Rankings

Check it out: BYU's Law School moved up five places in the law school rankings. They are now #41, tied with George Mason. Not bad...

Here's the article

And here are the rankings

It's also interesting to note that the U of U is now in the top 50, ranking at #45 and tied with American University, Tulane, and University of Colorado - Boulder.

Happy Earth Day!

This morning at work I got this email:

In honor of Earth Day today we're making the office a bit more environmentally friendly!

Property Solutions already makes a positive impact on the environment. Our products help our clients and their residents to reduce waste and save gas. We're going to take it to the next step, though, and reduce the impact that our office has on the environment.

First, we're asking everyone to turn off their computer when leaving at night.

Computers use a surprising amount of energy while sitting, even in power save modes. Several companies and universities calculate that they can save around $100 to 150 a year in electricity for every computer that gets turned off at night. The old belief that a computer takes more energy to start up in the morning than to let it run all night is just not true anymore.

Second, we're buying water bottles for everyone.

I've ordered these BPA safe water bottles for everyone. When they come in we'll stop buying the plastic cups that we've been using. That will save around four thousand cups a year from going in a landfill. Plus, these are cool bottles with an absolutely beautiful logo on them.

Third, we're starting a recycling program.

Over half the garbage that we throw away in our office can be recycled. Adjusting to a recycling program will take a little bit of effort, but not much. Our recycling dumpster will arrive today. Tomorrow, Thursday, our recycling program will begin. I've attached a flier that shows everything that can be and shouldn't be recycled. Do not use recycle bins for food, plastic bags, anything that has food on it, plastic bottles that have liquid in them or haven't been rinsed, gum, used tissues, or styrofoam. The garbage bin under your desk will be for recycled materials only. This will allow us to eliminate the use of plastic liners, reducing waste and saving the company money. Please only put recyclables in these containers. Other garbage cans will be placed around the office for items that cannot be recycled. These garbage cans are larger and have plastic liners in them. In the main office these garbage cans are located by both printers, by the fridge, behind Kimberly's desk, and in both bathrooms. On the new side the garbages are located by the fridge, by the water cooler, and in the bathroom.

Happy Earth Day!

What is your work/family doing to be a bit more environmentally friendly? I think we'll start recycling as well. I'm also thinking about buying some of those bags to carry my groceries in. Seems like a good place to start, at least.

Anyone doing anything fun for Earth Day? Jonathan and I might go see EARTH...

Lala

My friend at work shared this with me today. If you're like me and you like to listen to music all day, this might be the way to go. I already love the fact that I can preview an entire album online, as soon as it comes out. And you can purchase any song for 10 cents and listen to it anywhere you have internet, which is perfect for work. Check it out. And if you sign up from Steve's link, he gets 5 songs for free. Please do - he deserves it for introducing this to me. :)

Lala Review - A fresh take on the online music model

Posted using ShareThis

Some Place New

On Saturday night, Jonathan and I and some of my friends from work went to the Allred concert/release party for his new album, Some Place New. Allred is a local band that I've taken a liking to. You can listen to some of his stuff here. If you like it, let me know. I'd be happy to burn you a cd with some of my favorites from him. :) It was fun to hang out with Lindsay and her husband Ryan, and Rebecca and her date Kenny. Good times! Can't wait to play the "spitting image" game with you guys again...haha.

Oh, and this is a video that I took. Hopefully you can hear it. This is one of my favorite covers that he does of a Blink 182 song. I was happy to hear them play it live!

In other news...

We would like to welcome our new niece to the family! Curt and Amy's daughter, Rayany Teresa Clapier, was born on April 17! Jonathan and I got to go visit them in the hospital on Saturday. She sure is adorable!

The happy new aunt!

And the proud new uncle!

And these are the beautiful flowers that Jonathan gave me with a note telling me how proud of me he is for getting into BYU law school. They really were the prettiest flowers I've ever received. I had to brag. :)

And last, but most definitely not least... Happy 25th Anniversary to my parents! I'm sure glad you found each other. :) Thank you for your amazing example for Jonathan and I. We love you!!!

Do Re Mi

Man, I sure wish this would happen to me someday! Everytime I go to an airport now I'm going to be hoping to see this!

It Happened One Night...

Friday night Jonathan and I decided that instead of our usual Friday night routine (eat dinner, mill around about what we're going to do, go visit Ang & Guta, and end up watching a movie) we were going to go to the Orem Recreation Center and shoot some baskets. Sounds harmless enough, right? Oh, so wrong...

So Jonathan and I shoot around for a while, and then we play one on one and he wastes me (I blame the no traction on my shoes and the fact that I am slower than him and he is tall and...okay, fine. I used to be good at one point. Unfortunately, my skills are rusty, except for shooting and passing, which is useless in one on one). Anyways...after we finished he went to go get a drink and I just kept shooting baskets. I see Jonathan come back into the gym and sit down next to this guy and start talking. I'm fine on my own, until I see this man making his way towards me. The conversation went something like this...

Creepster: "Want to play a game of horse?" 

Me: "Oh, um, no. I really can't. I'm leaving soon."

Creepster: "Yeah, you'd probably waste me anyway."

Brain: *This is true...*

Creepster picks up my ball and starts shooting with it. Um...okay. So I let him, and we start shooting around. Keep in mind, this is open gym. A full-court game is going on the court next to us, and a bunch of kids are at the other hoop. I'm all alone at mine. Easy target, I know. Let me also explain...Creepster is a rather large man. Probably in his 30s. Glasses. Balding. And his arm is deformed. Deformed! So I'm trying to be nice to this guy. He's probably just lonely and wants a friend. Continuing on...Creepster starts making small talk.

Creepster: "So where are you from?"

Me : "Oh, I'm originally from Boise."

Creepster: "Oh cool. I have a friend in Pocatello. Beautiful country up there.  I just drove through Boise on my way to Jackson Hole."

Brain: *Really? Kind of out of your way...this guy has no idea where Boise is...* 

Me: "Pocatello is pretty far from Boise."

Shooting some more...

Creepster: "Are you a softball or a volleyball player?"

Me: "Oh, um volleyball."

Creepster: "I thought so. I'm a personal trainer and I know your build."

Brain: *No way in heck are you a personal trainer. I'm not that dumb.*

Creepster: (walks over to me) "What kind of earrings are those? 1/2 carat?" (touches my ear)

Brain: *Holy crap! Don't touch me!* 

Me: (walking backwards) "I don't really know."

Shooting still...

Creepster: "So what are you doing here in Utah? Modeling?"

Me: "No, just going to school."

Creepster: "You should get an agent. You'd be an awesome model."

Brain: *Jessica! He's hitting on you! Can you believe it? Who does this guy think he is? Get Jonathan over here...(arm makes motioning movements to Jonathan which he either ignores or doesn't see)*

Creepster: "What kind of food do you like?"

Brain: *Tell him you don't like food!*

Me: "Eh...Italian I guess."

Brain: *Idiot...*

Creepster: "Oh, I'm like a culinary genius. And my specialty is Italian. I once got in to the 2nd best culinary arts school in the world. But I turned them down, because 'why would I want to cook for anyone else or have anyone else tell me how to cook?' I could probably teach that class better than they could."

Brain: *Yeah, I bet you could...*

Creepster: "Look, I'm only going to be here for another week, and then I'll be gone for 4 months. Before I leave, I have to take you out."

Brain: *Perfect opportunity to tell him the most obvious answer...I'M MARRIED!!!*

Me: "No, I'm sorry, that's not going to happen. My boyfriend wouldn't like that very much." 

Brain: *WHAT?!? Your BOYFRIEND! Are you stupid!?!*

Me: "Yes."

Creepster: "What?" 

Me: "Oh, nothing."

Creepster: "What if I make you a deal. If I can shoot a free throw with my eyes closed and make it, will you go out with me?"

Brain: *Maybe when he** freezes over. And even then, no.*

Me: "Nope, even then. I still won't. I'm sorry."

Creepster: "Even then? Man, you must really like this guy."

Brain: *Yeah, so much that you MARRIED him.*

Me: "Yeah, I really do."

Creepster: "Okay then." (shakes my hand) "It was nice to meet you. And those were all genuine compliments."

Brain: *Yeah, cause you wanted to flatter me so I would go out with you. Too bad you never had even a sliver of a chance.*

Me: "You too. Bye."

So I watch him walk out of the gym. I grab my stuff, run over to Jonathan, and tell him what just happened.

Me: "In-credible. I can't believe you just let that happen. That guy was freakin' hitting on me the whole time!!!"

Jonathan: (Laughs. In my face.) "What? Why didn't you tell him you were married?"

Brain: *Yeah, stupid. (Mumbles something incoherent...)*

Me: "I don't know?!? My brain freezes when that happens! 

Brain: *Whatever!*

Me: "I did tell him I had a boyfriend though..."

Jonathan: "Thanks...wait, what? Are you retarded?"

Me: "I don't know, I was trying to be nice! I know, I'm stupid."

Jonathan: "Jessica, you don't have to be nice to people like that."

Brain: *REVELATION! What? I don't? Wish we knew that 5 minutes ago...*

Me: "Thank you. I'll remember that for the next time some big balding deformed nearsighted creepster hits on me."

Jonathan: (Laughs. Again.)

MORAL OF THE STORY: If Jessica is ever being hit on, Jonathan should just come over and save her, as she can obviously not come up with the most obvious answer that she's MARRIED! 

The End.

PS - If you want to see what he looked like, go HERE.

The Man From Snowy River

Some of you know of my recent aquired love for The Man From Snowy River. I watched the movie (and the sequel) and fell in love with the characters. Today my friend at work showed me the clip below, which takes the poem by Banjo Patterson and puts it together with scenes from the film. There's something about poetry - the fluidity of the words and the precise descriptors - that make a scene like this come to life even without the picture behind it. I thought the poem was worth sharing. The man that reads it does a great job as well. Here's the historical context of the poem from Wikipedia:

"The poem was written at a time in the 1880s and 1890s when Australia was developing a distinct identity as a nation. Though Australia was still a set of independent colonies under the final authority of Britain, and had not yet trod the path of nationhood, there was a distinct feeling that Australians needed to be united and become as one. Poems like "The Man from Snowy River" suggested to the many Australians at the time who read The Bulletin magazine of Sydney, that they shared a unique land and that the characters and heroes who inhabited this land had so much in common. Australians from all walks of life, be they from the country or the city, looked to the bush for their mythology and heroic characters. They saw in the Man from Snowy River a hero whose bravery, adaptability and risk-taking could epitomise a new nation in the south. This new nation emerged as the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901."

If you have a minute or so, I recommend watching or even listening to it. And then watching the movie if you haven't seen it. :)

April showers will come so they say, but they don't...

And it's May. Well, not quite. But close enough. (If you can tell me what that quote is from, you get super cool awesome bonus points) Welcome to April in Utah County...

Hallelujah

Yes, I've been blogging a lot lately. So shoot me. On second thought, don't. Anyways...
Our friend Skyler posted this video on YouTube of our other friend (his brother) Brighton singing Hallelujah. Um, it's really good. Like really really good. So good that I just had to share. I hope you like it too. :)

A-Mazing

I wish I could watch Britain's Got Talent here in the U.S. Maybe I can already, I don't know. But here's a reason why:

Watch This!

Joyeux Anniversaire Maman!

Happy Birthday to the best mother a girl could ask for!

Thanks for being one of my best friends! I hope your day was wonderful! I love you!!!! 

Newest Additions

Meet the newest additions to our home!

This rug with a T for Tyler

The lovely iron detail that makes our hallway a little more interesting...

And these beautiful candle holders make our dining area look so nice!

Thanks to Kirkland's for (unfortunately) closing their store in the mall and offering these things at a great discount! I will be sad to see their store go though... not sure where I'll go to get things for my house now!

And the biggest recent addition to our home....drumroll please...

Yes!!! A piano!!! In our apartment!!! That I can play!!! Anytime I want!!!

I am so excited about this. My in-laws are trying to sell their house and needed a temporary home for their piano. I have been absolutely loving it. Ask Jonathan - I play all the time. I have to make use of it while I can! :) I'll even take requests if you come visit...

In other news, Easter was nice. Jonathan and I took our friends Josh and Lettie to church with us. I think they were a little worried that it was going to be three hours...but they said they enjoyed it! The speakers and music were good, and everyone was very friendly. Sunday School was about the Law of Consecration. They both thought it was a great idea and wished the government would do it that way...haha. Lettie even answered some of the questions that the teacher asked! Josh went to Young Men's with Jonathan and Lettie came to Young Women's with me. Funnily enough, the lesson n Young Men's was about missionary work! So they discussed how to get people interested in the Gospel. Pretty much everything they talked about was what Jonathan had done for Josh to get him interested (be friendly at school, take them to a temple open house, invite them to church...), but I don't think they scared off Josh too much. ;0 The lesson in Young Women's was about sustaining our Priesthood leaders, so I got to explain to Lettie all about the rolls of Prophets and Apostles, as well as Stake Presidents, Bishops, Fathers, and young men in the Gospel. I thought it was a pretty good lesson for a potential investigator. After church, they came over for a nice big Easter feast complete with ham, potatoes, rolls, asparagus, pink salad, grape juice and 7-up, and parfaits. We didn't actually end up eating the paraits after dinner because we were so full. But Jonathan and I did enjoy them later! I had to take pictures because I thought they were so pretty...

This was the first layer...

And the final product. Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the rest of the layers. Basically it was pound cake, strawberries, jello, cheesecake filling, bananas, and whip cream. Delicious! 

Easter Dresses!

I just have to brag about the new dresses that I bought! Mika Rose is a modest clothing company with some adorable dresses that I've been eyeing for a long time...well I was in Costco yesterday and they were selling them! At about 1/2 the price! So I bought two of them. :)
Here they are:

Alice Style

Cynthia Style

And we finally signed up on our own for internet instead of sharing it with our neighbors, so hopefully that means I'll be blogging a lot more! For mutual tonight we had a combined activity with the Young Men and dyed easter eggs. It was a lot of fun! And then Jonathan and I and two of the young men leaders and two of the young men played a couple short games of basketball. My team won both times. ;) Oh, and I won our work NCAA tournament bracket today. It was amazing. Beat out all the guys. In your face! Haha.

Well I should get to bed. I've got to read some more of Pride & Prejudice to Jonathan. It's been our nightly routine. And he actually seems to be enjoying it! I hear little laughs from him now and then while I read. Now if I could only get him to watch Twilight with me...haha. Goodnight!

Sad Little Head

Okay, I just have to share what has become my favorite movie of late: Madagascar 2!!! I have been telling everyone I know to watch it if they haven't seen it. It is Hi-larious. For reals. I love it. Jonathan loves it. We love quoting it. We've watched it like 4 times at least. And it still isn't old. We've watched this clip on you tube like 5 times. So I have to share. And you have to watch it. You won't regret it. :)

CLICK HERE!

My New Home

My new home, beginning August 2009, will be here - the J. Reuben Clark Law Building. That's right. I was just accepted as a student at the BYU law school! Here's the story for those of you who didn't know:

Last Thursday I received an email from the admissions director at BYU Law asking if I could come in and meet with one of the Assistant Deans this week about my application. The appointment was set for 8:30 am yesterday, Tuesday. I went into his office, he asked me about where I grew up, where I live now, what I did my undergrad in. He is friends with one of my favorite professors in the French Department at BYU, so we talked about that. Then he asked me about what I thought made BYU different from other law schools, and he asked a couple of other questions about my application. And then he said, "Well, every here loved you. We'd like to offer you a place in our class this fall." (This is the conversation that went through my head: 'Um, wait, really? April Fools is tomorrow, you know...') But my mouth said "Yes! I would love to accept." I was probably only in his office for 5 minutes. Just like that, I got in. Hooray! No commuting to the U and tuition is only $9,000/year! Oh, and the fact that BYU is a pretty darn good law school. Hopefully I can keep up! I think if I just take it one day at a time and don't stress myself out by looking ahead too far, I'll be fine. So, three years from now, if any of you need a lawyer, you know where to find me! :)

**Image from sonarbison on Flickr