company and if they like you, you get hired as a temp through the recruiting company. So while you are a temp, the recruiting company pays you hourly. Then if the actual company decides they like you, you get the permanent position with them and get on salary/benefits with them and the recruiting company goes away.

With that said, my interview with the recruiting company went really well. It was really relaxed and the man interviewing me totally loved me. :) The job they have in mind for me is with a public adjusting company, not a law firm. So I'd be in-house counsel for them. What they do is when there is a natural disaster (let's say a hurricane), and someone loses their roof, they go to their insurance company. The insurance company says "oh, um your policy doesn't cover this." But it really does, the poor roofless person would go get a public adjustor to measure the damage and then I would contact the insurance company and try to settle or go to court over it. Sounds pretty fun to me, though it is not my first choice. I'd really like to do real estate law or family law, but so far this is my only opportunity that has opened up and it may be a good way to get some experience and get my foot in the door. Plus, it sounds interesting for me! It also doesn't hurt that starting salary is $70,000 and benefits!! I'll let you know if I get that second interview; I sure hope so!

Aerobics Diva

For the past 3 weeks, I've been a good girl and have been going to the gym. Normally when I would go to the gym, I would do my own workout routine involving cardio and weight lifting. But, I did that with my oh-so-talented sister Annie and she would tell me what to do and how to do it. So my good friend Brittni here loves aerobics and we happen to have memberships to the same gym. She convinced me to go and try it. Annie and I used to just watch the women in those classes and laugh because you can totally tell which ones are new at it. Plus, there's always that one lady (or 2 or 3 or 4) that has some spandex-leotard type contraption on her body, and she SHOULD NOT be wearing it! The laughing stock of the gym, you know. I did NOT want to be the laughing stock, but I was up for a new challenge, so I agreed to go. Here's how the week went:

Monday: "Camp24" - it is an interval class for 1 hour. 5 minutes cardio, 5 minutes weightlifting....AKA "Kick Molly's Trash Class"

Tuesday: "Turbo Kick Box" - self explanatory...1 hour class of jumping, kicking, punching....AKA "Make Molly Look Like A Baby Throwing a Temper Tantrum Class"

Wednesday: no really good class today, so we did our own normal cardio...AKA "Thank Heavens Because Molly's Legs are Now Rubber"

Thursday: "24Step" - Advanced step class. Yes, for advanced people, which I definitely am NOT....AKA "White Girl Molly Officially Becomes Laughing Stock of Gym Class"

Friday: "Turbo Kick Box" again....AKA "TGIF...Is This Almost Over Class?"

My first week was brutal. I looked like a total retard b/c I didn't know the steps, and not to mention, I'm way out of shape. Second week was a little better. I started to get the steps a little bit more, but still pretty sore. This third week has been more enjoyable because I've almost got the steps down and I'm feeling stronger. But, the classes still make me sweat like a pregnant nun in church. It's nice though.

Oath of Attorney

I do solemnly swear:

I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constituion of the State of Florida.

I will maintain the respect due to Courts of Justice and Judicial Officers.

I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceedings which shall appear to me to be unjust, nor any defense except such as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law of the land.

I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and will never seek to mislead the Judge or Jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law.

I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my clients, and will accept no compensation in connection with their business except from them or with their knowledge and approval.

I will abstain from all offensive personality and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged.

I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone's cause for lucre or malice. So help me God.

Molly J. Snyder

Frustrating Catch 22

I'm frustrated. I'm trying to find a job. The thing is, everyone wants you to have experience before they hire you, but you can't get experience until someone hires you. The typical Catch 22. I've been emailing out my resume to several firms and trying to get started, but no luck yet. It is so frustrating. I just feel like I'm aimlessly looking at jobs all day.

I'm not trying to be negative. I'm grateful that I finished law school and that I passed this bar exam. I'm grateful that Elliott got into a great optometry program. I'm happy to be in Florida. I just wish this was easier.

DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!

Today was judgment day for the Florida Bar Examinees........







AND







I



















KEEP SCROLLING.....






















PASSED ALL PARTS!!!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! GO MOLLY, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY, GET BUSY, DO A LITTLE DANCE, MAKE A LITTLE LOVE, GET DOWN TONIGHT!!! YEAH BABY!!!!!!

I gained a suffix today! :) Molly Snyder, Esq.

Hee hee...I like the sound of that!

Elliott's B-day

We celebrate September 11th differently than most Americans do now. Poor Elliott, the terrorist attacks have forever put a blight on his birthday! We try not to let it ruin his day though, so he opened his presents bright and early before his ever-exciting birthday started. He had to go to school, take a huge test, go to more classes, come home for 1/2 hour to change clothes and go do a financial assessment of some lady in our ward who needs assistance. He finally came home at 8:30 and then we got to play games with another couple for a while. To make up for his not-so-fun birthday, I put together a party for the next day. We had a BBQ pool party and about 20 showed up for it. It was super fun, but unfortuneately I was too busy dealing with the food that I forgot to take pictures. O'well! It was sure fun! Happy Birthday Elliott!.

I got Elliott a GPS system for the car. He was totally surprised and excited since he's been wanting one for a while now. I got a killer deal thanks to one of my parent's friends.

I also got him the game "And It Came to Pass." We played this game with a couple here and totally loved it, so I got it while I was in St. George. We recommend it...it's not really Mormon-y at all...it's like Stacy's Golf game for all you Garrards out there. :)

My Student Doctor

I ended up going to the White Coat Ceremony - sort of. I waited with a friend outside until they came out and then took some pictures. I'm proud of my husband and for all of his hard work. He somehow manages to balance school, studying, Elder's quorum president duties, and husband duties so well. He's such a light in my life, and I wouldn't trade him for anything. I love you Elliott!

O.D. = Optemetric Doctor...not the other kind of OD. :)
I wish they could've spelled his name correctly. They even had him write it out in these box things so they would be sure, and they still managed to screw it up. We're trying to get them to redo it.

The surprise trip pics!

I decided last-minute to go home for a while. I wanted to make it a surprise, so the only person who knew I was coming was my mom. She helped me set it all up. She told Annie that she'd be arriving in Las Vegas on Thursday around 11:00 since she and Annie and Shelby were going to go to Colorado on Friday. So Annie stayed home that morning waiting for mom. Instead of Mom, though, it was me!! It was so great to see Annie's dumbfounded look. She had no idea what was going on and was like "where's mom?" Haha! I told her mom wasn't coming until Friday morning, but she got me instead. So then on Friday, me, Annie, Shelby, and Mom flew to Colorado to see our grandparents. That was a horrible trip. There was a lot of drama because of a sort-of family feud that is going on on my mom's side of the family. Luckily we only stayed until Sunday morning. We drove back to Colorado Springs and stopped to see my half-brother Steve and his wife Jen. Steve had to work, but we went to his work to see him. Jen took us to the Garden of the Gods park, which was absolutely beautiful. Then Steve was able to take a lunch break and we all had lunch at a really yummy salad place. It was really fun seeing them! Then we flew back to Las Vegas and drove to Logandale to meet Matt, Haley and their kids and my dad. It was supposed to be a surprise for them too, but with all the Colorado drama, Mom let it slip to Papa that I was there and Annie let it slip to Haley and Matt that I was there. But Treyson didn't know I was coming, so he was excited to see me! We went to the lake on Monday, which I love doing! Then we drove to Saint George. Jamie still didn't know I was there, so I went and surprised her. The twins were way excited to see me and Jamie was shocked. It was really fun surprising them! I stayed until Saturday, Sept 8. It was really fun and I got my hair cut even shorter than the last time I cut it. I needed a short do for this crazy Florida humid weather! It was shocking at first, but now I love it. (you can see it in the last picture above). I had such a great time with my family, and I was sad to leave, but excited to get to see my hubby. Thanks for a great trip Mom and Papa! :)

Surprise!

Plane tickets: $565
Car ride to Annie's house: $10
Keeping a secret with my mom: hard, but $0
Seeing the surprised and confused look on Annie's face when I showed up at her door: priceless!

Little Miss Crafty

Since I haven't had much on my plate these days, with no school to attend or job to go to, I've turned to crafts to keep me busy. I'm pretty proud of my craftiness, so I thought I'd post a couple pics. This one is bingo for my little primary class. My kids need to start out with a game because they just don't quite have a 3 hour attention span yet. It helps calm them down and therefore teaching them is much easier if I start with a game. I colored 10 bingo cards plus the cue card things. Then I mounted them on orange cardstock and then laminated them. Didn't seem like that big of a project until I started doing it. Holy crap, took forever!

These are the cutest things ever. They are paper purses and I made 5 matching cards for each purse. I gave two to the two girls I visit teach. They were meant as cards for when you just can't seem to get to see your girls you visit teach...just to let that girl that she is loved. But, one of my girls doesn't visit teach anyone, so I told her she could just use them as thank you cards. This was a fun project that turned out so cute. I kept one for myself. :)

I've also been working on a Christmas advent calander/sewing project. It is proving to be quite a big project and a learning experience. I love to sew, but I admit I have so much to learn about quilting, and this advent calander involves quilting. Luckily my friend Barbara is super good at it and has taught me a lot. I'll post pics of that doosie of a project when it is done...sometime before Christmas. :)

Tagged by Haley

I was tagged by my lovely sister-in-law Haley. :)

Here are the rules. I did not write the rules. Someone else wrote them.
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.

4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Ok, here it goes. Good thing my middle name is short!

J....JOYFUL. I love my life. I have a fabulous husband, a safe roof over my head, plenty to eat on the table, the cutest dog, and a great education. All I need is a job, but that will come. I'm a happy person and I enjoy being with my friends and family. Sure, I have my moments (see last post), but overall, I think my life is perfect.

O...OPINIONATED. I have my own opinion on pretty much everything and I don't mind telling people what that is. Sometimes that is a bad thing, but I also think it is a positive thing. At least I don't let people push me around and at least I care to figure out circumstances and facts before I make my own opinion.

Ok...so now I get to tag two other people. I tag Stacy and Beth!! Have at it ladies!

White Coat

So, I came to post about the things I've been doing that have kept me from my blog and I had taken pictures to post too, but my camera is MIA, so no pics for now. I think Elliott took it to school. I've been so busy with crafts, but I'll post later about those since I have pics.

Today is Elliott's White Coat Ceremony. I've been super excited about this ceremony b/c it's just a fun milestone. The faculty gives him his embroidered lab coat that has his name and "Student Doctor" on it and the optometry sheild patch thing. And after this ceremony, the faculty and those who come to the clinic call him Student Doctor Snyder. I think it is really cool, so I've been so excited, but Elliott informed me that families can't come to the ceremony! WHAT???!!! I'm so upset!! I want to be there; it's kind of a big deal! Elliott said I could sneak in, but I don't want to do that. So now the next best thing is wait for him to come out of the ceremony and take pictures afterward. Their reasoning for not letting families attend is lame too - just because not all the families could be there. Ugh! Well, I CAN be there. I drove 3,000 miles to be here, left my friends and family to come to a foreign place to support my Student Doctor of a husband, and darn it, I want to be there! They let the families be there for the dental and pharmacy lab coat ceremonies, so they should let optometry student's families in too. I guess I'll sneak in, but I hate doing things like that. I'm such a rule-follower. Oh well, now I vented. I'm feeling a little better. Thanks for listening all my blogging friends! :)

Mom, Annie, and Shelby Trip Pics!

THANK YOU BETH!!

Elliott got the mail yesterday and came back with a package that was sealed shut with duct tape and resembled a Pringles can. I immediately knew something yummy from Beth had just arrived! We couldn't open it fast enough to get to those savory no-bakes!! YUM!!! Thank you so much, Beth!! I wish you were here to enjoy them with us! It brightened my whole day and made me feel so loved. It couldn't have come at a better time either; I've been pretty homesick lately. Thank you so much!! You're the best!

Universal Studios Pictures

I'm a slacker, I know!

I know, I know!! I haven't blogged in forever! Sorry! After my bar exam, I read Harry Potter relaxed, went to Universal Studios, and then Annie and Mom and Shelby came to see me, so I've gotten way behind! So much to say...I think I will just make a list:

1. SEPTEMBER 17th AT 2pm: The day and time my bar results are posted. Can't wait. It's torture waiting this long. (And to all of my Nevada bar exam takers, I'm so sorry that you have to wait until October...that bites!) The Florida bar exam is a two day test. The first day is 3 essays in the morning and then 100 multiple choice questions in the afternoon. The second day is the Multi-state portion and is 100 multiple choice questions in the morning and another 100 multiple choice questions in the afternoon. After my first day, I felt great! I was like "Oh, I totally aced this exam, I'm going to pass for sure!" Then came the second day. I was irate when I came out of that test. I didn't feel so hot about it, but then again everyone else around me felt the same way. I think that I have a great chance of passing it though. They average the scores of the two days and in Florida, I have to get a scaled score of 136 or higher in order to pass. I feel confident that I passed, but then again, you just never know. Check back on September 17th around 2:01 and I will let you know how I did!

2. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS: We went with our friends Bryce and Brittni. Orlando is about a 3 hour drive from here, so we left Friday afternoon after they got off work. We made it just in the nick of time to make the last session at the Orlando Temple. I was really happy we went. We hadn't been in quite a while, so it was nice to be reminded of our covenants. Then on Saturday morning we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (the more roller-coaster-y part of Universal). Our friends had received coupons in the mail, so it was super cheap to go. The parks were really fun, but mostly it was just fun to hang out and not worry about a thing. There was this Men in Black ride where you each had your own gun to shoot aliens while on the ride. Elliott usually beats me in all kinds of video games, but this time I was not going to let him win. I totally beat him! I got like 114,500 points and he only got like 85,000. MUHAHAHA!! I was pretty excited I actually beat him. We stayed the night that night, which was a good thing b/c we were all pooped from being at the parks for 13 hours! We made home with enough time to go get Tink from her "Pet Hotel" and to go to church and teach my little primary class. It was a great time. I'm working on a slide show too.

3. MOM, ANNIE AND SHELBY TRIP: SO MUCH FUN! Oh man, I miss you guys so much already. We had so much fun. First we went shopping at Sawgrass Mills Mall, which is like the 2nd largest mall in America, I believe. It took us two full days of shopping to even cover it! Shelby loved shopping with the girls. She did so good; just slept and laughed and giggled. I found a suit, which I was really happy about because I need one for my upcoming interviews! We all found super buys since Sawgrass is a true outlet too! We had to do some other "Florida" things too though. So we went on this riverboat called the Jungle Queen. We had heard so much about it, so I decided to take them. It was cool. It took down "Millionaire's Row" which is the intercoastal canal that has huge mansions on it that are millionaire's winter vacation homes. Man, someday my "vacation" home will be like that! haha! Must be nice. I also decided it would be cool to have a yacht one day. They are so pretty and it would be fun to just cruise around to various islands on your yacht. Maybe when I become rich and famous... The Jungle Queen let you out at a island that had some caged animals, including monkeys. It stunk, literally. The only cool part about that was there was this alligator show thing, where a crazy guy got in the alligator pit and wrestled with an alligator. Psycho! We also went to Fort Lauderdale South Beach. We didn't have our swimsuits, but we put our feet in and took some pictures. It was fun. Then it was time for them to go. They had a 7:00am flight out of here, so I woke up early and took them to the airport. I was all sad and was wishing for just a few more hours with them. Well...I GOT MY WISH!! haha!! Spirit Airlines is so incompetent that they made several people miss their flights that day. They just wouldn't check people in fast enough even though they were there an hour early. So the next flight to Vegas wasn't until 8:00 that night, so I went back and picked them up, and we had a whole more day! So we went shopping again and just chatted. Shelby got an Elmo doll, and she was so excited about it and hasn't stopped loving on him. Then we got to eat a nice dinner at Olive Garden before I took them back to the airport. It was really a blessing that they stayed that extra day because I had a rough day after they left. I was sad and in a funk and at least it was Saturday so Elliott was home to comfort me. Thanks again for coming you guys! And thanks Papa and Jonathan for letting your girls come see me! I love you guys! (Pictures are also coming for this too)

4. ELLIOTT'S SCHOOL: Elliott officially started optometry school. He'll be a doctor before you know it! He is gone pretty much all day, everyday of the week. It was a good thing that Annie and Mom and Shelby were here for his first week so that I wasn't so lonesome. He is really busy and studies all the time. It's good though. I'm glad he has finally started school; he has always wanted to be an optometrist, so it is nice that he has followed through on his goals and started the last obstacle to getting to his goal.

Well, I think that's the last few weeks in a nutshell. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. I'll be working on the pictures shortly. Love you all!

Walking the mile...

I'm leaving for Tampa in the morning so I can get to my hotel, open up my books for the last time, and try to sleep. Tuesday and Wednesday are the big days! I feel ready. I feel confident. But I still think I'm going to puke....

Please pray that I will pass this test. It's so important b/c without a passing grade, I won't be able to practice law - which I have been looking so forward to doing. I need the prayers and thanks for all your support.

For Annie....

You asked for it! :) hahaha!! I love ya and miss ya! P.S. - I would post other pictures, but I forget that I'm supposed to have my camera on me at all times. :) After the bar, I will take tons of pics while we are at Universal Studios, and then you will be in photo heaven, K?

Houdini Wieny!

Tinkerbelle can get out of her crate. I don't know how the heck she does it; she is just like Houdini. We put her in her crate when we leave, and when we come back, who is at the door to greet us, but our little dog! It's happened like 5 times too, so I know it wasn't just a freak accident. Crazy dog.

HARRY POTTER!!

Elliott was at work on Monday night and his boss apparently was having a secret competition. Whoever got the most compliments would win a prize. Of course Elliott won the contest b/c he's the bestest server ever! He won a $25 gift certificate to Outback (score!) AND he won 2 tickets to the premier of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at midnight last night! Double score! So we went even though 10:30 is my bedtime. It was really good! I was surprised b/c that is my least favorite Harry Potter book, but the movie was my favorite one so far. There's a great fight scene with Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort. It was pretty cool; y'all should go see it!

That same night (earlier though) we had already made plans a while ago to see Transformers with a bunch of people, so we went to that too. Very entertaining. I was surprised at how much I liked that one too. It was fun to have a movie day, but now let the cramming begin as now my lectures are over and I must study, study, study!

2 Weeks and Counting...

My bar exam is coming faster and faster! Two weeks....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I'm freaking out a little....must study now!

This means WAR!!

I went to my kitchen tonight planning to grab a quick dinner and head back to my books. But no. Instead, I walked into my kitchen (which is sparkling clean, of course) to find a whole freaking colony of ants!! They were EVERYWHERE!! At first, I didn't know what to do b/c there were so many, so I just watched them scurry here and there. Then I woke up from my dazed state and grabbed the dish towel and started smashing ants. I literally stood there killing ants for 20 minutes. Now I have a zillion ant bites and I feel like I have ants in my pants and on my arms and crawling everywhere....eeeewwwww! I hate that feeling! I tried to find where the ants were coming from, but they didn't seem to have an origin and I don't know why they would've come to the spot they were at b/c there was no food around. I hate ants. I hate bugs. Eww...now I feel like they are on me again! Eww....waaaaaaa!! My bites are itching....stupid ants! Come back, I dare you! I shall win!

It's Alive!!!

Good news! Tinkerbelle's toy is more like a cat, and has regained life! It's been out of commission for about a week now, and all of sudden it started working again! She couldn't be happier!

Studying is going pretty well, but is starting to take a toll on me. My neck and back are killing me because I'm constantly hunched over a book, doing practice questions. I took 2 simulated exams this week. On the first one, I got a raw score of 122 where the national average was 104. On the second one, I got a raw score of 104 where the national average was 95. So, I guess I'm doing alright. Since the bar exam is a scaled test (where you are compared to other people), as long as I am above the average, I figure I'm pretty safe. I still have a lot of room for improvement though, so these next few weeks I'm really going to focus on it even more. But, since today is Independence Day, I figure I deserve a little break. We went to Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale for lunch today with our friends Bryce and Brittni. We wanted to go to this wonderful Mediterrainian (how the heck do you spell that??) restaurant that we found when we came down with my parents in March, but it was shut down! :( I was so bummed! But, since we were there and it was time to eat, we decided to go to Cheesecake Factory, and it was yummy. Elliott had to go to work, so now I am just blogging and chillin. Bryce and Brittni are going to take me to a barbeque at Steve and Emilee's house and then the ward is having an ice cream party at the park with fireworks, so I'm going to that with them too. I'm going to enjoy my time off today and not feel guilty b/c for the next couple weeks, I'm going to become a hermit and not do anything but study. Yay for me.

Last Saturday we went to a barbeque at Brandon and Jamie's house with Bryce, Brittni, Steve, and Emilee. I made a strawberry-spinach salad that was quite delicious, if I do say so myself. We all played Taboo after dinner and man that game is so funny when you get that many people playing it. We were dying laughing. Good times. It was fun to get to know Brandon and Jamie a little more...they are halarious. I'm so happy we've found great friends here. It makes everything better.

We've had some pretty crazy lightening storms here the past few days. I swear the lightening strikes our area b/c the thunder comes before the light is even gone and it is the loudest sound ever. Seriously, it sounds like massive explosions! My computer is next to a window, and I've heard on the news here that during a lightening storm you shouldn't be by a window (and since Florida is the number 1 place for lightening strikes and deaths from lightening, I listen to what the news says), so the other night I was just studying at my computer and the brightest light came and the biggest thunder came, so I dove off my chair and started crying. HAHAHA!! I'M SUCH A DORK!! But, I was seriously scared. Elliott came to my rescue and tried his hardest not to laugh at me since I was being overly sensitive that day anyway. But yeah, the lightening/thunder/rain storms here are insane. I was driving through one of these storms on my way home from school and I seriously couldn't see 10 feet in front of me or hear anything b/c the rain was hitting my car so hard. I'm amazed.

The Death of a Loved One...

SQEAK! SQEAK! SQEAK! This is Tinkerbelle's favorite toy. We call it her Jewish dog because we bought it for her for her 1st Christmas, but it is blue and white, so I think it was intended for Jewish dogs. It's also known as her pacifier. She squeaks this thing all day, everyday. Well, Mr. Squeaker doesn't squeak so much anymore. Tinkerbelle finally killed it. You should've seen her sad little puppy dog eyes when she was chewing on it and it stopped squeaking. She still runs to get it, tries to squeak it, drops it, looks at me, looks at Mr. Squeaker, tries again, and then walks away. It's so sad b/c that is her one toy that she will play non-stop fetch with. I thought I'd be happy once Mr. Squeaker didn't squeak anymore, but I just kinda feel bad for Tinkers. Luckily though, she has an Octopus that has a squeaker in it, but she still loves Mr. Squeaker the most.

Studying for the bar....

...IS EXHAUSTING!! And the sad part is, I feel like I should be doing even MORE than I'm doing. I go to lecture all morning, come home, have some lunch, run a couple errands or take a 30 minute dip in the pool to revive from the ever-so-exciting lecture, then sit at my desk and do question after question and review outline after outline. My back hurts b/c I haven't found a chiropracter here and sitting in a chair all day isn't the best thing for your back. My head feels like it is about to explode with information, and I'm trying my best to keep it all in my tiny little brain for a few more weeks. I can't wait until 5:00 July 25th b/c then this will all be over! (but for some crazy reason, I am going to do this to myself two more times with the Nevada and Utah bars)

Anyway, since I've been studying, I haven't blogged...not like there is much to blog about anyway. Nobody wants to hear about how I learned that FL is a comparative negligence state, yahoo, yay, big freaking deal! BUT, on Friday, I decided to let my brain have a little relaxation so we invited two couples over for game night - Bryce and Brittni again and Steve and Emilee (another optometry student in our ward). We played Taboo (boys vs. girls and the boys beat us in the very end; not bitter or anything!), Clue (which I won in a matter of 15 minutes by pure skill...ok...maybe it was luck), and Spoons, which Elliott totally lost. haha. I made some new cookies for the event. They had crushed up Andes mints in them...YUM! YUM! YUM! - the recipe is on the back of the Andes mints bag found in the bakery isle of the grocery store...go find it and make em, cuz they were delicious. Not one cookie was left after that night! Then we all chatted for a while and Steve and Emilee decided to leave. Bryce and Brittni (who we are totally becoming great friends with) stayed and we rented a movie from our TV - Catch and Release. Just okay if you ask me. But, it was super fun having them all over! I'm so happy that there are other couples in optometry school, and especially without kids. Not that kids are bad, it's just easier to hang out with couples without kids when you don't have em either. I really like Steve and Emilee too, but we seem to click better with Bryce and Brittni. We are already planning a trip to Universal Studios with them once I take the bar. They invited us over next weekend for a BBQ, which I'm totally hoping Elliott doesn't have to work so we can go. Anyway, I am super excited to have such great friends!

Saturday was just work for Elliott and studying for me. Sunday was church, then work for Elliott and me avoiding studying. Oh, but Elliott does have another calling! He is also a ward missionary, which he seems pretty excited about b/c he loves missionary work. Bryce is also a ward missionary, so that's nice since they are already buddies.

Ok, enough procrastination for yet more bar questions.

Weekend happenings

Wow, two blogs in one day...that can only mean that I am (1) super behind in the blog world, and (2) I am totally procrastinating more practice bar questions - I am so sick of studying already! Oh well, almost over.

Anyway, I thought I should report about my weekend since it was such a nice break from the ordinary sleep-in, study, Elliott goes to work, sort of weekend. Elliott has not had a weekend off since he started working here. It's been kinda nice b/c I just study and get a lot done while he's gone, but nevertheless, I still miss him. He had this Saturday off, so we decided to make plans even though I had a bazillion assignments to do. We decided to call up our new-found friends Bryce and Britney. Bryce is an optometry student who started last year, but is in the part-time program so he will be graduating with Elliott. They are in our ward. Our original plan was to meet at 10:00 at our house and then we'd all go to the beach that is 15 minutes away. (Nice, huh?) Well, of course, the weather had different plans for us. Usually it is sunny in the morning and rains in the afternoon, so we thought we'd get by going at 10:00, but no. So we nixed that plan. Since I had already made all the food for our picnic at the beach, we decided to have them over for lunch and then go to a movie. Lunch was great, they liked my cooking (who doesn't ;) ) and it was really nice to get to know more about them. Then they told us about this other movie theater that is nicer than the one closer to us and is connected to yet another HUGE mall. We decided to go to that one instead since it was only 15 minutes away and we had never been there. This mall was the coolest mall ever. It had all of the fancy, high-end stores that you can't afford, but it also had the cheaper stores too. Plus it had Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware, and pretty much every other store you could think of. We window shopped for a while and saw "Oceans 13" there. Good movie, I recommend it. By the time we were done with all that, it was dinner time, so we went to this Mexican restaurant that they recommended. It was REALLY yummy, and was just what we wanted since we haven't been able to find good Mexican food around here - no Robertos in FL...boo hoo....(for elliott anyway, i don't mind that much). So then we returned to our house and just kept talking and talking. I decided that they are going to be great friends. We have so much in common between the four of us. I'm super excited that we have such a great couple friend already! It makes it feel more like home.

Then on Sunday, Elliott had to work a double shift since it was Father's Day. I had to substitute primary for the 3rd week in a row, and since the primary presidency got to know me these last three weeks, they thought they'd just call me as a teacher...so now I am going to be the permanent CTR 6 teacher. I'm actually pretty happy about that b/c Britney is also in there along with Emilee, another wife of an optometry student. I think it'll be fun to get to know everyone even in primary. Elliott also got a calling...it's a weird one....he is a zone leader for hurricane relief! hahaha! I thought this was SO FUNNY because of ALL people who should know about hurricane relief, Elliott and I are the LAST ones to go to! hahaha! I guess he has a group of people he has to call before/after a hurricane to make sure they are okay and have food, water, ice, etc. Crazy calling - definitely not one in the west!

I got way behind in my studies this weekend, but it was well worth it. I'll catch up during this week. I had such a great time getting to know another couple and spending time with my hubby. I'm beginning to REALLY enjoy living here, despite all the rain and being away from my family and closest friends.

Crocs!

I will be the first to admit that I have hated those Crocs shoes since they came out. I mean, they look like shoes to wear maybe for gardening. I do like them on little kids, though. But whenever I see an adult wearing them, I always ask "What were they thinking!??" Well, now I (as well as Elliott) are one of those people. Yes. We bought Crocs. I just have to say that I feel like a total goofball for wearing them, but they were MADE for Florida!! I swear they are the nicest shoes for the weather here. It rains EVERYDAY, and not just sprinkles, but like torrential downpour rain. And you get caught in it without an umbrella because it was sunny two minutes beforehand. So my shoes were getting all yucky, so we decided to buy some Crocs and try them out. I love them for here. You can walk in all those rivers in the roads and not care b/c your shoes will be just fine since they are rubber. Plus, they are pretty comfortable shoes, I must admit. And, I think they will be wonderful beach shoes b/c the sand will come off super easy. So I confess...I'm a Croc-wearing goofy looking Florida lady now! :) haha.

Sunday Adventure

We already had to give talks during sacrament meeting! Crazy! They called us on Wednesday and asked us to talk this Sunday, and since Elliott was the one to answer the phone, he said "Sure!" If it would have been me, well, I probably would've murmered about how little time that was to prepare (especially considering I am studying like 18 hours a day and still feel behind!). Lucky for me though, we just barely had to talk in our Vegas ward before we left, and no specific topic was given for today, so I used my old talk! Yes! (It's really kinda sad how much I enjoy taking the easy way out these days...) So anyway, I talked about the Book of Mormon and its translation. It seemed to go over well, I had people laughing and attentive and a lot of people came up afterwards to tell me I did a great job. Elliott was talking about the creation...and that's about all I know about his talk b/c my attention to him was averted (as was everyone else's attention who was anywhere close to the pulpit) because all of a sudden this HUGE, and I mean HUGE, cockroach started to crawl up the pulpit towards Elliott. And then it changed direction and started crawling on the railing towards ME! At which point it crawled on the other side of the railing so I couldn't see it. Then, before I knew it, this guy in the front row (Brandon is his name) finally noticed it. His wife saw it and quickly picked up their child and left the building. Then all of a sudden Brandon jumps like 2 feet off his chair because not only is this a huge cockroach, it is some freak of nature cockroach that flies/jumps right at Brandon! Everyone else jumps and makes a big commotion, and Brandon finally kills the cockroach. Meanwhile, poor Elliott is up there trying to talk about how great the creation is. I couldn't help but laugh. The creation was wonderful...except for the creation of enormous cockroaches that jump and cause disturbances in sacrament, of course. It was quite funny.

Images from our place!

Okay, I don't know why the captions aren't showing up on their own, but if you run your mouse underneath the pictures, they show up! And you can make it go faster by clicking the + on the bottom left corner of it...sorry! I'm learning! Enjoy!

Desert Rat

This last weekend, mostly on Friday, I had the pleasure of experiencing my first "tropical depression." Not like sad depression, but you know, the weather term depression. Let me tell you...HOLY COW!! I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH RAIN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!! It rained and rained and rained and rained and...you get the point. And not just soft, little rain. No, it was big ol' fat rain that came down in sheets! There are canals and lakes EVERYWHERE here in Florida, and, well, now I know why. What a way to start off Hurricane season (which started on June 1st). This little desert rat is in for a huge climatic change! I just couldn't believe it, had to share. :)

Pomp and Circumstance!

Thanks to Stacy, I can finally put in some pictures!

May 11th

Annie and Shelby showing their support...Shelby loved my cords (which symbolized the two clubs I was active in: Organization of Women Law Students and J. Reuben Clark Law Society)

Thank you, Dean Morgan...now please hand over my diploma.
Proud husband
Dionne showing some support!
Of course the parents were there too!

May 12th

Good ol' Dee

The happy grad couple! :)
Proud parents again
The Snyder clan saying Congrats and Goodbye!

May 11th was my law school graduation, and May 12th was Elliott's and my university commencement. At the law school graduation, we just had law speakers and it was just private for the law students. At the university commencement, I was hooded with my fancy purple velvet hood as they called my name from the stage. It was pretty cool to be in the front of the group, since, you know, law students are most important. haha. Then Elliott's name was called too (way later in the ceremony), and I hooted and hollared...then we made like bandits and left for Florida! I will say that it was quite weird not to have any dintinguishing honors in law school, like suma, magna, or just plain cum laude. I've had honors all my life, but I just didn't quite make the grades this time around. But, you know what? Graduating from law school is a pretty cool honor in and of itself! GO SNYDERS!!

BAR/BRI

My bar review has officially begun. I picked up my books yesterday...all 30 pounds of them! This is going to be an intense review, and I'm sure I'll refer to a thing called "BAR/BRI" in my posts, so I thought I'd tell you what that is. It is a bar review company that makes all these lovely books and has a class in an effort to help me retain all of this information so as to pass the Bar. I will be in this class until July 13, and reviewing every subject will be my life for the next couple of months. I can hardly contain my excitement....I'm sure that my excitement will come to the forefront when I learn that I have passed the Bar and can then start making some MOO-LA!! :)

Hello Florida!!

Well, we finally made it! We are officially Floridians...well, maybe not "officially" since we haven't changed our licenses yet or our voter registration, but still... We have a 3 bedroom apartment with a one car garage! I feel like I'm totally living it up! I have space!! It's my first garage, and I'm loving it! I will post pictures of it...as soon as I learn how to post pictures without making them humongous! (Anyone want to tell me how??) We live right next to a big pond, which is absolutely beautiful. All the ducks (which look like turkeys, by the way...wierd) had their ducklings. As a matter of fact, I was walking toward the pond with Tinkerbelle and Elliott and said "AHHH!! There's an alligator!" But Elliott just started laughing and told me that is was a duck with all her ducklings behind her. Once I got closer, I could see them. It was really cute. I guess I'm just paranoid that an alligator is going to eat my dog because just after I got here, Annie called me and told me that on the news there was this guy in West Palm Beach, FL (which is pretty close to me) whose dog got eaten by an alligator in his neighborhood pond! I think Tinkerbelle heard that story too b/c she is terrified to go outside...poor thing. Perhaps it doesn't help that there are ants EVERYWHERE here, and on our first day here, she went to go potty and stepped in an ant pile...now she hates the grass (since it bit her in the ass). She's getting better now.

I've had a bit of a hard time adjusting to living away from family and friends. It's not so bad when I have things to do, but when I'm not doing anything, I get sad. It doesn't help that I am sick and have no energy to do anything now...I just sit here, blow my nose, cough up a lung and think about "home." I'm trying to have a great attitude, and I really do love it so far, but I just wish I was here with all my same friends and family. Yeah, that would be better. I know I'll make friends quickly, but it doesn't make my first week any easier knowing that.

Speaking of new friends, a nice couple invited us over for dinner on Sunday. He's an optometry student. They had two other optometry student couples there and another single optometry student. It was really nice to meet other optometry students. They are all really nice and seem like we will become great friends in the next few years.

Anyhow, this is getting long. I promise I'll figure out how to do pictures. Love you all!

In the beginning...

Well, after reading many other blogs, I've decided it is time to create my own. Since we are moving to Plantation, Florida in 5 days, I think this will be a great way to keep in touch. Hopefully, I can entertain everyone else like they entertain me. :)