Category Archives: updates

More Updates…

26 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in career, haiti scholarships, life, resolutions, updates

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….is this getting boring for you, dear Reader? I’ve been posting these “updates” more frequently, because…well, honestly, they’re way easier to write than the other blogs I’ve been wanting to write. Those require multiple drafts, and research, and actual thought.
These…I just tell you what I did or didn’t do!
I should be able to crank out some more thoughtful blog posts next month, when things aren’t so crazy, but until then….let me tell you what I’ve been up to!
I had an asylum hearing for a pro bono client on Monday; gearing up for it was pretty hectic, and I’ll be honest: I’m glad it’s over. Un/fortunately, the judge didn’t render her decision after the hearing, so I’m not sure whether we were successful or not (decision will either be mailed, or given at a hearing in April). I definitely learned a lot from this case, and although I’m sure I’ll take another case from KIND sometime in the future, I’m happy to not have that looming over my head anymore. It’s also pretty emotional stuff….I think I’ve really been compartmentalizing this case a lot so it doesn’t affect me, because I hate to think what’s going to happen to my client if he isn’t granted asylum and has to return to his country of origin. He’s such a great kid, it just makes me really sad.
Anyhow. Compartmentalizing.
I went to bikram yoga yesterday AND today. I wanted to see if I could handle back to back sessions. My back was a little sore from yesterday’s work out, and although today’s session didn’t necessarily help that, I’m feeling a lot better now. I haven’t been eating enough before going, in fear that I’ll eat too much and get sick, but I think what has been happening is that I don’t eat enough, so I end up getting dizzy about 15 minutes into an 80 minute workout. Today was the first time that I didn’t have to sit out any major portions of the routine, which I’m really excited about.
This week has been the week of meetings and basically not being home for dinner. Monday was tutoring (we worked on a science project, which was AWESOME!), Tuesday night I had a meeting for the Annual Meeting and Fundraiser for Corazon that I’ve helped put together (it’s on Saturday, let me know if you’re interested in attending), tonight was my first meeting as a director for the OC Hispanic Bar Association (I got to say things like “yay” and “nay” in a non-sarcastic, totally-serious manner), tomorrow I’m meeting a potential client for The Merry Ministers at 7:30 p.m., and Friday I’m heading to the Oceanside area to help out with a church retreat for confirmation students, oh and Saturday is the Corazon event.
Let’s just say, I’m really excited for Sunday :)
Today I met with a client, went to Goodwill and Salvation Army to look for a filing cabinet (I’ve outgrown my little file drawer on my desk!), and got to enjoy lunch with Jeff…we sat out in the backyard and were able to enjoy some of today’s amazing weather. I absolutely LOVE being able to see Jeff in the middle of my day.
I also deposited money into my business account, as well as my client trust account. That felt pretty cool. Due to the former deposit, I was also able to write out a check for my State Bar annual dues (um, no biggie, just FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS). Last year I had to ask my family to help me cover the expense because I couldn’t come up with the money. It’s nice to see that I’m moving in the right direction, and being able to pay this money from my business account rather than our personal account was HUGE.
Jeff and I resorted to our mantra on Saturday, and reminded ourselves that we had to keep putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations to experience new things. We were both pretty wiped out–I had attended a 6-hour MCLE, and Jeff had helped his dad with some kitchen remodeling duties–and we were really tempted to cancel both of our social commitments for the night. But we stuck with them, and were really excited we did. Jeff got to meet the people I’ve been meeting with throughout the last year in organizing stuff for Corazon, and then we had a genuinely good time at a karaoke lounge in Irvine. The latter event was definitely out of our comfort zone, and given that we weren’t getting there until after 10 p.m., it was way past our bedtime. BUT, we sang out little hearts out, and had a great time. So, keep in mind: the mantra works!
We haven’t done so good on the eating healthy part lately…
Jeff has been incredibly productive over the last few days. He’s been working really hard on editing all the pictures he’s taken in the last couple months, including pictures from our trip to Big Bear. He has so much talent it’s insane. Here are some of my favorite (mostly) scenic pictures:

In closing, I want to encourage all of you to start getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit, and buy some hand made valentines cards made by yours truly. I have to say, they’re pretty darn cute! And all of it goes to help Haiti Scholarships. So, get back into the spirit of being in second grade, and send your mom and best friends some Valentine love :)

Jeff took these pictures also :) If you’re interested in purchasing them, you can get more info here.
If you made it this far into my random cathartic writing, thank you for reading, and good night!

Resolution Updates

20 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in eating, exercise, health, life, resolutions, updates, yoga

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This week I was trying to figure out something different to make for lunch that wasn’t sandwich’s or microwaveable pizzas. I was at a loss walking around the grocery store, when I saw tortilla wraps…ta-da! So I ran to the other side of the store and added sprouts and hummus to the cart. Not too shabby, eh?

I also started my yoga classes yesterday, which made me incredibly, but beautifully, sore today.
I wasn’t as productive on the law firm front, but I did attend a meeting for South Orange County church youth ministers, caught up with quite a few great friends, had a brief meeting with a client, did some contract work, and attended a webinar for silent auction fundraisers. Oh and I started tutoring with my family again! It was so great to see them again, and catch up on all that both families have been up to.
Oh and had a meeting with some potential clients for The Merry Ministers, and set up another appointment with potential clients for Sunday.
I’ve been procrastinating a little on some stuff, so next week it’s time to step it up.

Resolution Updates

13 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in firm, haiti scholarships, life, resolutions, updates, work

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Today, I got up early to stand in line at the DMV by 7:30 a.m. No matter how early you think is early enough for this mission, it never is. There was already a line of about 12 people in front of me. It’s ok though, I made it out by 8:30 a.m., license renewed, eye exam and photo taken. Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about that eye exam…but they have really low standards, so I was fine (not sure how safe that makes me feel though).

Next up was the car dealership where I had to take my little car in to get an oil change (don’t worry kids, I don’t usually take it to the dealership, but I had a coupon…and it included a free car wash, which my car desperately needed). I was out of there by 9:30 a.m.
I got back home, and couldn’t believe it wasn’t even 10:00 a.m. yet. Dealt with some client issues, talked to opposing counsel and gave him a two week extension on his discovery, did final number crunching for Haiti Scholarships and sent out a check.
For lunch I ate the rest of the salad I had prepared the day before for–I hadn’t put dressing on it, so it was still good. I added an avocado to it. Avocado makes everything better. Met up with Karin for lunch, got caught up and agreed to plan the Cinco de Mayo event for the HBA.
Which brings me to…my first resolution failure.
I didn’t write this one down, but I did mention it to Jeff, so it’s as good as if it was in writing: I told myself, and Jeff, that I would stop committing myself to new events for a while. But I got an email from Diana asking me to co-chair the HBA Program Committee…and I was honestly a little giddy about getting to help people plan their events (LAME, yes), that I said yes without even thinking about it. Oops.
I’m sure Jeff isn’t surprised.
Anywho…
I snacked on milk and cherries–no cookies.
Took a bunch of stuff to storage that was crowding our room, and then I went to a local credit union to open up my business banking and IOLTA account. I think I’ve been putting this off for a while because it really makes things official…I now have checks and a card that say “Law Office of [insert my full name here–it makes for a very long firm name]” Crazy. But, it’s done. So it must be really happening.
Jeff and I got home at about the same time, so I sent a couple emails real quick, and then we headed out for our walk/run. We jogged about a quarter of our mile, and walked the rest of it. We figure we’ll slowly work this up to where we’re running 3 miles. Jeff has been keeping track of our last 3 walks on an app he got for his iPhone, and it was pretty cool to see that we completed each of our walks about one minute faster each time. Not bad!
We had home-made chili for dinner last night. Maybe not the healthiest thing, but holy cow can Jeff’s mom make delicious chili!
I was comatose after eating seconds, so the rest of my evening was spent on the couch…

Little Updates: A little bit of this, a little bit of that.

05 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by in legal, life, photography, random, updates, wedding, work

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Well, we finished moving and are completely settled in to our new home with Jeff’s parents. For any who were curious, it’s going really well. His parents are wonderful and easy to live with. It was weird at first just getting used to having roommates again, so I can’t make Jeff’s coffee in my PJ’s (underwear…), but all of that is pretty minor. We really like our new room; in fact, we kinda like it better than the room from our apartment! Jeff’s mom let me have the desk they had in the living room, which is pretty amazing. It has little cubbies for all my office/work stuff, and a drawer with a filing cabinet (nerd), and it’s pretty amazing.

I still haven’t quite figured out my productivity schedule. I’m up by 7:30am, which is when I make coffee for Jeff, make sure he’s out of bed and on his way to work. It’s not that he asks for me to wake up and make his coffee, but I just wake up at that time anyway. I can’t seem to sleep in past 7…ever (except for Sunday, but that’s because I was up on Saturday at 3:40am, and was in 100 degree heat all day…), so might as well get up and be productive. Anyhow, I check emails and my reader, maybe listen to a webinar from CharityHowTo or the Foundation Center, pick up the room a little, and then I either procrastinate by working on random projects (like doing cross stitch on an old blanket that’s falling apart), or I try to get some work done on my cases. I really need to get better on focusing on the latter.
It’s been pretty amazing though, this whole, “working on my own” thing. I can meet clients whenever I want, I can work on their stuff whenever I want, I can have lunch with friends whenever I want, I can book myself for volunteer events whenever I want.
I did apply for a part-time volunteer coordinator position at a non-profit that is literally 1.5 miles from our house. It doesn’t pay much, but it would be great to work in something that I really want to acquire some skills and experience in, and also have a steady paycheck while I wait for clients to pay me. The organization looks amazing, and one that I’d like to be involved in over the long-term if things work out, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
We were finally able to buy Jeff the camera he’s been wanting (Nikon D7000), and he got an amazing flash and lens for it (we had to return the lens because the automatic focus didn’t work, hopefully we get a new one back soon). He’s got two small weddings that he’s already booked for this month, so we’re hoping that will be an additional source of revenue for us. As for my wedding officiant business, I had one wedding last month in Spanish, and I’ve got two booked for this month. Our free Google advertising dried up, so I’m gonna have to invest some real money into our website if I want to keep getting leads. Seems like it’s worth it so far.
So, between wedding ceremonies, legal cases, wedding photography, Jeff’s steady work…I think we might be pulling it off finally. Which has me really worried. So far, our life has always been a bit of give and take: something great happens, then something else happens to even things out, and we land exactly where we were before that great thing happened. So here we are, not having to pay rent, with some steady and unsteady flows of income…to the point where we can save and invest in things…and I’m honestly nervous about what’s around the corner. I feel like something has to happen to even things out again, there’s too much good going on right now.
I hope I’m wrong. I really, really hope I’m wrong. Because seeing a light at the end of the tunnel is kinda nice.

My Day

02 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in random, updates

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At the beginning of the week, I really liked the idea that I had nothing on my calendar for Thursday, although I know myself better than to think it’ll remain that way (I have been told more than once this week that I’m the busiest unemployed person they know, haha).

So, here’s where I was today:
  • Irvine: my apartment, packed up a few boxes, went through stuff in the garage. And drank my coffee, obvies.
  • Lake Forest: waited around for an empty cart, dropped said packed boxes off at the storage place.
  • Ladera Ranch: went to Brookie’s store to pick up some boxes she had saved for us (thanks, Brookie!).
  • Aliso Viejo: dropped off a table at my mom’s house, and hung out for her a little during her lunch hour.
  • Laguna Hills: checked the PO box. Junk mail.
  • Irvine: home for lunch, prepared my first client bill!
  • Santa Ana: meeting with client’s father.
  • Other part of Irvine: exchanged iced coffee for a donation from the wonderful Ms. Katie, AND got to catch up a little :)
  • Irvine: deposited check, went to store to buy dinner, home to make lasagna (would you believe me if I said I made it from scratch? Who am I kidding, only Isabel can do that…).
I really wanted to add Costa Mesa to my list of cities visited today: 1) I wanted to go to bikram since I missed my class last night, and 2) I wanted to check out the unveiling of 31 Bits’ new Fall line. But alas, staying home after all that driving was high on my priority list.
All in all, a pretty productive day!

Random Updates…

23 Tuesday Aug 2011

Posted by in apartment, childhood, gym, life, memories, updates

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I’ve been going to the gym! Well, to be honest last week I failed, but the two weeks before that I was a frequent visitor, and I went today. I do have a confession: today was the first time there was no one else there (it’s the small gym from my apartment complex), so when the below song came on my Pandora…I actually did a little dancing on the elliptical. It was very niiiice.


(In asking Jeff for help in finding this video, he just shared with me how him and Pat used to cruise around bumping their Pure Funk CD. I love him.)
Anyhow, not sure if I mentioned that we put in our 30-day notice at our apartment complex. We did. Sigh. We’re really gonna miss this place. I stopped by the leasing office today to pick up some move out paperwork, and they kindly informed me that no matter how clean we leave this place, they’re still gonna rape us for all that our deposit is worth, and more. Uuuuuggghhhh.
So, in preparation for this monumental move, we started packing today. We decided to start with the stuff that’s easy to pack: DVD’s and books (I’m terrified of packing up the kitchen. Uuuuuggghhhh x2). In packing up the books I came across the one item I’ve ever stolen [from a store], in my life. I was about six or seven. I have a super clear picture of the parking lot, and the check out stand, but for the life of me I can’t remember what store it was. What I do remember is that by the check out stand there was something I really wanted, and my mom said “No” when I asked her to buy it for me. It was like a buck fifty, and I was a little pissed she wouldn’t spend a buck fifty on me (as in $1.50, not $150.00).
My mom and the register lady started chatting it up, which I took as a distraction mechanism. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I grabbed what I wanted and hid it in my sweater. We then walked out of the store and into my mom’s Mitsubishi, which was sweltering. “Why don’t you take off your sweater? It’s hot in here.” I tried to make up some excuse, but the heat was undeniable, and mother knows best. It probably didn’t help that I must’ve had the most guilty expression on my face ever.
So, she made me take off my sweater…and that thing I had just stolen slipped out. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy. I started crying. She threatened to make me go inside and return it (we were still sitting in the car, in the parking lot), but I think she was a little embarrassed herself, and my tears were probably pretty convincing of my regret. So, we never returned it. It’s actually floated around between my mother (yeah, she had the nerve to keep it for HERSELF!), then my grandmother, and when I found it again a few years back, I finally took possession of it.
What is it?
A BOOKMARK!
Hahhahaha, so lame.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

05 Tuesday Apr 2011

Posted by in Guatemala, life, money, movies, updates, zach

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For one, check out that movie. It’s kind of a funny story, really. Plus, you can never really go wrong with Zack Galafianakis.

But getting to my point…I’ve written before how just when Jeff and I think we’re on the brink of something going terribly wrong, something falls out of the sky and saves the day. By “something” I usually mean an unexpected amount of cash, that if something hadn’t gone terribly wrong, would’ve been nice to put into our non-existing savings account, or to be able to spend a little more freely, or cover things we can’t usually cover. But alas, it goes to cover the terribly wrong thing…but at least we’re able to cover it with that unexpected cash rather than being SOL.
Case in point: yesterday.
Jeff called me right after 5pm letting me know his car wouldn’t start, so I called AAA so they could meet him at work while I made my way over there. They got it started, but it seems like it’s going to take some cash investment to get whatever it is that’s wrong with it fixed. Might be the starter. Might be something else. Point is: money we don’t have.
I check the mail before getting into my car to go pick Jeff up, and the only thing in the mail is….our CA tax refund! I had to laugh. To myself.
The funniest thing about this is that we had gotten a letter from the California Franchise Tax Board on Saturday saying we didn’t fill out our bank account completely on our tax return, so instead of a direct deposit we’d be getting a check in 2-4 weeks. I thought, hey that’s pretty cool, Sucks that it’ll take longer…but thanks for letting us know. And yet…what are the odds that instead of taking 2-4 weeks it gets here two days later…on the exact date we find out we’re gonna have to drop some serious cash on one of those “terribly wrong” scenarios? Alas, I should’ve known better than to think we’d get that refund and actually be able to spend it on something we wanted :)
In other updated news: it seems that the Guatemala divorce fiasco is having some trouble getting off the ground.
Have a great day everyone.

Alive and Well in Haiti

20 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by in food, Haiti, life, updates

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I told myself I wouldn’t spend as much time blogging while I’m here as I did last time. I want to spend more time being effective and doing what I need to do while I’m here…but considering we’re on lockdown due to today’s elections, I figured I would at least give a quick update :)

So far things are very mellow today, as far as I’m aware from people around here and what I can gleam off Twitter and the internet. The polls opened late and have bee missing documents and people haven’t been able to find their name on voting registries, so the outcome should be interesting. I am pretty sure Abby, Adri and I will be long gone before any semblance of results come about, which is when I expect protests of any kind will take place. We are hoping that we can get to work tomorrow. Since I did some rubbling last time I was here, I’m excited to work on a couple other projects that were not here last year, particularly working on school builds and the bio sand water filters. I also want to get my fill of rubbling one of these days!
It’s been such a blessing to have Christa here…Abby and I met her on our last trip, and she’s been here for most of the time we’ve been gone. In that year she’s got a great understanding of the Creole language, and seeing her interact with all of the members and children of the community is extremely amazing and inspiring. You can simply tell the pleasure that people get when they see Christa: there’s so much love in their eyes, and they are genuinely excited to see her. Christa was our fearless leader at the local market yesterday (since it’s Sunday, we have no cook, and since we’re in lockdown, we can’t go eat anywhere, which means we had to load up on food to cook today, yesterday). It was Abby, Adri, myself, and two of the other people that were on our shuttle into Leogane on Thursday: Diego from Mexico and Kisa from….I think Washington state? Basically we told Christa what our menu for today was…and she led us through all the market stalls and translated at each of these until we had purchased our pasta, garlic, carrots, mini-lettuce, tomatoes, mangos, and bananas. Our hope is to use basil grown here and have a nice pesto sauce pasta with a light salad. Sharing the kitchen with 70 other hungry people, however, should be interesting. Anyhow, Christa is awesome, and I’m so glad she’s still here!
The last few days have been really interesting…talking a lot about everything going on. Hopefully I’ll know how to share my thoughts on all of this once I’m done processing all of it internally.
Until then: I’m a live and well, and happy to be back :)

Countdown Begins…

21 Monday Feb 2011

Posted by in Haiti, updates

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I knew time would fly. I think the final decision was made around November, that Abby and I would be returning to Haiti. And I knew then that time would fly by. It has. We leave in less than a month! We booked our tickets a couple weeks ago, and I keep looking at my calendar as the days go by, in disbelief.

I have a job interview this Thursday, and I’ve been working on my oral arguments for a week now: giving me a two week “vacation” two weeks after my start date is actually a GOOD thing! Hopefully I can pull it off…although I’d have to get the job in the first place :)
Things that are freaking me out a bit:
  • I need a backpack. If anyone is willing to let me borrow theirs, please let me know.
  • I need a sleeping pad. Last time I slept on a sleeping bag over wooden planks…and although in the long term I think it was great for my back…it wasn’t great for sleeping. So if anyone has a thick yoga mat or something like that, that they wouldn’t mind losing for two weeks, I’d be forever grateful.
  • I have to get malaria pills….which means I need to raise a little more cash to buy them
  • This whole job situation…
And yet, I couldn’t be more excited. I think this trip will be night and day from my last trip. I think my perspective has changed, my purpose has changed, and my plans are bigger. Any my cousin Adriana is coming, which I’m VERY excited about :)

The Mandatory New Year’s Post

07 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by in life, new year, updates

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And so another year has flown by. I spent most of 2010 thinking it was barely getting started…before I realized it, 2011 was knocking on my door. 2010…what can I say? You’ve challenged me quite a bit. I’m not going to lie and say it was all roses…I think it was by far one of the most trying years I’ve had to date, but it also had some amazing accomplishments.
I had my first job in the legal world, which presented a whole set of challenges in and of itself, but it was a learning experience if ever there was one. But it gave me the opportunity to meet some amazing people, who hopefully will be a part of my life for years to come.
Julian graduated from UCI!
We introduced two new members to the Armstrong family, which we couldn’t be happier about. They definitely make things way cuter! It’s still a little weird how you can watch a baby just be a baby for hours…and not get bored. Creepy, right?
Abby and I went to Haiti…and I think all you readers know the lasting impact that has had on me. And on you, since you all have to put up with constant blogs, twitters, and countless Facebook links and updates.
Julian and Erika finally got hitched, and what a way to get things done! Two weeks of booze, friendship, love, booze, Vegas, nuptials…did I mention booze? :) And let’s not forget the Stewarts, another wedding worth celebrating!
Jeff and I celebrated our first year of marriage…and four years of being together. What can I say, I’m a lucky girl. < 3
Camping trip to Yosemite!
We celebrated my aunt’s 50th year of life in style!
I realized my little cousins aren’t so little anymore. I also realized they’re all becoming amazing and caring individuals, and that gives me all sorts of warm and fuzzies.
The economy…..well…let’s not get started there…let’s just say that losing my job is giving me the opportunity to figure out what I want to do with my life.
Worked on my first housebuild with Corazon…hopefully many more to come this year.
As for 2011….hopefully I figure out what I want to do with my career, I’m looking forward to a second trip to Haiti with Abby and my cousin, Adriana (which I’m REALLY excited about), and if all goes well…maybe starting to expand our own little Armstrong family. Fingers crossed.
Happy New Year to all of you, and may 2011 bring happiness and blessings galore! A huge thank you to everyone who follows this blog about everything and nothing. A special thank you to those who have stood by me and supported me in all my efforts: I’m sure my constant need for favors and participation get old after a while, but I hope you all see the good in everything I try to make you participate in :)
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