Some Articles for Thought....

The Science of Commitment

- Conclusion, marry someone who expands your horizons

Attractiveness and Crime

- My theory is that the correlation boils down to the need to feel loved. People who feel less loved have a higher propensity towards crime.

Things I Fell In Love With Today

And other cute ideas from here.


Cup Cakes in a Jar (I've been in love with these for a while.)

I've always loved these things...so random. And I've been to Antwerp!!


I just recently fell in love with this blog Fondly Seen. Isn't this greenhouse charming?

Quote of the day:

Have a time and place for everything, and do everything in its time and place, and you will not only accomplish more, but have far more leisure than those who are always hurrying.

~Tryon Edwards:

There were so many other things I fell in love with today...but there isn't time enough to share them all.

Nighty night.

Redefining

When I left high school to go to college, one of the things I was so excited about was redefining me. No longer would I be referred to as a "Methot", because no one would know what a "Methot" means. And I liked that.

I was also excited to be away from my more than one year relationship with my boyfriend because I couldn't go anywhere by myself without people asking "Where is Chris?" without ever asking the normal introductory question of "How are you?"

I was excited to be me for the first time, undefined by my relationships. Not a "Methot", not Chris's girlfriend, but me. Just plain me.

One thing that I have noticed since becoming a lawyer is that this now defines me. It seems that all too often I go out with friends and it is - "This is Chantal, a lawyer." Even when I try to run from it, there is the inevitable question, "What do you do?" And then there seems to be no way around it.

This morning the man who is working on our heating system came as I was getting ready for work. I was dressed in black heels, a skirt, and a sweater. As I was leaving he said,

"Are you a lawyer?"

"Yes." I answered. Then I paused and asked, "But how did you know?"

"You look like a lawyer." He replied.

I am not sure I am dressing any differently than I would have for work prior to being a lawyer.

I am also a notary public. In becoming a notary public I got not only the stamp, but also a bumper sticker stating that I am a notary public. I chose not to put it on my car, just like I decided in law school not to put up a bumper sticker for my law school.

In the future, I think I'll introduce myself as a notary public. Then conversations will run much like this.

Random Person: "Are you a notary?"

Me: "Um, yes." Pause, quizzical look, "How did you know?"

Random Person: "You look like a notary."

Indeed.

The Entirely Shallow Side

I am in love with this dress.

And this artist sings in French. Her music was used as a sound track on a U-tube video. I loved it.

Awaken Possibility in Other People

I suddenly had the realization that the conductor of the orchestra doesn't make a sound. He depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful....I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people....you know how you find out? You look at their eyes. If the eyes are shining you know you are doing it.

--Benjamin Zander

I highly recommend the whole talk, but if you cannot, start listening at 17:24.



I suspect this is what he envisioned...



Meet the amazing man who makes their eyes shine...



See their blog here

See their wikipedia link here

Loving This

I found this song on a blog I follow and I LOVE music that is written from the heart (and finding cool new artists).

First, I just like this song - just because, even if I didn't know this story.

Second, knowing the story certainly makes the flavor of the song even richer. The musician, Aaron Ivey has an adopted son, Amos, who is still in Haiti waiting to come home.

Now that you know the story listen, watch, and appreciate...



P.S. - Yesterday I came across a video on the Department of State's website about how they are responding to the disaster in Haiti. They have a hot line number, search and rescue teams, and State Department workers in Haiti (and the Dominican Republic) working around the clock to find American citizens. They have flown thousands of American citizens out of Haiti. I wish the video I watched was still up. It was fascinating.

Today the proclamations of the DOS website came to life when I had to call the US Citizen and Immigration Services customer service with an immigration issue. The poor operator was like "I am so sorry, we are experiencing a really high volume of callers right now with Haiti." I guess the USCIS call center has been helping out. Anyway, please notice on the DOS website that priority is being given to Haitian adoptions.

Some Advice....