Introducing.....

Elizabeth Anne Smith, Esq.!

Ok, yes that is just me... and yes that is a picture of me from a while ago... and you may not think that this is anything special, but I am now an Esquire.  That's right folks, I passed the NJ bar exam and am official a lawyer and can put Esq. after my name!!  I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I am to have passed and to now be able to focus on finding a job in NJ.  As some of you may already know, when I found out I did not pass Delaware I was pretty down in the dumps and had a hard time rebounding from it because well, I studied my butt off and was really disappointed in myself for not passing.  I can now say that although I am still disappointed about Delaware, I am absolutely, positively ecstatic about passing NJ.  I am seriously floating on cloud 9 right now!

My New Car

I also recently leased a new car as my old car all but died on me and was not in a drivable condition.  This is a picture of my brand new, shiny 2011 Jetta :)  I need to figure out a name for her (or him?) but nothing has come to me just  yet... suggestions are more than welcome!  I am seriously in love with the fact that I no longer have to worry about whether or not my car will break down when I'm trying to get to work, go to the grocery store, get gas, etc.  For the first time in years I really don't have to worry about my car breaking on me and it feels great!

That's about all that is new in my life.  I know I've been completely MIA from the blogging world these past two weeks, but I've been working an insane amount trying to save up money now that I have a car payment to worry about... plus I've been on the hunt for a lawyer job, so I've been super busy.  BUT now that I know I passed the NJ bar exam and I have my lease payment covered for next month I can try to get back in to the wonderful world of blogging!

Things I Miss on Thursdays....

I'm thinking of starting a new series on Thursdays entitled "Thursday's Things I Miss..."  Though moving to a new place and moving on in my life is amazing, there are still some things from my past that I think I will always miss, no matter how old I get.  I miss things about North Jersey, I miss things about Bucknell, I miss things about Spain, I miss things about law school, I miss favorite stores/restaurants/etc. that have gone out of business, etc.  So I think I'm going to use Thursdays from now as a time to reminisce about some of my favorite things that I may not get to have all the time anymore.

This Thursday what I'm REALLY missing is.....

Bucknell University in the Fall

Bucknell was always so pretty in the fall, well actually Bucknell is pretty all year round, but I particularly like it there in the fall.

Fall means football games...

Homecoming weekend...

Fall Fest...


Family Weekend...

...and so much more.

Fall semester was always my favorite at Bucknell because it meant recruitment for my sorority.  Recruitment was both a blessing and a curse because I loved the outcome of having so many new members that I would grow to know and love, but it was also the worse few weeks of my life because it meant no sleep, no voice, and nationals breathing down our necks at times.  Though nationals being there was also a blessing and a curse because while they were a lot stricter with us than we would be on our own for recruitment, we had the most AMAZING national consultants ever and I always enjoyed talking with them outside of the recruitment setting. 

Silly Blogger...but Happy Friday!

So I had this great idea yesterday for a post, but this post included some pictures and silly blogger wouldn't let me upload any pics to my blog yesterday so I decided not to post because well the pictures make the post.  I don't want to share too much about it here, because well since I've been kinda slacking with my post writing I've decided to make up my own little series for Thursday so that at least I'll be posting once a week at minimum.  So stay tuned for yesterday's post that I guess I will be posting next Thursday or whenever blogger decides to let me upload pics again, which it is still not letting me do today.  Btw, if anyone has any suggestions on how to fix this not being able to upload pics thing, help would be much appreciated!

Anyway, Happy Friday!!!  I have another day of work at Fridays ahead of me tonight, but then it's back home to North Jersey to go to the eye doctor (yuck!) and to have my dad help me look for and maybe buy or lease a new car. For anyone who knows me you know that my car is 11 years old (going on 12) has approximately 170,000 miles on it, and is now starting to fall apart every chance it gets.  I know I can't really afford a new car right now, but I'm going to have to make it work somehow because I don't feel safe driving in my car anymore and rather than spend all the money that needs to go into fixing it so I feel safe, it's probably easier to just buy (or lease) a new car.  Right now I'm looking at the VW Jetta, VW Tiguan, Nissan Rogue, and Ford Edge... not really sure which one I like best, but hopefully after test driving them I'll have a better idea of what I'm looking for.  So it should be an interesting weekend to say the least!

Philadelphia Love

I recently saw a friend's facebook status where one of the things he was thankful for was that he was not from Philadelphia.  Now as shocking as this may sound, that kind of upset me.  I know I pride myself on being a Jersey Girl, but since moving to the Philadelphia area I've come to really like it down here.  Sure it's not Jersey, but Philadelphia really isn't all that bad.

Philadelphia has...

The Liberty Bell

Independence Hall

The Philles (yes I am a Yankees fan at heart, but the Phillies really aren't all that bad)

The Flyers (again, I'm really a Devils fan, but the Flyers aren't that bad either)

Valley Forge (right outside of Philly)

...and so much more!

I know that being from North Jersey means that I'm supposed to be a City girl, but I have to admit, as much as I love NYC, Philly really does have a lot to offer and I'm really glad that I live in this area now.  Part of the reason I think I like this area so much is because I am a history nerd and love the fact that there is so much history here.  I mean how cool is it that I got to go to the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed?!

I mean this is where they sat and discussed the Declaration of Independence... to me that is so amazing to be able to visit a place like that.

 

Plus when you visit Old City you can still drive on all the old cobblestone roads and go to old restaurants/pubs and enjoy a piece of what life was like in the 1700s.  And like NYC, Philadelphia has their own Chinatown

Chinese New Year Parade in Philly's Chinatown

 

And of course there is the Philly Auto Show (one of Mark's favorite events in Philly)

I liked the Old Cars

Mark liked the newer ones better

So as you can see, Philadelphia has a lot to offer and I'm glad that I live here.  I'm glad that I've experienced NYC, but I'm also glad that I'm starting to experience another equally amazing city on the East Coast.

A Suitor for Jenny by Margaret Brownley

Miss Jenny Higgins sets off to Rocky Creek to find the perfect husband for her two younger sisters. Armed with Miss Abigail Jenkin's book, The Complete and Authoritative Manual for Attracting and Procuring a Husband, Jenny sets up interviews with the men of Rocky Creek to determine whether or not they are suitable matches for her sisters. Unbeknownced to Jenny, her sisters are falling in love with men of their choosing and there is nothing that Jenny seems to be able to do about it. After some talks with the pastor's wife, Jenny realizes that perhaps God does have a plan for all of us and that leaving it up to God is probably the better way for her sisters to find their husbands.


A Suitor for Jenny was one of those books that I had a really hard time getting in to. I had heard that Margaret Brownley was a great author, which is why I decided to give this book a try, and I have to say, I was not completely impressed with it. It took a really long time before I was interested in what I was reading, and by the time I was interested it seemed like the book was over. There was definitely an unexpected twist at the end and I wish that the book had continued for another couple of chapters so that I could see how everything played out.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Walking to End Alzheimer's

If you've been following my blog these past couple of months (basically since I started it) you know that last Saturday was the Alzheimer's Association 2010 Memory Walk in Wilmington, DE.  I was really excited about this walk because I was excited to be doing something to help those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.  The bf and I ended up raising $775 for the walk... our team goal was $750... so we were able to exceed that which made me super happy!

The Memory Walk was not at all what I expected because never in a million years did I think that so many people would be there to walk.  Sure I know that lots of people do things like this, but they are usually to support breast cancer, leukemia, etc., you don't hear about the walks that are in support of the lesser known diseases (like Alzheimer's). 

Park Full of People Waiting for the Walk to Start

People Walking Behind Us During the Walk

The 3 miles went really quickly and I was really glad that we were able to do this.  It was also really nice that one of my best friends came down from Philly to walk with the bf and I.  Having the support and encouragement of so many of my friends is definitely what made this walk all the more special for me.

NS, the bf, & I Before the Walk Started

NS & I at the End of the Walk with the Pirate Ship

Overall the walk was very successful and I felt GREAT after it was over.  A BIG THANKS to everyone who supported and encouraged me throughout this.  Can't wait until Memory Walk 2011!!

I...

...didn't pass the Delaware bar exam.  Didn't miss passing by much, but still didn't pass.  I thought I would handle it really well, I didn't.  I cried for about an hour and then after talking to various friends and the bf I re-realized that it wasn't the end of the world that I didn't pass, because well there is always NJ and there is always next year.

Not going to lie, it still depresses me a bit that I didn't pass because I endured three years of hell in law school and a summer of hell studying for the bar exam and I'm really just disappointed that my hard work just wasn't good enough.   I'm still thinking about whether or not I should attempt to take it again next year or if I should just take this as a sign that God wants me to be working in NJ or PA.  It's definitely a lot to think about.

Now it's time to focus on finding a job in NJ and then on studying for the PA bar which I now plan to take in February. 

Worrying on Wednesday

If one more person asks me about tomorrow I might scream.  Tomorrow is the big day... a.k.a. the day I found out whether or not I passed the Delaware Bar Exam.  And I also might scream if one more person tells me that they "know" that I passed the exam.  There is no way that they can know... because I don't even know.

The more that people tell me that they "know" that I passed the more nervous I get.  Every time that someone tells me that they "know" I passed I feel like I am going to let them down if I didn't pass.  Of course the love of my life said it best in a text he sent me that said "Oh girlfriend.  The people that care won't care how you did on the bar."  Although it was comforting to hear him say that, it doesn't make me any less nervous about tomorrow.

I know that whether or not I passed that life will go on and that I will be ok.  The only thing that stinks is that if I didn't pass that pretty much kills my chances of getting a job in Delaware this year because I have to wait until next July to take it again.  And there really is a good chance that I didn't pass because Delaware has a passage rate of around 54%... which means I basically have a 1 in 2 chance of passing... which really makes me nervous because I know sooooooo many people that took the exam, which makes me feel like I must have failed.

I'm trying really hard not to be cynical, but as the day gets closer it gets harder and harder to stay positive.  I know there is nothing I can do about the results now, but say a little prayer for me if you can that I survive tomorrow whether I get good or bad news!

"Home" Away From Home

This weekend the bf and I went back to visit Bucknell for Family Weekend since it is my little brother's senior year and the last Family Weekend that we will be able to attend out there (unless of course our own kids go there, which is definitely a possibility).  Going back to Bucknell is always an amazing time for me because it really is my "home" away from home.  Bucknell was the first place I really felt like I belonged.  Every time I go back I get all nostalgic about the days when I was there and it's crazy to think about how my life has changed since graduating going on 4 years ago.

I remember my first day moving in to Bucknell.  I was really nervous to be moving away from home and to be sharing my room with someone for the first time. Thankfully my roomie ended up being really cool and I had a great freshman year living with her.

Roomie and I on our very FIRST day at Bucknell

That first year was a ton of fun... well minus the whole emergency alcohol thing.  I made a lot of amazing friends... dated a couple of different guys... and started on a journey that would shape who I have become today.  Freshman year when when I really decided that I wanted to be a lawyer after taking an intense international law class with a professor I couldn't stand (On an interesting side note, the same casebook I used my freshman year of Bucknell was the same casebook, albeit a later edition, that I used for international law during my 2nd year of law school).  That class helped solidify my idea that I wanted to be a Spanish major and that I wanted to be a lawyer.  I always thought I would do international law (in fact I even said that I wanted to practice international law on my law school application)... sure that changed, but the fact that I went to law school because of events during my freshman year at Bucknell didn't.

My Freshman Hall

Sue, Natalie and I before a beach themed party

Sophomore year at Bucknell was quite a challenge for me.  Although it was amazing because I joined Chi Omega and met some of the most amazing girls EVER it was still a really tough year for me.  A man who was like a 2nd father to me died and my boyfriend at the time was so obsessed with his fraternity that he chose to do stuff with the guys there (i.e. watch a baseball game or football game) instead of helping me when I was devastated.  Not too much longer we ended up breaking up and again I was devastated.  This guy was not only my boyfriend, but he was one of my best friends in the entire world.  We had known each other forever... literally.  We had gone to the same church together and had in a way grown up together.  His mom was (& still is) like another mom to me... at times I felt like she was there for me more than my own mother was.  After we broke up he started dating one of my friends/sorority sisters and that ended up being the end of not only my friendship with him, but also my friendship with her.  Definitely stinks to lose two friends as well as someone who was like a dad to me.  Sophomore year I was also an RA my first semester and had probably the world's worst hall EVER.  They were so poorly behaved that I ended up having to quit that.  The fact that my hall was so poorly behaved wasn't the only reason I quit, I also developed a bleeding stomach ulcer during that semester.  Overall it was just a rough year that I wasn't quite sure that I would recover from... but don't worry, I did!

Some of my favorite Chi Omegas before Midnight Mania

Celebrating Val's Bday at Arizona's (so sad it isn't there anymore :()

This is boyfriend eating Ramen Noodles the night I met him... maybe one day I'll share this story because well it's amazing that after this first night he ever wanted to date me.

Spring Break Soph Year in Ft. Lauderdale... this vaca helped me sooooo much!

Vedder 4SW (My Hall from when I was RA) minus the football players

Junior year was probably my favorite year at Bucknell because it included my semester abroad in Spain.  I don't remember too much about the Fall semester... probably because I spent a lot of it arguing with my parents about whether or not I was going to go abroad, and then finally agreeing to go abroad after they bribed me with a car.  Junior year included another boyfriend... this one was actually a carry over from sophomore year and one that my parents HATED.  Somehow I managed to date this guy for over a year until we broke up while I was studying abroad (ask me sometime why we broke up... it's actually a kind of hilarious story, but I'm not sure I should post it here on the off chance that he somehow manages to find this).  Had a lot of fun nights out with the Chi Omegas... gained a little sister (little #1)... and overall had a really good time. Then obviously in the Spring semester I went to Spain and that was the BEST time of my life.  Seriously, nothing can compare to the time I spent abroad in Spain.... I really don't think that anything in my life has been more amazing than the almost 6 months I spent over there.

Big & I at some sort of mixer with Chi Phi (I think based on looking at other pics from this night)

After the Bucknell v. Nova basketball game

Twin, Big & I during Big's Dirt Poem

Roomie & I out in Granada

La Alhambra... one of my fav places on earth

La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Got to visit 2 of my favorite guys in the world in Luton

Going out in Italia during Spring Break (right after I broke up with my bf... fyi, Italia = perfect place to get over an ex)

Of course I went to Paris as well!

Bucknell en Espana... the whole group

Beautiful View of Nerja

After an amazing semester in Spain it was back to Bucknell for one final semester.  That final semester was rough... first off because I had a hard time adjusting to being back at Bucknell and then it was rough leaving because I met boyfriend and then had to go an graduate before we had even been dating a month.  Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't graduated early, but in retrospect I'm glad that I did it because well it gave me the opportunity to work some before leaving for law school.

 Boyfriend & I before we started dating... note that I'm wearing the sweatshirt I ALWAYS stole from him

Celebrating my 22nd Birthday back in NJ

Jersey Bff... Miss this chica sooooo much!

Me  & Little #2

Me & Little #1

Best Friends since Freshman Year :)

Angels @ the Townie T over Homecoming

Cell Phone Pic of Boyfriend & I

Since graduating I have gone back to Bucknell I can't tell you how many times.  It helps that I had a little brother who started the year after I graduated... but I think I would have gone back anyway.  Sorry for such a long post, I'll stop writing now, but I'll leave you with a few post-graduation pictures from Bucknell.

Boyfriend & me @ the "P" Party when I came back to visit after graduating

Famous Couples Date Party

Homecoming 2007

Sammy Boys at their 100 year Anniversary Dinner

Rooke Chapel.... where I hope to get married one day

We walk through these gates when we start at Bucknell and back out for graduation

Cows on the Way to Lewisburg

Bucknell v. Cornell Football Game

Us on our most recent visit to Bucknell this past weekend <3