Bar Exam Studying Blahs

I'm really burnt out on studying. The stress surrounding the bar exam is making me question almost everything (except E & ratdog) about my life right now. It is terrible. I could not be productive today to save my life. I'm disappointed in myself because I had a plan for what I was supposed to get done today, but when I got home from class I worked on something else instead (not related to the bar exam). Maybe I will just take the rest of the night off and go for a walk with E & ratdog. I really need to clear my head right now.

I feel like the bar exam is taking me so far out of my comfort zone that I am "reverting" to my old tendencies. In my case, that would mean wanderlust. Every time that I get burnt out on studying, I imagine E & I selling our house (at a huge loss) and moving someplace new and different. I'm craving the feeling of being anywhere but here.

This week we have to take a two-day simulated bar exam. Rumor has it that the Bar Exam Review Class makes this simulated bar exam absolutely miserable to "scare us straight." Unfortunately, I've been "scared straight" for the past 2 weeks. One month from today, the whole thing will be over. That is simultaneously terrifying and exciting.

A Couple New Recipes

Black Beans and Rice

We made this recipe using 2 "cans" worth of black beans from our freezer. The curry powder that the recipe calls for is a nice addition to a typical rice and beans dish. We also liked that the recipe uses brown rice, since it is healthier than white rice (I think). We also used crushed red pepper flakes instead of the fresh red pepper, just because we didn't have a fresh red pepper on hand. All in all, this was a good, simple recipe and we will definitely make it again.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

This is a recipe from Cooking Light. We made it because we already had 2/3 pound of browned Italian Sausage in our freezer, and we have basil growing on our deck at home (thanks Mom!) that we wanted to use. We had most of the other ingredients at home, too. In fact, we only had to buy the tomatoes, the ziti, and the mozzarella. It was pretty inexpensive to make, and it was good, but it wasn't amazing. It was a good way for us to use up some extra ingredients that we had siting around our house, though. And it was cheap :)

We're going to be trying out quite a few new recipes this week. E will be the chef, because I will be studying for the bar. 

Here are the links to some of the recipes that "Chef E" will be trying out, in case you're looking for some ideas:

Barbecue Chicken Taco Salad with Sour Cream-Lime Dressing

Corn and Potato Chowder

Easy Layered Bean Dip

Penne with Spinach, Feta, and Toasty Pine Nuts

Pesto (I will post this recipe later)

Spinach, Pine Nut, Feta, & Craisins Salad

Our friends, Rachel & Ryan, brought this salad to a friend's house a few months ago. It was delicious, and it seemed like a nice summer dinner. E & I recreated it at home recently. We got about 5 (big) servings of salad out of this recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of fresh spinach leaves (pre-washed)
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup of pine nuts
• 1 package of Original Craisins
• 1 package of crumbled feta
• Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing (we cheated and used the Kraft brand, but you could make your own)

Directions:

1) Toast pine nuts in a shallow baking pan in a 325 degree oven, stirring occasionally, until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Allow them to cool. NOTE: You could also toast the pine nuts in a pan on your stove if you don't want to heat up your house by using the oven. 

2) Combine spinach leaves, pine nuts, Craisins, and feta in a large bowl. Toss.

3) Serve with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing.

Headaches & Prescriptions

I woke up this morning with a migraine; my guess is that it was caused by a combination of the weather change and the SUPER uncomfortable chairs that we sit in at the bar prep course. I skipped bar prep class today, and instead went to get my migraine medicine refilled (because I must have taken the last pill some time last week).

When I get a headache like this, I wonder if having surgery was pointless. Then I remember how big my arachnoid cyst was and how it was probably causing other problems (i.e. with concentration) and that it could cause even more problems in the future (possible temporary paralysis on one side of my body). I'm glad that I had the surgery, but I feel guilty for spending so much money on the co-pay for the surgery when it didn't cure my headaches. 

On a sidenote: health care reform definitely needs to happen. The co-pay for my migraine meds was $30 for 12 pills. If I didn't have health insurance, my meds would have cost $307.99. That is outrageous. I like the idea of a single-payer health care system because it would take the insurance companies out of the picture, but I am also not so sure that I trust our government (or any government) with running such a system. The government is inefficient and can be corrupt, and businesses (I mean, "non-profit health insurance companies") are greedy and also can be corrupt. I honestly don't know which way is better. The current system definitely isn't working, though, and it is way too expensive. As human beings, we all have a right to affordable health care.  When people argue against universal coverage by saying that it will lead to longer waits to see doctors, I understand where they are coming from, but it offends me on a spiritual and moral level. We currently benefit (by having shorter waits to see doctors) because some of our brothers and sisters are lacking access. 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 is one of my favorite Bible passages and I think that it is somewhat applicable to such an argument against universal coverage.

Still Studying...

Can't wait for the bar exam to be over. I really have nothing interesting to say; I haven't tried out a new recipe in a couple of weeks. I made a "to do" list for post bar exam life. A list of books to read and fun things that I can do, since I will have spare time (outside of work). I'm even being Type A about my free time :) Thanks a lot, law school.

One of my friends on Facebook always puts "FML" at the end of her status. I really don't like the FML website. This girl is still in high school, so I know that it probably seems cool to her :) But today I found a website that is an uplifting version of FML, and I love it. I've always loved stories from the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" genre; I'm glad to see that I'm not alone :)

More Proof That My Brain Is Fried

In my last entry, I was trying to write that because my state has a high bar passage rate, and I wasn't at the very bottom of my class, I have a good chance of passing. I read the sentence I wrote about 6 times before hitting "publish post", and at the time it made sense. 

Then a few minutes ago I realized that what I wrote made no sense whatsoever. I tried to edit it but could not figure out the right way to say it...so I deleted it :)

I could make the cliche joke about lawyers being bad at math, but I think that it makes more sense to blame it on too much time spent reading multiple choice questions (and getting them wrong!). 

89% bar passage rate... I can (hopefully) do it!

Freaking Out

Studying for the bar is making me crazy. If I think about things logically (our state has an easy bar; an 89% passage rate or something like that) I stop panicking for a few minutes. Then I do a couple of multiple choice questions and realize that I know nothing. 

I'm wondering if the bar prep course that I'm taking (it shall remain nameless, but it's a popular one...so....) was a waste of my time and money. The lectures are not cementing the law into my head at all. I think that I would have been better off buying the materials from a previous student and studying them on my own. That is how I usually learn best. Driving to class during rush hour and then sitting in class for 3.5 hours each day is burning me out. But I work for the bar prep company as a "bouncer" at the classes, so I have to attend everyday. At least I'm getting paid? 

I'm worried that I won't learn everything that I need to learn in time. I definitely don't want to take this exam more than once, so today I decided that I basically need to cut all non-work and non-bar exam studying social obligations for the rest of my summer. I'm glad that I had a fun weekend last weekend. I am "allowed" to go to my friend's upcoming bridal shower, see another friend once while he is in town this month, and that is about it. I don't want to be part of the 11% that doesn't pass. After three years of law school, what's another 2 months of studying? My summer vacation will start at the end of July this year :)

Turkey Sloppy Joes

My mom makes the best sloppy joes ever. I think that sloppy joes are great, because they are a comfort food. Usually comfort foods aren't that healthy. I think that we made them a little healthier by using ground turkey instead of ground beef. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground turkey
• 1/2 c. ketchup (you can also add a little barbeque sauce to this for a spicier taste)
• 2 TBSP vinegar
• 1 TBSP dried onions (or 1/4 to 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions)
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 1 T. mustard

Directions:

1) Cook ground turkey and onions until brown, drain off fat.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients; you may need to add a little water, too. 

3) Stir well

4) Simmer for 1/2 hour over low heat

Turkey Meatballs and Laughing Cow Chicken

We bought 5 pounds of ground turkey (on sale). It's supposed to be healthier for you than ground beef, and I am trying to eat a minimal amount of red meat (for health reasons), so we tried out a few different recipes. 

This recipe for turkey meatballs turned out great. They were a little garlicky, though. We ate them with a vegetarian version of this spaghetti sauce. 

We also made ground turkey taco meat. We haven't eaten it yet, though, because we froze it. We used our normal taco seasoning recipe. 

Finally, the "Laughing Cow Chicken" recipe had been posted on several cooking blogs that I read. I love Laughing Cow cheese, so I decided to try this recipe out. It was okay; I don't know if I just did a bad job of cooking it or what, but I didn't love it. It wasn't terrible, but it just wasn't my style. 

Shiny Happy People

This weekend, Becca was in town, and we (Becca, E & I) ended up driving to visit Andy; he lives close to the town where the three of us (Becca, Andy, and I) grew up.

It was so nice to be around my closest friends. My life has changed so much in the past 3 years; law school, moving to suburbia, getting married, and having surgery. These changes have been for the better, but it was still so nice to hang out with my old friends. They are so positive and they take risks (like being a freelance photographer or creating art for gallery displays) and they do what they love and love what they do. Lawyers are often referred to as being deal-breakers; part of a lawyer's job is to think about things that might go wrong and to advise their clients about how to prevent those things from happening. A lot of people in my field are negative. For the past three years, I've attended school with people who were also being trained to think negatively. So it was GREAT to be around my friends who really don't care about law school related things. I felt like myself again. It's so great to have friends that you can go months (or sometimes even years) without seeing, and when you see each other again, it's like no time has passed. I'm so lucky.

People used to say that I was a "free spirit". I don't think that I ever really was that much of a free spirit; I have always liked to plan things and to have goals for myself. I worried about things a lot; I still do. I've always wanted to know where my life is heading. However, I would like to take some of this "free spiritedness" (or whatever it was) with me into my career. Obviously I need to be able to advise clients about what they should and shouldn't be doing, and unfortunately this advice can sometimes be negative. But I still want to be a fun person to be around; someone who encourages people to be happy and to do what they want with their lives. It's so easy to get caught up in negativity; I think that I need to shut out some of these negative influences from my life. I think that this might be easier said than done, but I'm going to try it.