It may not be snowing yet, but it is definitely winter time in Cades Cove.

I am officially a working lawyer.  You heard me right, I have clients and I am bringing home the bacon (turkey bacon, that is).  A local attorney who is friends with my uncle has been wanting to hire an associate for the past year or so.  I talked to him about his practice and sounded like it would be a perfect fit of a support system with a senior attorney and the autonomy to build my own client base and work in areas of law I am interested in.

I have only been at my job for a week and a half and I already have five clients, each with different issues, but all within the Criminal Defense realm.  I also hope to extend into Domestic Relations and Juvenile work as I become more comfortable with the local court system.  So if you are looking for a lawyer in Maryville, TN or anywhere in and around Blount County, send me an email.

My time here in Illinois is done.  It looks like I will be staying in Tennessee for a little while longer.  It also means that I will be taking another Bar in the future and then deciding what the plan of attack is after I get those results back.  I enjoyed my time here, but I am realizing that it gets pretty cold this far north.  Brrr!

I can proudly say that I feel like a local, a native.

Ashley and Daddy at the UT v. Wyoming game.

I went to my very first University of Tennessee football home game today.  Now I have seen Tennessee before in Bowl games in Florida but there is nothing like being in a huge stadium surrounded by thousands of people in orange.  Even though the game was pretty bad (even a ref blocked for us) I was still happy and excited to be there.  I was born and bred to cheer on the Volunteers and I will continue to do so, in good seasons and in bad.

The best part about living here is being around all of my family.  Today I went over to my aunt and uncle’s to help them install their first cable modem.  Tonight I am at another aunt’s watching horror movies and talking about even scarier things.  It is so wonderful to be close to my family.  I am glad that I am able to have then time with them.  I have spent over 28 years living states away from them all.  It feels good to be home.

If you are looking for something to do tonight, why not head to downtown Maryville and enjoy the Taste of Blount County.  Tickets are $25 and can be purchased from the Chamber of Commerce.  Local restaurants will be represented, including Foothill’s Milling Company, Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine and Sushi Bar and The Miles Family 411 Restaurant.  Bringing a picky eater? The “chains” will be there as well: McAllister’s Deli, Panera Bread and Domino’s Pizza are just a few.  Hope to see you there!

I finally finished my first week of training under the One Hundred Push Ups program.  I am proud to say that I made it all the way through.  It was challenging, but a success.  Now only five more weeks to go before I can do the big 100.  The training program has made me feel like I need to do more strength training.  Since moving to Tennessee I have not had a gym to go to, so my strength training has really just turned into resistance training.  In stead of lifting weights, I have my body weight and resistance bands.  It is at least something, but I feel like I could be doing more.  I guess I feel like that in other areas too.  Like Bar studying…

Speaking of Bar studying, I completely bombed the practice MBE that I took on Friday.  I mean below average raw score bombing.  I feel like I need to be cracking down even harder since I only have four weeks left until the big day.  I am now only 3 lectures behind the in-class study schedule.  I was about 1 1/2 weeks behind when I started.  I just need to practice more questions and focus on some concepts that continuously trip me up.

And finally, the House Hunting.  It is on a semi-hold right now. The Husband left today for three weeks (possibly more) in Argentina for his job.  While I can still keep looking, no firm decisions can be made until he gets back to look at the house too.  The way the market is moving along, I that any house I find will go flying off the market anytime soon.

We did go to three open houses today before he hopped on his plane.  They were mainly disappointing.  It is a combination of not finding what we want and then finding houses that people didn’t take good care of.  I mean, if you are having an open house, the least you could do is clear off the cobwebs from the side entry, toss out the dead plants and put a screw into the loose railing so no one falls down the stairs to the basement.  I mean, you are trying to sell your house, right? *sigh*  We did see one house that was taken care of and was below our price range, but it also meant it was too small for us.  At least we are starting to understand more what we will and will not accept as far as size and condition are concerned.  So the hunt, on a smaller level, will continue.  The massive assault on the real estate of Blount County will occur in August.  I will be done with the Bar, the Husband will be in the country and I want to be settled in a home before Thanksgiving!

This 100% falls into the category of “things that make you happy.”  Tom Waits is going on tour this summer.  Now only is he going on tour, but he just so happens to be stopping at little place called Knoxville, TN.  And do you know where I am going to be moving to when I graduate from law school? Right outside of Knoxville, TN.  Yes!

Tickets are suppose to go on sale on May 16th, 2 days before my graduation.  That means that I will be up bright and early and on the internet hoping to get some tickets.  Anyone want to come with me?

To see if he is coming to a venue near you, check out Anti’s page of Tom Waits tour dates.

Then check out the “press conference” of Tom Waits announcing his tour.  This guy is hilarious! Here it is from You Tube: