Lash Attack!
I'm asking for mascara recommendations.
I've been using
L'oreal Voluminous in its various forms for several years. I like almost everything about it - how it goes on without clumping, how it lasts all day, etc. What I hate about it is that no matter what kind of make-up remover I use, or how diligently I remove it, I wake up with black smudges under my eyes. Quelle Horreur!
About a month ago, I decided "enough is enough" and tried L'oreal's
Lash Architect. (Obviously without reading these reviews.) It was mostly ok. While it went on a little clumpy, I figured this would diminish after I used it awhile. I didn't have issues with it flaking, like the 2 reviewers did. I liked that it really did "build" my eyelashes up. BUT...the day I made a dish that required many sliced onions convinced me that this was NOT THE MASCARA FOR ME. I didn't notice that I had black rings all around my eyes until Mr. Q walked in the kitchen and bust out laughing. I wasn't really crying, but the amount of tearing up that I did obviously caused the mascara to completely dissolve. All over my face.
Anyhoo - does anyone have ideas on a mascara that strikes a happy medium? I like waterproof just because I swim and work out, but I don't want it to be so waterproof that I have to use a heavy duty solvent on my eyes to get it off. Thoughts?
Things Which My Heart Pitter-Patter Make Go
My birthday/law school graduation/passing the bar gift from Mr. Q's family: The KitchenAid 6 Quart Professional 600 in
Cayenne Red.
Ok, so it might not make YOUR heart go pitter-patter, but it certainly does mine. Even though I didn't even register for a stand mixer when Mr. Q and I got married, I've since started cooking and baking in large enough batches to make a one worthwhile.
There'll be waffles for breakfast tomorrow chez Quandary!
Many thanks to all the Quandary's for a truly awesome birthday present!!!!!
Of course, these (from Mr. Q) weren't bad either....
A LQ Year in Review
Another Birthday...another year gone by. Considering that this time last year I was in Germany helping my mom arrange my Oma's funeral, I'd have to say this birthday is MUCH better.
Of course, birthdays just sort of naturally call for a little reflection on the events of the last year.
During the course of the past year I:
- Lost both my
grandmothers. My
Oma technically died the day
before my last birthday, but I'm counting it anyway. Both ladies were over 90, so I'm hoping they passed the longevity gene on to me and I'll have many more birthdays to conduct this little exercise.
- Lost a much-loved
pet.
-
Graduated from Law School.
-
Took (and
passed!) the Bar Exam.
-
Moved to a new state. Again.
- Took 2 trips to Germany, 3 to Seattle, at least 5 to Fort Wayne, and 1 to Lake Tahoe. I am far too lazy to post links to each of those.
- Started a
new job. Which I love. I'm working my tail off these days, but learn lots of new things every day. Early feedback also indicates I might even be good at my job.
"Experts" say events like births or deaths in the family, divorce, moves, travel, and the beginning or end of a career are all major life stressors. In retrospect, I think those may have been intended as examples and not a checklist.
Anyway - Happy Birthday to me!
Fulfilling My Potential Could Seriously Cut Into My Sitting Around Time*
Now that I've regained some of my sitting around time by graduating from law school, I find myself in need of some TV recommendations. Whether or not graduating constitutes "fulfilling my potential" remains to be seen.
Last year, Mr. Q and I started checking out whole seasons of shows we've missed the past couple of years. We've really enjoyed Alias (seasons 1 & 2), Veronica Mars, Arrested Development, and Boston Legal so far. But when we watched the pilot of Six Feet Under last night...I have to admit to being underwhelmed. So far the funniest parts have been the fake commercials for hearses and sundry mortuary supplies. (Which everyone knows are
near and
dear to my heart.)
Can anyone tell me if this show ever gets better? If not, Mr. Q and I will give it to the end of the second DVD before we decide it's not worth our time.
Recommendations for other shows also appreciated. Please keep in mind that we are
cheap frugal and only want the ones we can get from the libary for FREE.
* Apologies to Maria Bamford.
Dear Mitch,
Remember me? We spoke
last March?
I'm sorry to say that you obviously weren't paying attention. Because, guess what? The Indiana BMV process is
still screwed up.
Yeah, yeah. I know you've got these spiffy Self Service Terminals in place, so you'll never have to provide actual customer service again. What would be even cooler though, is if any of these
actually worked. Despite the inflated claims of your
website, which somehow managed to give the impression that these terminals would be up and running after the first of the year, this was sadly not the case. I checked. At two different locations. In the rain.
Seeing as how I live and work outside the fine state of Indiana, driving several hours to come see you personally during the work week just isn't a viable option.
That's probably a good thing for you.
Validation!
Last Friday was another one of those insanely busy days in the office. I wasn't scheduled for Legal Assistance, but still wound up seeing 4 or 5 clients - as did all the other attorneys in the office. Considering that LA is only for 2.5 hours on Fridays, that made for a pretty hopping morning! Including one super intriguing case which, obviously, I can't tell you about. Damn those client confidentiality rules!
Anyway, during one of the appointments, a retired couple had me review several documents to determine whether they were still valid. Although they were, I ended up drafting new wills for them because they wanted to make a couple of minor changes. Nothing complicated, but I felt like I was doing a good job for them. After I walked them out to set up an execution appointment, I was called away to answer a quick question for one of the paralegals. As I came back around the corner, the lady was remarking to the man, "She was really good!" And he agreed with her.
A small victory, I know...but it was still really nice to hear.
You Mean I'm Supposed To Go Home When It Gets Dark???
Mr. Q was dubious about my re-entry into the professional world. Why?
Come closer...it's a secret...
I'm a workaholic.Even though I'm the least experienced, least knowledgeable, and definitely least busy attorney in the office, I find myself staying later than a lot of my colleagues. Some of this is because Mr. Q's schedule right now allows me to put in a little more time. But mostly it's because I'm always writing "one last email" or seem to forget that if I walk away and lock the door, chances are excellent that the legal fairies won't just come and do the work for me. Also - because I don't want to look like a slacker.
On another note - I'm starting to see a pattern as to which law school classes were actually useful. Family law, Property (I wish we'd done more landlord/tenant stuff in school and not just bar review!) , and Wills and Trusts top the list. I'm sure I'll add to that list as I progress through some of the different areas.
I am a little surprised by how much I remember from my classes. Or maybe I'm just surprised that some of the weird stuff I remember is actually useful.
A Gentle Rant
So, this note is for clients who come in with children in tow.
I'm not talking about those of you who bring in an older, well-behaved child to a quick 1/2 hour appointment. Or even those of you who bring along a baby in a carseat. Mostly this is directed to those who come in with between 1 and 4 children under the age of 5. To execute your will.
The way our base operates is that we set up two will appointments. One to draft the will, and one to execute it. Because of the sheer number of wills we do, the executions are only done one day a week in largish groups. We also ask people to come in 1/2 hour early to review their will and make any last minute changes or corrections. This means a will execution appointment can last anywhere up to 90 minutes. And they are B-O-R-I-N-G.
Look, I'm a parent too, so I totally understand that childcare is sometimes challenging to find. (This might be a good time to mention that there's hourly care available on base at reasonable rates! Just make an appointment!) Would you bring your child to, say, your OB/GYN appointment? Will execution is just as important and about as exciting.
Did I mention that there are lots of other people there reading their wills too? Wouldn't it be more courteous NOT to turn the waiting area into Romper Room? And wouldn't YOU be better able to focus on THE IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENT you're about to sign if you didn't have Junior tugging at your sleeves?
As an added bonus, since my office is right next to the waiting area, I'd be able to get some work done.
Thanks for listening. Love,
LQ
Break Down
I broke down today and purchased a Sam's Club membership.
For the last 8 years or so, we've lived in Costco country. And I do love me some Costco, but now the closest one is almost an hour away. Just not worth it for the sake of cheap cat food.*
It's not that we actually buy that much at either place - just that they tend to carry certain items we *do* really like in bulk. Also, because it's much easier to think about buying toilet paper every 3 months than every 3 weeks.
What really sold me on the Sam's Club membership was that one of my co-workers told me attorneys qualify for the Business membership. That's $5 off the regular membership per year PLUS extended shopping hours, so if I plan ahead, I can dodge the crowds.
Mr. Q laughed because 1) my business name is Legal Quandary, Esq., and 2) he shows up as my employee. I see nothing funny about either of those.
* On the other hand, Costco carries both farmed and wild salmon - including Copper River salmon when it's in season. You can more or less bet that when that time comes (late May), we'll be buying a couple of hundreds of dollars worth and hauling it back in coolers. Because, yes, it really is that much better.
Happy New Year!
I hope everyone was able to celebrate at least a little! The Quandary's wound up playing board games at one of Mr. Q's classmate's house. I would like to think that if it weren't for the kids, Mr. Q and I would have had a wild night on the town, but I'd probably be fooling myself.
When I was waiting tables during undergrad, every so often the restaurant would be understaffed and we'd get slammed. The people would come pouring in, and you couldn't stay ahead - or even keep up - no matter how hard you tried. I used to get these bizarre dreams that I was waiting on a whole baseball stadium and that everyone was mad at me becuase I kept forgetting their iced tea.
That was sort of what Friday was like for me. Because of the holidays, there were only a couple of attorneys and 2 paralegals in the office. Although we'd posted notice that there would be no legal assistance, a couple of people still wandered in with some bizarre questions - which also required quick answers. Since I was the only military attorney on the 1st floor, I got to field them. The issues weren't all that complex, really, but I just didn't know the answers or even where to start looking for them. Add that to an already full day AND the fact that we had to re-schedule all our legal assistance appointments for Tuesday because of the National Day of Mourning for President Ford, and the one paralegal on my floor and I were pretty busy little chickies! Everything worked out in the end, but that day just couldn't end soon enough!
BUT...when the day was finally over, EC and I had a rock-climbing lesson! (Our Christmas present to her.) There's a place in town that has turned an old church into an indoor climbing center. For under $100, we got a 2 1/2 hour private lesson on how to tie ropes, belay, and climb. I'd never climbed before, but we had a great time. My only complaint was that the special shoes we had to wear were too small and made my feet cramp up a couple of times. Not so bad on the ground, but a little scary when you're hanging onto a wall by just a couple of hand and footholds. (Ok, AND the ropes, but who really wants to fall off the climbing wall??? Especially when it means admitting you can't keep up with your 12 year old!)
That's all from Quandaryland for now. Wishing you all a fantastic 2007!
