Thank you God for . . .

My daughter is a born shopper. She loves to go to the stores, and the mall is one of her favorite places. On Thanksgiving Day, she really wanted to get out of the house and go to the "store." We had to explain to her that it was a holiday and that all of the stores were closed. She was heartbroken. Friday night, I told her that Nini and I were going to take her to a special store Saturday morning. She was elated. Saturday morning came, and I cooked bacon, eggs, and biscuits for everyone. Shea said the blessing for breakfast, and in addition to her normal recitation, she said, "Thank you God to the stores are open today. Amen."

It's Been a While . . .

It's been such a long time since I've updated, and so much has happened since January. Here's the highlights:

March - Jon was laid off.
April - We realized there was no opportunities for Jon in Memphis, and he pursued employment everywhere.
May - Jon began working for VeriStor, a company based in Duluth, GA. That means we have to move!
June - August - We house hunted and finally found a house we were happy with.
September - Jon moved to Georgia with all of our stuff, and I stayed in Memphis with my parents to work.
October - The kids and I made the big move to Buford, GA.

We're still settling in to our new house, but I'm loving all the space. Here's a picture of the house. I need to take some pictures of the inside with stuff in it, but I'm still not settled in enough for that. :) I'll be taking the Georgia Bar Exam in February, and I'm searching for a job here.

Lawyer Funny

I found a blog that is cracking me up! It's a blog with lawyer-related cartoons called Courtoons.

I put up some samples on here. FYI, these are particularly funny because I'm the bluebooking expert around my office. It's a pretty useless skill, but I do know how to cite things correctly. I even know which commas and periods are supposed to be italicized and which ones are supposed to be in normal type. I know when to use an en dash and when to use and em dash. I am a nerd, and I'm okay with that.

New Year's Day

I love family traditions. It's hardwired into my personality. One of my favorite family traditions is our New Year's Day meal. This tradition stems from my Dad's side of the family. Although my Dad has spent most of his life in the south, he is originally from Pennsylvania. While the Shea's are Irish, my dad's family also has German heritage. It is from that German contingent (aka Pennsylvania Dutch), that we get our traditional New Year's meal. Pennsylvania Dutch/German heritage dictates that pork and sauerkraut be included in the New Year's Day dinner. We also eat mashed potatoes, dumplings, warm spiced applesauce, and some token black-eyed peas with our meal. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

I became curious as to why that's the traditional meal and what the food symbolizes. Pork is the traditional meat because the New Year is a time to look forward and a hog can not look back. According to my sources, a German/Pennsylvania Dutchman would not eat chicken on New Year's Day because it scratches backwards. Sauerkraut is eaten because it represents wealth. I'm not all into the superstition, but I do love the meal!

This year, my Aunt Jami and Uncle David joined us for the meal. Jon missed out on it because he was at home cleaning the house for his Rose Bowl Party, but he got to enjoy some leftovers. We had a great time eating and visiting. Shea even likes the meal! I really dislike sauerkraut by itself, but a bite of it mixed with pork, mashed potatoes, and a dumpling is heavenly!