Friday, December 17, 2010

JibJab Strikes Again

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Exciting News!

Stanford is going to the:
On January 3, 2011 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, #4 Stanford will play the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, Virginia Tech, in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida! And I will be there!

After surviving a brutal 5:01 a.m. arrival into Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, I, along with my two Stanford besties, Juls & Tracy, will be cheering on the Stanford Cardinal along with (hopefully) thousands of other Cardinal fans.

For those of you with little or no knowledge of college football, Stanford is going to one of the 5 "BCS" bowl games. While there are dozens of bowl games during the holiday season, these 5 games are the most prestigious as they pair the top teams in college football (they also generate the biggest payouts to the colleges involved). Stanford, ranked #4 in the country with an 11-1 record, automatically qualified for a BCS bowl game, and was chosen by the Orange Bowl because of the potential for high scoring football and quality television ratings. Four years ago, Stanford only won 1 game, and no one believed that such a academic institution could produce such a football team, and so as a longtime fan and alumna, this bowl game is an experience that I cannot not miss.

In other news, my first final is tomorrow morning, so I should probably get back to studying for that ... :-)

Friday, November 26, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Holidays!

Stylish Snowflakes White Christmas Card
Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.
View the entire collection of cards.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Day Cal Football Died

The Day Cal Football Died
(Shamelessly Stolen from a member on thebootleg.com)


A long, long time ago...
They can still remember
How Cal Football made them smile.
The Bears won games and not by chance.
Oh, how they made Cal fans dance.
And won away games once in a while.

But Big Game Week made them shiver.
With every recruit test score delivered.
Bad news ‘bout the Weenies;
Who knew Bear ‘nads were that teeny.

I can't remember if they cried.
When they saw their team was not bonefide.
But it deeply hurt their pride.
The day Cal football died.

Chorus

Oh, My, my, Poor Old Oski has died.
Drove my chevy to Big Game,
But the Bears were so lame.
The poor old Weenies left embarrassed and shamed.

Singin', "Let’s give a new stadium a try,”
" cut some sports, then have a good cry.”

Why did they think they were a cut above?
And have faith in Tedford, even love?
Even if Barbour told them so,
How could they think Cal would make a bowl?
Will a new field save Cal’s football soul?
While the Cardinal score goal after goal.

Well we know that they’re tired of Jeff.
‘cause they can’t blame each loss on the refs.
And with each loss they can’t excuse.
Man, we’ll hear those bitches and boos.

Poor Bear fans have gotten stuck.
With a s**tty stadium and a team that sucks.
And they knew they were out of luck
The day Cal Football died.

Chorus

They were told a new stadium would be long fought,
Then in 10 months saw what Stanford got.
But that’s not how it used to be.
When Sandy hatched up her grand plan,
To build a field she said, yes Cal can.
Paid for with money from you and me.

And while the plan was in the air.
Sitters made some trees their homey lair.
The project was in danger.
Could you make a story stranger?
Cal had to raise some student fees.
And coax the sitters down with their fleas.
And they sang sad songs in the dark.
The day Cal Football died.

Chorus

Helter-skelter, Mansion ran for shelter.
His passes flew off with the strangest vector.
Ten yards short and falling fast.
They bounced high off of the grass.
They got no yards with the forward pass.
And their run game hit a big impass.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume.
The Stanford Tree in perfect bloom!
Cal fans got up to dance.
But they never got the chance!
`cause the Bears tried to run down field;
But the Stanford D refused to yield
We stood and yelled, “Hey, that’s our deal!!”
The day Cal Football died.

Chorus


And on play after play we watched them fail.
As Skov’s big hits made Tedford wail.
Who came up with that weak *ss spread?
So come on: Jeff be nimble, Jeff be quick!
Hope that new pistol does the trick.
‘Cause without change Cal Football’s dead.

And as they watched the Bears lose the axe,
They wished their team had bigger sacs.
With each pass Luck completed,
The Bears felt even more defeated.
As All Right Now played into the night,
The Bears lost their will to fight.
We saw Harbaugh laughing with delight.
The day Cal Football died.

Chorus


This year the Card might just see Roses.
Which Cal hasn’t seen since the days of Moses.
But the Bears will always have The Play.
Though we know they cheated on that day.
His knee was down, there was no flag.
The Pac-10 refs were in the bag.

But this year they lay “cramping” on the grass,
After Stanford soundly kicked their *ss.
For now their joy would be past glory,
To retell this tale would be too gory.
Still Cal fans could proudly exhort,
“Our best team is a club sport!”
The day Cal Football died.

Chorus

I met a girl who wore gold and blue.
And I asked her for some happy news,
She said Stanford turned her app away.
But for Bear fans there’s no worse fate,
Attending the second best public school in state.
But there’s always grad school if you wait.

On Berkeley streets: the frat boys screamed,
Code Pink cried, and the hippies dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The Campanile bells were broken.
The game they lost they wanted most.
And Cal’s last fans caught BART to the coast.
The day Cal Football died.

Oh, My, my, Poor Old Oski has died.
Drove my chevy to Big Game,
But the Bears were so lame.
The poor old Weenies left embarrassed and shamed.

Singin', "Let’s give a new stadium a try,”
" cut some sports, then have a good cry.”

Monday, November 15, 2010

My top 10 Thankfuls

Inspired by Nienie, I decided to make my own "Thankful" blog post.

I am thankful for:

1. My wonderful husband of 1.5 years, and our upcoming celebration of 8 years together in January

2. our amazing honeymoon

3. being able to go to Stanford's first bowl game in several years, with two of my favorite people
... and for the fact that we will be going again this year!
4. Stanford Football, and Andrew Luck
5. our new apartment, with its washer and dryer, central air, and two bathrooms, and our upgraded 46" tv

6. My externship for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the unexpected opportunities it created

7.Trader Joe's (I had trouble coming up with this one, but I just shopped there today and the place is amazing)


8. My parents, who are always remarkably understanding and supportive

9. My brother, and his tolerance of Kenny

10. and Kenny, for bringing me joy at the moment I needed it the most.
 Happy Thanksgiving!

(I'm attempting to cook, wish me luck!)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Book Review: "Dirty Sexy Politics" by Meghan McCain

I recently stumbled upon $50 worth of iTunes gift cards and decided it would be a good time to try out iBooks on my iPhone (yes, that is an "i" overload, I know). The next book on my list was always going to be Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain, because I knew it was short and thought it would be light and fun. It was, unfortunately, much shorter than I expected, but it was very light and very fun and a good 3-hour read.

I've been a fan of Meghan's for awhile, I follow her on Twitter, catch her interviews when I can, and generally relate to her. It is clear that I was her target audience, and I was a happy patron from the beginning. Her storytelling was interesting, if not profound, and she is very honest about herself. I almost wonder if this was a form of therapy for her.

What I liked: Hearing new stories, about how, for example, the young Palin children took precedent for hair and makeup above Meghan at the Republican Convention, because they were going to be seen more. Hearing about her visit to the White House, and how they awkwardly excluded her from a lunch with the first lady. Hearing about what her family did after Election Day, how they recovered.

What I disliked: as much as I root for Meghan's brand of Republicanism*, there was just too much attempted persuasion in the book. I don't know if she was trying to make the book longer, or, that she felt like she had the opportunity that she couldn't miss to say something. But her message was so much more powerful through her personal stories. She IS the type of person that she wants the party to include more, and her story is all about how she was excluded.  I think her story would have been a lot more powerful if she relied on that alone. I even went so far as to skim through the remaining pages because I thought they would be boring.

What I thought about the Sarah Palin stuff: Now that I have read the entire book, I wonder what the interviewers were reading when they interviewed Meghan on her book tour.  I had already read her Daily Beast column in which she related how unhappy she was that the interviews all seems to focus on Ms. Palin. But reading the book left me even more perplexed. She really didn't say anything about her that I found significant, or at least significant enough to warrant an entire interview segment. She spoke of how much a secret the selection of her was, how she cried when her mother refused to tell her who the running mate would be.  She spoke of the Palins getting priority for hair and makeup at the convention, and how Palin used the opportunity to further her own aspirations.  But I found none of it to be something we hadn't already heard. I thought the most attention-grabbing aspect of the book was the fact that the campaign essentially isolated Meghan from her parents, to the point of banishing her, and her parents didn't seem to care.  I would think that my father, even if he was a busy candidate, would have stopped every once in awhile to make sure that I was being treated well, even if I was an adult. I hope after reading the book John McCain offered an apology to his daughter, even if it wasn't his direct fault.

All in all, a decent read, but a little thin. I wouldn't spend the money on it if you can avoid it. My digital copy was $10, probably a little more than I'd like for a 3-hour book. I am proud, however, because this is the first book I've read in awhile in print form (as opposed to audio). I'd like to dabble in fiction next, will keep the blog posted.

*To be clear, I'm not a republican, nor do I plan to be. She and I disagree greatly about the role of government and of national defense. But I root anyone who fights for more inclusion, as she does so well particularly in advocating on behalf of the LGBT community.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Kenny's Picture People Shots

Periodically The Picture People spends a weekend at Petco taking pictures of your pets! I took Kenny with me last weekend to get some more dog food and some toys (Petco allows you to bring your dogs into the store on a leash, and I thought I'd give it a try after the disastrous first Petco outing when he tried to pee on EVERYTHING!) and saw that they were doing pictures. I asked about making an appointment, and they said they could do it right away.

Being the new doggy-mommy that I am, I totally got sucked in and spent way more money than I probably should have on pictures and a nice matted 3-shot frame. My justification was that we're capturing Kenny at the beginning of his life with us, and that I needed more brown framed pictures for our new apartment!


Here they are! (yes, these are the same ones as on facebook)








And here is what Kenny was just doing. Now he's eating and we're headed to the park :-) (update: we went outside and it had started drizzling again! So one quick trip around the block and we're back) Note the In-N-Out towel, he loves that thing!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Kenny at the Beach + one from this morning

Yesterday we took Kenny to the dog beach about ten minutes from our house. As you're probably aware we're going through a heat wave so there were a ton of people and dogs there, but parking was relatively painless. 






Kenny was not the biggest fan of the water, but we did keep him to the leash the entire time.  He did seem to enjoy being around the other dogs. The timing of our trip worked out because he was due for his weekly bath anyway.
 
 This was from this morning. He is not a morning person, clearly. I love the crossed front paws!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Kenny

I will post more once I recover from this crazy week, but here's a pic of our new dog!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Trip to Oregon, Part 1

The whole family traveled to Oregon for my cousin Molly's wedding -- Here's a pic of me and my cousins Molly & Rachel at the Bachelorette Party!

We had this fantastic house for the weekend, here's our backyard!

On the morning of the wedding, some of us went to Lava Butte, where we had great views.

We ignored this sign, and fed the chipmunks with peanuts - see below: 

Wedding pictures to come!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

My best friend's wedding

Adelyn got married on Monday! It was a beautiful day up on Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County.
It was great to see her so happy. She's been dreaming about this day all her life and it was a perfect day.
One tired but happy Maid of Honor
From left to right: the Harts, the Lyons, and the Hardings :-)
The beautiful bride.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Picture Update

Curtis and I celebrated our First Anniversary!
Jon turned 23!
We celebrated Adelyn's upcoming wedding, and,
And, I started my Summer Associate position at Orrick! I'm busy, but it's going really well so far!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Done with 2L!!!

When I started this blog, I was starting the application process for law school. It's amazing how time flies. Since that time, I

- got engaged
- got into law school
- decided on a law school
- left work
- started law school
- got Obama elected (lol)
- got married
- worked 1L summer
- started 2L year
- externed at the Ninth Circuit
- FINISHED 2L Year!

Ahead of me, I have
- work 2L summer
- get a job offer (I hope)
- (possibly) apply for clerkships
- start and finish 3L year
- Graduate!!!!
- Take the bar
- etc., etc.

I've always wanted to go to law school and become a lawyer, so I'm very excited that I am one year and (hopefully) one bar exam away from finishing my goal. While my final today did not go as well as I hoped, I felt really prepared and am generally happy to be done. At this point, I'm ready to start my summer job in Menlo Park on June 7th. In the meantime, I plan to do some casual reading, lose some weight, and get my life organized for the next phase.

Have a good weekend :-)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Changes to the Blog

As you can see, I'm trying out a new blog template. The old Blog Background that you can find on the web are not yet compatible with the new Blogger layouts, but I think this background is pretty and calm.

I added 2 photo albums on the side - if you click on them, they will open a new window with pictures from our wedding and honeymoon. They aren't very well-edited yet so keep that in mind.

Finally, I temporarily changed by Blog URL to match my email: ChristineHardingHart.blogspot . The problem is, no one will be able to find my blog unless they get the new URL from facebook or from me directly! So, it will remain ChristineEHarding for now until I come up with an alternative.

My final exam is tomorrow, I better get back to studying. Have a good weekend!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Update!

It's been awhile! I thought I'd post the pictures I've taken lately to describe how I've been doing. These pictures are somewhat out of order, and I'm not in very many, but they are descriptive.

In March, Curtis and I went to the Pac-10 tournament semifinal, because (shockingly!) both of our teams are playing. Of course, they lost, but we had a fun Friday date night. We even got to see a friend that we went to high school with who played baseball at Stanford!

As per tradition, my dad and I dyed eggs on the night before Easter. Believe or not, but those are actually brown eggs that we dyed, and they turned out pretty cool! Unfortunately, we forgot to hide them the next day for my little cousins to hunt, but at least we kept up the tradition. When asked by my mom how much longer this tradition would go on, I basically said that my dad will never be off the hook, he will be dying eggs with my children someday :-). Otherwise, Easter was a nice time, got to see a lot of family that I hadn't seen in awhile and it was pretty fun.


Yes, we tried out the iPad on opening day! We were eating breakfast at the Grove and decided to check it out before we ate. The place was packed but the gadget is pretty cool. I'm seriously considering a purchase later this summer of the 3G version... but I also want a new iPhone so we'll see...
My mom and I went to see Syracuse play (and LOSE!) in the Sweet 16 in Salt Lake City! It was an awful game, but we had a really nice time in the city, and I got to see 2 of my sisters-in-law and my nephew! So, it was a really nice time away from home in a nice hotel and great company.

My dad and Curtis made Caramel Crème brûlée - it was delish. I think the favorite part for them was the blow torch.
Curtis' parents redid Curtis' old room at their house and it looks soo nice. Curtis stayed there while I was in SLC. We had to take pictures for the rest of the fam.

Curtis and Louis are taking the GMAT next week! They are actually in class tonight. I will be very happy when they finish, since it has taken over our lives. But, I'm so thrilled for them that they have taken this step. I can't wait to hear how they did (GMAT gives you your score as soon as you finish)
Lastly, this is the view from my office on a rainy day. My externship comes to an end in 2 weeks, and then I will have a month off before I start my summer job. I'm still trying to decide whether I should try and do something with that much time, but the jury is still out. Perhaps a trip is in store? I'll admit that I am now ready to be done, and am looking forward to my last year of school, ever.

If you're keeping score, our wedding anniversary is almost a month away! We're actually going to be in the bay area that weekend for a wedding, and so we will celebrate our anniversary by going to Stacks in Menlo Park and then hanging out in the Stanford area. It's going to be a nice time together before we are apart for 10 weeks while I am working in Menlo Park.

Anyway, have a good weekend! I'm off to the Bay Area on Saturday to see the Stanford Spring Game at Kezar Stadium. Hopefully I'll have pictures to share when I get back.