What has changed since my last post on July 17th?

• I am now married
• I am now a law student
• I am now moved into a house in a new city
• I have a TOTALLY new and crazy routine
• I have no free time

The wedding was PERFECT.  As soon as the professional pictures are ready (believe it or not, they are still not finished with editing them) I will post a few.  Lucky for you, though, the honeymoon pictures are up!  If you go here you can see them.  There are about 800 and I kind of gave up on giving appropriate titles and explanations, so just be aware of that.

Law school is amazing, time consuming, and extremely difficult.  Amazing because it is what I have always wanted to do, and since the first day I have felt totally in my element.  Time consuming because I literally have no free time - I am either in class or studying during all hours of the day!  Extremely difficult because I miss having a life, having time to spend with my husband, and not feeling that guilt of “I need to read” or “I need to study” looming over me everyday.

I came down with some sort of flu this week, and yesterday I didn’t get out of bed.  Luckily, today I am feeling much better.  I’m going to get caught up on cleaning, do homework, and prepare for the weekend study session that will occur tomorrow and Sunday.  We have a Contracts midterm coming up on Thursday, and I do not feel as prepared as I want to feel. 

Oh my, Kate Gosselin is really on The View right now?!  You have got to be kidding me.  And her hair is hideous, I’m sorry.  Anyway, I’m off to get going on all this stuff.  I am keeping up with everyone via Google Reader, and I’m going to try to get back on Twitter more than once a month.  :)

By the end of the hour long episode Monday night, I was crying.  Crying for a few reasons.  One, you could tell that Kate especially was having such a hard time, and I hate to see people that way.  It seems that Jon is less outwardly emotional, but you could tell he wasn’t happy either.  Two, I remember being the 8 year old, sitting at the dining room table and being told, “Mommy and Daddy can’t live together anymore.”  Memories of my parents’ divorce came flooding back, which is the main reason why I cried.  And lastly, I cried because I am afraid of the same outcome when I have children.  Granted, we are going to have half as many kids as the Gosselins at the most, but the thought is still in my mind.  I know I will never be the one to ask for a divorce, but we cannot guarantee that things will change once kids are involved.  We have both promised each other that we will not turn to divorce and that we will work through our problems to the best of the ability.  The fear is still there, though, for me.

Mostly, I feel so sorry for the Gosselin children, who for the rest of their lives will be prone to paparazzi and invasion of privacy.  They will forever be known FIRST as the kids who were on television for the first five years of their lives; the kids with parents whose divorce unfolded on TV and in tabloids, etc.  It is hard enough to realize that your parents are not staying together (and I highly doubt the kids understand that just yet, but they will in time), let alone all the other things that will happen to them.  With the discontinuation of filming of Jon & Kate Plus 8 I am hoping that the parents really focus on the kids, keep themselves out of the spotlight, and help them cope with the divorce.

I hope that the parents have planned ahead in the event that something happen to them.  No doubt Jon and Kate Gosselin have life insurance.  I wonder if they received it through TLC or if they got an online life insurance quote when the babies were born.

Tom and I went to an all-day marriage retreat through our church on Saturday, and we both got A LOT from it.  It focused on communication, finances/stewardship, and natural family planning.  There was an older couple, who have been married for 40 years, that came towards the end of the retreat.  They talked about the struggles they went through and how they got to where they are today.  I have to admit, I had tears in my eyes at the end of their presentation because it was so special to see a long-lasting marriage (especially in the wake of my parents’ devastating divorce).  The retreat helped us both a lot, but it actually helped me quite a bit personally – with my anxiety and uncertainty about what is ahead for me and for my marriage.  I feel more calm and ready for what’s up next in my life.

I guess I just needed to vent about my worries and how I’m feeling, because I feel so much better already!

On another note, I wanted to let you know that I am trying to get back into paid posting.  As always, I’m not going to write crappy posts just for the sake of posting the links I need to.  I try really hard to add the links into posts in a way that does not distract the reader.  Sometimes that can be difficult (like when I have to come up with topics for the same weight loss pills links) but I do try my best.

We had enough time after going to talk with the cake lady to get home, change, and head to the shower.  My sister was already there when we arrived, but she and my sister-in-law (also my matron of honor) were still setting up.  It was weird; they wouldn’t let me help and I had nothing to do!  I started feeling really weird, almost like an out of body experience.  It was a combination of anxiety and the thought of being the center of attention.  People starting coming, I would greet and introduce them, and before I knew it, the party had begun!

We started out with introductions around the room; since there were about 30 people there, we pretty much needed to have everyone introduce themselves.  The sweetest thing was when we got to my stepdad’s family – everyone introduced themselves as my sister, aunt, cousin – no “step” involved.  It was a very subtle thing, but very special to me. 

We got some food (which was amazing – finger sandwiches, spinach dip, fruit skewers, sangria, wine, etc.) and started the first game.  My sister-in-law asked Tom a bunch of questions beforehand, and she asked me those.  People guessed how many I would get right.  If I got a question wrong, I had to put a piece of gum in my mouth.  Out of 12 questions, I got 7 wrong!  I swear though, Tom tricked me.  No joke, one of the questions was “How many times in a day do I fart?”  I guessed 50 times, but his answer was, “17.  One day, I counted.”  Tom’s mom was mortified, and I was slightly embarrassed, but everyone laughed.  I made sure to get a picture of my chewed gum for Tom, since he gave me such interesting questions to answer!

The next game we played was a “Bobbi or Tom” bingo game.  Several questions were asked, people would show a “B” or “T” on their paddle and would get to mark that square on their bingo card if they got it right.  We didn’t make it all the way through the questions before someone called “BINGO!”

After seeing the results from cardio and strength training, I am determined that there is no such thing as “best diet pills.”  They may work short term, but you will not receive the same results after you stop taking diet pills.  I have also tried a variety of acai pills.  They helped boost my energy on days I did not work out, but they didn’t really help with my weight loss.  Obviously it’s a personal choice, but I wanted to share my experience with you.

I got my financial aid package for law school.  On the one hand, YAY, I got a scholarship and my expected family contribution (according to FAFSA) is $0.  That means I qualify for more Federal Stafford loans than I did in undergrad.  On the other hand, OUCH, we will be taking out about $200,000 when all is said and done.  Between Stafford loans, our combined undergrad loans, and private loans (to make up the difference in what I wasn’t offered in my financial aid package), it’s going to be a lot.  Granted, I thought I’d be taking out more like $300,000, so I feel good about that (at least).

Now that we know that, we are definitely pinching pennies even more!  It is depressing to think about taking that much money out, but thankfully I will (one day) have a good job that allows us to pay it back.  A good portion of the interest will be paid by the government, too (thank you Subsidized loans that I actually qualify for this time around!).

Scary, yet fun – tonight I logged into my student account at my law school – for the first time ever.  Don’t ask me why, but it was the coolest and scariest feeling!  I have said it about a million times, but I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M GOING TO LAW SCHOOL.  I’m so excited and nervous!

Speaking of the law, work is going so well.  Whoa, I almost just typed “school” instead of “work.”  Yeah, I forgot what going to school feels like, haha.  That feeling will come back soon enough though, right?  I’ll eat my words in August, haha.

I just realized how ridic this post is.  Sorry!  I’m feeling a mix of emotions and in the process, babbling all over the place.  I want to go play Sims 3 (which I got in the mail yesterday) but my book (John Grisham’s The Street Lawyer …. haha) is also calling my name.  Hmmm….

So far, we have received a few pieces.  How do I know?  I’ve been peaking at my registries.  I know, I probably shouldn’t be doing that, because I won’t be surprised when I open gifts on Saturday.  But I still don’t know who is giving the gifts, since the website(s) only say “fulfilled” or “completed” next to the items that have been purchased.  So it’s not 100% surprise, but I’m also not completely ruining it.

Speaking of the shower, I am getting very excited about it.  I bought this dress to wear and it fits PERFECTLY!  Also, it’ll be perfect to bring on the honeymoon for dinner out or something.  About 30 people are coming to the shower, a combination of family and friends.  I cannot wait to see everyone.  Some ladies I haven’t seen in quite a few years.  Others I see quite a bit, but it will be fun to share such a special event with them.  We’re playing two games (not cheesy ones, of course), will have snacks and Sangria, I’ll open gifts and everyone will eat cake.  I CAN’T WAIT!  Then Sunday, I have my first dress fitting.  I’m nervous because … well, I don’t know why.  One of my bridesmaids will be with me though, so that will be nice to have her there. 

Other than the looming shower stuff, wedding planning has become a lot less stressful this week.  This is for two reasons.  One, we spoke up about the rehearsal dinner and decided that what was planned for us was not really what we wanted.  It is going to be a lot cheaper (and more fun!) the way that it is planned now.  Two, I am back on my meds for anxiety, so I don’t feel so stressed and overwhelmed.  Within one day of being back on them, I felt so much better.  Which is good, because I was starting to turn into a biatch!

On a completely unrelated note, I broke and bought Sims 3.  Should be here in 3 days!  Am I lame because I’m 22 and playing this game still?  My stepdad doesn’t let me live it down that I spent my first college Christmas break on the couch playing it….