Disclaimer

Spring is here....
Although spring in West Texas is not as wonderful as it is in many other places in the country (here it means wind and dust), I am still very excited for spring. It has gotten me thinking about the beautiful things I would plant if I lived somewhere where things actually grew.

Like this lovely garden from Southern Living

How I long for a perfectly manicured lawn with hydrangeas galore...
Here is where I include my disclaimer- Contrary to the subtitle of this blog, I know very little about hedges OR hedge funds. Actually, I think i have come to believe they should be left to those that do. What I have learned from my experience thus far is that I will identify what needs to be done and leave the details to others, such as gardeners and fund managers. I have also learned that both involve a significant amount of risk (well maybe the funds more-so; but if your hoping for yard of the month it could be close).
Happy Spring!

Image Credits: 1. southern living 2. Country Living

Rupert II

Well.... I'm giving this another try. I'm assuming that since I maybe have one reader (AG:) ), it hasn't been missed too much.

Since the last time I posted some things have changed around here. Most significantly, we added another member to our family... the furry kind of course!!

His name is Rupert and he is British- well he was born in the US, but his father (and namesake) came here from Wales. We love him and so does Emma.

As you can see, I love people names for dogs. I am looking forward to getting another King Charles (a ruby one) someday and naming her Charlotte...

I would love to know any of your (if anyone is reading this) pet's names or ideas for them!

Happy (Belated) Birthday Emma!

We forgot Emma's Birthday! It was last week (June 17). I feel terrible. But I am hoping that if we celebrate now, she won't even know that we forgot ;) !

I can't believe she is 2 years old! It seems like just yesterday she could fit in our hand!

I need to take some more recent pictures of her (the last picture was taken 1 year ago and she has grown a lot since then!)

Slovakian Roommates

So as it turns out I am a terrible blogger...

I am going to try to be better.

But in my defense things have been a little busy. I finished my first year of law school and am now spending the summer working on a Masters in Personal Financial Planning. I don't really know yet how I am going to use the two together.... but eventually it will work out (I hope).

If someone had told me even a year ago that I would be getting a degree in Personal Financial Planning (much less taking a finance class), I would have laughed. Before this, I refused to even balance a check book. But I am actually really glad I am doing this. I think I have avoided finance because I was afraid I wouldn't understand since I didn't know much about it. But it is actually kind of interesting.

So lately, besides going to class and doing homework, I have been daydreaming about all the things I could be doing this summer... like traveling.

Last summer David and I back-packed Europe for a month and it was wonderful. I wish we were doing it again this summer. We had no plans, just backpacks and train passes. Even though it was a little crazy at the time (neither one of us had a job at the time), it was totally worth it! Although I don't think we will ever do something quite like that again, I am working on David for another European vacation (an Ireland trip is in the works for December!).

This picture was taken in Wengen, Switzerland on our hike in the Swiss Alps. It was amazing! that is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and don't think many places could top it.

Enough about Europe (for now).

Speaking of Europe though, I had a very interesting experience a few days ago...

I was sitting in the living room talking to my mom on the phone, when there was a knock at the front door. I answered it and there was a guy, (who looked like he was 18 or 19) standing there. I was a little annoyed because we always have salespeople coming to our house, so I asked him what he was selling. He said (in a very distinct Eastern European accent) "Oh I am not selling anything. I was wanting to see if you have extra room - if you would like to have two roommates from Slovakia?!" I really didn't know what to say, I was so caught off guard. So I told him that it was just my husband and I who lived here and that we were married (I realize he should have gotten that from the husband part, but I wanted to make sure he got the point). He got a big smile on his face and said "Perfect!" I was like "No, not perfect" So I told him that we couldn't but that I thought the people across the street might be interested. So he left and went across the street. I'm sure the neighbors greatly appreciated that. Anyways, it was very bizarre and kinda hilarious. I should have suggested that he check online for rental properties or something, but that just didn't come to mind at the time.

Happy Easter

As I think about Easter weekend this song comes to mind. Wishing all a wonderful Easter weekend as we remember the ultimate sacrifice of our savior!

"Alas and Did My Savior Bleed"

Alas and did my savior bleed

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For sinners such as I?

Was it for sins that I have done
He suffered on the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut His glory in
When Christ, the great Redeemer died
For man the creature's sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
'Tis all that I can do.

Cactus garden + 40 mph winds= need a very good pair of tweezers

Let me begin by apologizing for not being a very dependable blogger. I am very sorry but also have to admit that these very scarce updates will most likely continue until mid May when finals are over (I am dreaming of that day!)

Anyways..... David and I purchased our first house in November of 2009. It was (and kinda still is) a total fixer-upper. We started by remodeling the inside and are very near finished (I will post pictures when we are done). This weekend we decided to tackle the yard. Now, I am sure you are thinking to yourself "yard work" that sounds fun and springy... but before you start picturing green grass, lush soil and fresh colorful flowers, let me inform you that our "garden" consisted of pea gravel, rock, cactus and various other spiky ugly plants which the previous home owners so gracious left us. Since the day we bought this house I have been waiting to rip up the whole front yard and transform it to a traditional yard with curb appeal, so since the weather is finally warming up we decided to get to work. This all started Yesterday around 3 o'clock p.m. and is very much still in progress, however I am hoping the worst is over. I don't think we realized how difficult it was going to be to dig up cactus and shovel out tons of pea gravel! These cactus plants were massive and deadly!

It wasn't long after I had started working on the first one that I realized fighting a giant cactus during gusts of 40 mph winds is not a good combination (I had no idea how windy it was going to be in West Texas). I did learn that the worst thing about a cactus is not the big spikes which you can see on it, but tiny microscopic needless (that we think are somewhere on the big spike) which get into your skin and will not come out! Yes, this is what was being hurled at my body at 40 mph. Needless to say, the cactus are gone! But they didn't go without a fight, David and I both spent the better part of last night trying to pick prickles out of our bodies. Even today we have been discovering new ones! I do not know why anyone would want to plant that in their yard. I mean seriously, the people who we bought the house from (who had the wonderful idea the plant the stuff) had young kids!

Oh and the pea gravel is basically gone as well (we stealthily divided it up among several dumpsters in our alley- the garbage men are going to hate us!)

Attractive Nuisance

An attractive nuisance is a principle in tort law that creates liability for negligence. It generally consists of a condition on a person's land which posses a threat of serious bodily harm or death to others (usually children). The owner of the land is liable for the harm caused by the condition if he knew that children frequented the area and that they would not appreciate the dangerousness of the condition, he failed to use reasonable care to eliminate the danger of the condition, and serious harm resulted. The most common scenario of attractive nuisance is a private swimming pool which is not adequately enclosed etc.

However I have discovered a few things that have become attractive nuisances for me (and my ability to study) lately, namely....

Neiman Marcus online (don't worry, due to my status as a student it consists of only drooling and wishful thinking)

America's Next Top Model marathons (pathetic I know)

needless trips to TJMaxx (thinking I will find something incredible amongst the junk, that I would otherwise miss)

and last but not least... homemade chocolate chip cookies (the best chocolate chip cookies are made with butter flavored crisco and mexican vanilla)

...and right now this blog is becoming an attractive nuisance... I am sitting at the coffee shop where I had planned to study constitutional law! Oh well, we all need to indulge in a little attractive nuisance now and then (only figuratively, of course!)