Introduction

You may or may not have noticed that I've been playing around with the format of this site a little bit lately. After numerous failed attempts, I finally figured out how to put the sidebar on the left, and I changed my picture so that it was about 15 years more recent (although it is still outdated by about 5 years). Then I decided to update my profile page so that it actually, I don't know, said something about me. But, apparently, there is a 1200 character limit to Blogger profiles, so I'm giving it a post of its own. Then, if I figure out how, I will actually put a link to this page on the sidebar so that newcomers can read it. But of course, now that I've said that, I won't be able to figure out how.

A brief history of me:

I was born in Canada. I grew up in Ottawa, which is one of the greatest cities in the world to live in. Then I went to college in The Middle of Nowhere, Western New York, and met a lovely boy that I decided to marry.

I went to law school in Toronto, received my J.D., then my dad died later that same month. My husband and I moved to Ottawa to be closer to my family, and I spent my articling year (sortof an internship, for non-Canadians) working at a small criminal defense firm in Ottawa. There were aspects of the practice of law that I loved, but I didn't love the lifestyle. I want to be able to have a family and really be able to spend time with them. I want to have time to eat meals and sleep.

So, we moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to Jeremy's family, who are numerous and all concentrated within five minutes of one another in a suburb of Philadelphia. We're living with my in-laws right now and getting along swimmingly. You know, I don't think I've ever used that particular adverb before. I must be thinking of summer.

My husband found a job that he loves working with computers, and I found a job that I love working with coffee. Some days I wonder what all those diplomas on my wall are for, but in the end, I'd rather be happy than feel like I have a debt to pay to some pieces of paper.

My Family:

I grew up in a stable, Christian home, and I realize how blessed I am to have had that. My father died in 2004 of a massive stroke, but my mother still lives in the same house they lived in when I was born. My brother and his wife live in Ottawa, and my sister and her husband live in Vermont. None of us have made my mother a grandmother yet.

I've been married for almost five years (June 9, 2001), and I love my husband, Jeremy, very much. Parenthood is definitely a hope of ours, but timing and health insurance and several other factors need to coincide before that can happen. Please don't ask me if I'm pregnant; I refuse to answer that question. If I'm pregnant and I want you to know, I will tell you.

My Faith:

I am a Christian. I know that word carries a lot of baggage for different people, and it will probably mislead you if you try to use it to categorize me. But I insist on using the word "Christian" because it's what I am. I believe in grace as an incredible, necessary, and un-earnable gift, and that no one can save themselves. Out of gratitude for grace, I choose to live my life, as best I can, according to the moral code that I associate with the life of Christ and the Bible. I don't believe in forcing my faith on others, and I don't believe in legislating morality. If you ask me about my faith, I am usually glad to talk about it, and you will find the occasional rambling in this blog as I struggle with specific applications or interpretations of my faith. But in general, I don't think of this as a "Christian" blog, any more than I think of it as a "Women's Issues" blog or a "Law" blog or a "Barista" blog or a "Crochet" blog. My Christianity is a part of me, but it's not the only part of me. It's more like my breathing - it's a constant part of my life, but I only talk about it when it's acting up.