How Now Brown Cow

For years, I've been avoiding yogurt.  I just didn't like the way it tasted, its texture, its smell...  There was no redeeming quality to sustain me through an entire serving.  I was jealous of all of my friends who ate yogurt like it was an amazing treat--why couldn't I be like them?  What was I missing?!

Well, all of that changed last week, when I discovered that my problem was buying the wrong yogurt.  Whenever I had given yogurt a chance in the past, I bought Yoplait, or the grocery store brand.  Last week, however, I found myself in a Sprouts, looking to purchase some vanilla yogurt for a chunky strawberry topper recipe.  Incidentally, Sprouts has a fantastic selection of bulk foods, including over a dozen types of granola.  I recommend their strawberry vanilla hemp granola.

I wanted a container of yogurt with a lid, because the recipe only calls for four tablespoons, and I knew I would be making the recipe repeatedly.  So, I grabbed some Brown Cow nonfat vanilla yogurt, and hoped for the best.

It is delicious!  I licked the spoon after I measured what I needed in my recipe, and I was very pleasantly surprised.  It's different than the other yogurts I have tasted.  The texture is less goopy, and more soupy, which I find far more palatable.  The taste actually brings to mind vanilla, albeit with a tangy finish.  And, when paired with granola and fruit, it provides just the right amount of creaminess and substance to create a great breakfast.

I'm somewhat finicky when it comes to food.  There are a lot of foods on my "ew, gross" list.  It's situations like this that make me glad that I give those foods a second chance.

Do you like yogurt?  What brand, and how do you like to eat it?

Banner Revue

In honor of my most recent blog layout update, I thought I'd do a post looking back at my banners from the past three years.  Ah, memories...

July 2008
My first banner, in honor of St. Thomas More.

November 2008
SCOTUS: symbolic not only of the first semester my legal education, but also of blossoming love of DC.

March 2009
From a neat brick building in Rosslyn, VA.

August 2009
I love this photo from the Korea War Veterans Memorial.

May 2010
When I think of my blog, this is still the banner that pops into my head.

April 2011
Revelations--get it?  From the Lawrence Caltrain platform.

May 2011
The train motif was a good symbol for barreling toward the bar exam.

July 2011
Alibi's pensive stare reflects my own curiosity about the future...

Loyal reader, is your blog in need of a new banner?  Comment with an idea or photo (and the desired size) and I'd be happy to try my hand at making you one, what with all of my newfound free time!

It's Over

I finished the bar exam!  The past three days haven't been too bad.  The essays were fair--nothing out of left field--and I even got a couple of topics that I was hoping for (though, I also got my least favorite topic).  I always enjoy the performance tests, because it reminds me of my past internships.  The big question in my mind is the MBE--I can never tell how I did on the multiple choice.

Yesterday, a fire alarm went off at the Santa Clara Convention Center (where I took the bar exam) with a half hour to go in our morning MBE.  It was pretty ridiculous.  First they told us to evacuate, then they told us to stay put.  It only took a few minutes to get the alarm to stop, but the flashing lights continued for an additional ten minutes.  And, the proctors were all buzzing about, trying to figure out what was going on.  It was rather distracting, but thankfully I only had a couple of questions left at that point, so I wasn't upset when then didn't even give us extra time to make up for the disruption.  I was rather amused that the incident made Above the Law.

At any rate, it's over, and now I can relax and wait for the results (mid-November).  Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support.  Your prayers and encouragement have meant a lot to me these past few months.

I'm excited that I'll be taking a small bar trip with my mommy this weekend to Los Angeles.  I scored tickets to Monday's taping of Conan, and I am really looking forward to it!  I have been a fan of Conan for so long...  It will be great to see him in person!  Plus, Harrison Ford is one of Monday's guests.  We're staying at the Millennium Biltmore, which looks like a swanky place.  I wish I had time to visit SoCal friends while I am in town, but I'll be spending all of my time with my mom, so I guess I will simply have to make time for another LA trip soon.

The Olympia Post

Click image to enlarge...

Vintage typewriters are in style again - SF Chronicle

Click, Clack, Ding! Sigh ... - NY Times

Let's get down to business!

We must be swift as the coursing river

With all the force of a great typhoon

With all the strength of a raging fire

Mysterious as the dark side of the moon

Toilet Paper Roll Owl

Because tiny, silly study breaks are the main thing keeping me sane with one week left until the bar exam, I present to you: the toilet paper roll owl!

I am an avid follower of My Owl Barn, which is a blog that posts cute owl things every day.  A couple of weeks ago, they posted an adorable DIY about making owls out of toilet paper rolls.  As the old saying goes: when life hands you empty toilet paper rolls, make owls.

Now, back to memorizing hearsay exceptions.

The August August List

Things I want to do when the bar exam is over, in no particular order:

• See HP7 Part 2
• Throw a party
• Go to the beach
• Catch up on Conan, Jon, and Stephen
• Go for a hike
• Write a ton of letters
• Go wine tasting in Napa
• Write captions for my law school photo album
• Tune up my bicycle
• Catch up on my crossword puzzle desk calendar
• Sew some casual jersey skirts
• Sign up for some volunteer projects
• Play Scrabble
• Try out some new recipes
• Read for pleasure
• See the Steins Collection at SFMOMA

Bar studying is going well enough, but I keep daydreaming about two weeks from now, when I'll be free.  For the first time in my life, I won't need to study.  I am really looking forward to being a human being who doesn't feel guilty about having fun.