The Next Step: A Leap of Faith!

With graduation approaching in May, I've spent a lot of time contemplating which career path to take. After a lot of prayer and deep thought, AJ and I have decided to go forward with a dream I've had for a while--to open up my own law firm as a solo practitioner! I've spent so much of my time working with different attorneys in different areas of law, and toyed with the idea of working for various firms, but I found that I was really unhappy with the the majority of those environments. The two things that did make me happy in these places was learning more about the law, and working with people who need help. I also realized that family is the most important thing in the world to me, and I didn't want to end up in a job where I was expected to put in 50-60+ hours a week and never get to live my life or raise a family. On my own, I'll be able to control my work-load, and come and go as I'd like. Thankfully, I'm in the position right now to build a career which will afford me this luxury in a short amount of time. AND, I have the most supportive husband in the world, who is willing to work hard so that I am able to jump-start this dream of mine. I jokingly told him that while he finishes HIS last year of law school, I would hire him as my law clerk :) Who knows--maybe one day The Stephanie Gregory Law Firm will become Gregory & Gregory!

So maybe you're wondering how in the world this is going to work....well, let me tell you.

A couple of months ago, I met with an attorney who I know from church to talk about my then-plans after graduation. I would work for a local non-profit organization as a supervising attorney while they did some very basic immigration law workshops for community members. It was such a cop-out. It was safe, and I wasn't excited about it at all. This attorney told me that if what I really wanted to do was practice law, then I needed to jump in with both feet. He offered to rent me part of his office, AND, even more valuable than that, mentor me. I brought the idea home to AJ, and without even blinking, he said "absolutely--do it!" (love him!) Every morning since then I've woken up excited and ready to get the show on the road! All that's left to do is graduate and pass the bar exam. I've also sought the help of a couple of immigration attorney's who are willing to help me out when immigration comes through the door--which it already has! If there were ever any doubts about my mentoring attorney, cast them to the side, because he's already spreading the word about my future as an immigration attorney, and I should have a few cases ready to go once i'm sworn in (*crosses fingers*) with some really great clients.

So here's to the coming months! I'm nervous and stressed and anxious, but mostly I'm on top of the world! Here's to my parents for teaching me that, short of being a ballerina (too tall and uncoordinated), I could do anything I wanted to. Here's to my friends for keeping me laughing. Here's to my husband, for giving me the daily courage I need to keep moving forward. And here's to the Lord, for giving me everyone I just mentioned, and always taking care of me. He truly never sets us up to fail.

Stay tuned for more updates!

P.S. Check out my awesome logo -->

One Year Later....

Oh well hey. My BLOG! Looks like i've neglected it a little bit, eh?

So much has changed though--so I'm going to tell all about the biggest change it in a quick, witty sort of fashion, and then I'll consider myself forgiven.

Ironically, around this time last year, I had my first real encounter with a man named AJ Gregory. We had met earlier the year before, but by now he had taken our short, friendly conversations to a new level of analysis and decided to ask me out on an official date over spring break.

(a friendly gathering at lake Weddington during spring break 2011--AJ is in the yellow shirt...with his arm around me.....)

DATE #1: mini golf (I won) and ice cream (a mcflurry to be exact). My thoughts = who woulda thought that I could get the classic BYU first date in the middle of Arkansas? His thoughts = this girl is a babe, i'm gonna take her out again. (remember: MY blog post, MY story-telling liberties)

DATE #2: fly fishing (I caught nothing, he slyly caught my hand....). My thoughts = this guy is slick, making me wade into a freezing cold river where I will necessarily have to cuddle for warmth. His thoughts = I got this in the bag! She's totally diggin' me! Better take her home and introduce her as my GF....

DATE #2.5: later after fly fishing, he drives me to the middle of nowhere (Canehill, AR) to meet his family. My thoughts = .......where are we?.......I don't really even know this guy........why am I not getting cell phone reception??? His thoughts = None. He had that dreamlike look on his face, holding my hand.

(Did I mention his brother, Orin, came with us? Because he did...)

It was there on the hill behind his house in Canehill that AJ explained to me how we would carry out our new long-distance relationship (he was attending AR Tech). I nodded and smiled and wondered how I had gotten myself into a relationship after 2 dates. After dinner and a movie with his family, he took me home. When I woke up the next morning, AJ's "good morning!" text jolted me into reality of the strange situation I had gotten myself into. After a short, advisory phone call with my father (he basically laughed the whole time and gave me NO advice, whatsoever), I called AJ and told him that THIS WAS SIMPLY NOT GOING TO WORK. AJ though, was not to be deterred. Our mutual friend, Travis, divulged my innermost reservations and told him to basically try again later. And try again he DID! The rest of the semester, and all throughout the summer, in fact. Phonecalls, texts, facebook.

The DAY I rolled back into Fayetteville for the new school year, he invited me to the Tonitown grape festival. My thoughts = weeeeellll.....I wanted to go, but I didn't want to pay.......ok, sure. His thoughts = Excellent.

DATE #3: Spaghetti, grape ice cream, craft fair, ferris wheel (Grape ice cream, btw, is DIVINE). My thoughts = this was NOT as bad as I thought it would be. His thoughts = slow and steady....don't wanna chase her off again.

After this, slow and steady was the theme of our relationship. After spending time with each other for a week or so, and being seen together at every social function we attended, AJ thought it would be nice to "date other people" for a little while. Well that's all fine and dandy, BUT, the whole ward thinks we're "basically" together. (i.e. you, SIR, can ask out anyone you want, BUT NOBODY IS GOING TO ASK ME OUT!! THEY THINK I'M TAKEN!!!). This would not do. So I called him up and told him that we needed to go for a walk. On the walk, I fed him my ultimatum--either we would date each other, or I wouldn't be seen with him anymore. He agreed that we should date--I then informed him that he could hold my hand.

Our first kiss was 8 months later (oh wait, no, that's just how it seemed in my mind...) on the front porch of my apartment complex. It was a magical moment which included our nosy neighbor screaming and dropping her coffee mug because WE scared HER. We decided to get married 2 days later (oh wait, no, that's just how it seemed in my mind...). But really--the time frame was about 2 months, and we were both hooked.

I've always had the irrational fear that a man was one day going to throw a sack over my head and drag me off to get married, because I wouldn't go on my own. Now as I look back I see that I was always conscious of what was going on. My roommate Eila reminds me of conversations where I would say "GEEZ! I can't get rid of this guy!" When in fact I knew very well how to get rid of him, I just didn't want to. Amos Gregory is without a doubt the most wonderful man I've ever met. Not only will he help me reach my full potential in this life and the next, but he'll help me have fun reaching it! Not only does he treat me like royalty, he knows that in the eternal scheme, I am. He works hard, loves completely, and kisses like you'd imagine any male protagonist in a Nicholas Sparks novel would (but seriously, he does)!

The coming years are going to be an adventure, to say the least. But we're committed to God's plan, and to each other, and WE'RE EXCITED! The sky is the limit, and we plan on using the extent of it.

(This is an accurate explanation of our relationship)

So that was longer than I anticipated, but now you know--this gal is getting married! June 8th, in the Salt Lake City Temple. I guess that this will also be my official announcement of my new blog co-author. He might write if he feels like it, but maybe only to defend his position on certain points of view :)

So You Want to Backpack Across Europe....

I just finished watching "Stone of Destiny" -- a British film about a nationalist plot to take back the Scottish Stone of Destiny from England and return it to it's rightful home in Scotland as a symbol of independence from the crown. The whole time my mind was racing because i'd actually been to all the places they were depicting in the movie, and I was lovin' it! Afterwards, I planned my next backpacking trip to Europe which will hopefully take place after graduation.....or maybe after I get a job.....after graduation......

ANYWAYS

I thought it would be nice to blog about how EASY and AFFORDABLE it is to backpack across Europe--and therefore TOTALLY DO-ABLE. That's right folks--it's not just some unattainable dream. You can do it. Hopefully this will help get you started!

(And as a side note--when I say "backpacking" I mean flying between countries, but not having any luggage other than a small backpack such as this ------------>  I'll explain the necessity for it's smallish size later...)

For starters, you have to remember that this is a backpacking trip. If you don't like the idea of walking almost everywhere with only a back pack on your shoulders carrying everything you'll need for a couple weeks, turn back now. That means your clothing, toiletries, ONE extra pair of shoes, etc.

So, to being. The most expensive part of the trip is the plane ticket to Europe. You're looking at around $1,200 (tops) if you fly into a big airport in western Europe, such as London, Dublin, or Madrid. And hey, those are all great places to start your adventure! 

Once you're in Europe, flying gets significantly cheaper. Here's one of the best tips that I can offer in this blog. It's called ryanair.com and it's going to be your best friend. (right click, open in new tab/window). This company flies all over Europe for SUPER CHEAP. We're talking London to Rome for like $25. In the top right hand corner of the site, there's a link that displays all the destinations they fly to--route map. Four things to keep in mind when using this site.

1. Backpack size: one of the reasons for the small backpack is because ryanair wont charge you for luggage if all you have is a small carry-on. And you don't want to push it either. I almost didn't catch my plane out of Ireland because they said my backpack was too big. Keep it in mind.
2. Ryanair only from certain places, to certain places: thus the reason/importance of the route map. For example, there aren't flights within Switzerland. Take a train.
3. Currency conversion: Ryanair is dealing with you in either pounds or euros--make sure you factor that into the equation when you're adding your dollars up.
4. Remember you're American: i.e. you'll have to pay an extra $10 for each flight because you're not a member of the E.U. I know, right?....

So, what you want to do is buy one-way tickets from country to country in a line. For example--from London to Palermo, from Palermo to Pisa, from Pisa to Frankfurt, and so on.

Also, ryanair flies into smaller airports, so you'll have to factor in the transportation charge from the airport to your hostel/hotel/villa/etc. The airport pretty much always has a bus or train for this exact purpose, and they charge about $25 round trip. As soon as you get off the plane, you'll see ads for this service, so don't worry about planning ahead on that one, or having to speak the language :)

OK! You've reached a whole new country! Now what? Well hopefully you've already booked your lodgings (seriously though--throwing caution to the wind on this one is a bad idea. You'll never find a place on short notice if you want to be frugal).

2 options here:

1. Right hand corner of ryanair.com --> says "Villas and Apartments". You can find pretty good deals on villas and apartments (duh) here if you're looking to spend a little more money--and they charge one big fee, so if you're traveling with a bunch of other people, you can divide up that fee.
2. Hostel World and Student Universe are great places to find hostels (and you don't have to be a student, fyi). Now before you freak out about hostels, keep in mind that young, drunk, hooligans are not the only ones having adventures. Families stay at a lot of these places too. All you have to do is research. Let's say you find a place that's a good price for you; google the name of the establishment and read every review on it to find out if you'd want to stay there. I personally stayed in places that were about $20 a night/per person, and thought it was perfect. I felt safe, and wasn't sleeping with bed bugs. They have options for private rooms, all the way up to mixed dormitories of 20+ people. You have options.

**Something important to keep in mind when you're trying to figure out where to stay, is what you plan on doing in this city. If you're going to Rome to see the sites, make sure you stay in the city, otherwise you're going to have to pay for transportation. If you're going to Scotland to see the landscape, well that's another story. Just make sure you look at location...**

Now how do you survive with just a backpack? Very well, actually. I guess this is more for the ladies than the former boy scouts.....

First off, when you're traveling, you have a home-base: your hostel. You can relax and take a nice shower and eat--a lot of places you can even cook in their kitchen! A lot of places also have laundry facilities and internet cafes, reading rooms and televisions. YOU'LL BE FINE. You don't need 5 pairs of shoes (you need exactly 2 well-worn pairs, and maybe some flip-flops) and you just wash your clothes as often as you need in the hostel or at a laundromat. Don't speak the language? Worried you won't be able to find a laundromat? Awesome. ADVENTURE, PEOPLE!!! ADVENTURE!!! But seriously, as long as you're staying at a place that's comfortable for you, you'll be too preoccupied with the fact that you're in a beautiful, new country!

WHEN do you go?? Well that is up to you--but there are pros and cons to every season. For example, I went end of November, beginning of December, and though it was FREEZING in the British Isles, the Colosseum was breathable because there were fewer tourists, and overall, things were cheaper. But man, nothing beats the Malta beach in July (or so I hear...). 

Some nice little tips:

• Take the shampoo and conditioner samples with you if they're offered at the hostel you're at. Those are always helpful so you don't have to buy those things as often.
• For every city you plan on visiting, take a city map. Small, pop-out ones such as THESE are FANTASTIC to say the least.
• Forget the museums--just walk. Unless it's the the Louvre, or some special exhibit, or a personal life dream, DON'T GO TO MUSEUMS JUST BECAUSE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO. Walking without a plan can be the most amazing thing! Just you, your companions, and a map. This is how we accidentally stumbled upon St. Paul's Cathedral in London right on time for the Thanksgiving Day service for the American Community. 
• Bus tours to see the country-side are primo. We stayed in Dublin and realized that the city was just not all it's cracked up to be, so we called up a bus company we saw advertised and booked a trip to the country for the very next day. $20 = one of the best days of my life.
• Avoid touristy areas, especially for dinner.....because right around the corner is a little cafe with the best pizza you've ever had in your life for half the price, and the people around you are speaking ITALIAN.
• Before you go, research festivals in each city! 
• If you can, between your visits to big cities, plan some relaxing stops in not-so-busy places. You're going to be exhausted, and you'll need some time to catch your breath :)

There are so many, many things I could talk about, but you can email me if you're interested in more info. So.....i'll leave you with some of my favorite pics of my adventure with a backpack:

Add caption

St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

FACT: No matter what time of day, year, era you go, the Vatican is going to be extremely crowded. Just be prepared to shuffle around some very small rooms with many foreign (and sometimes smelly) people. Also, don't take pictures of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. Angry Vatican guards will rip off your head. <--

Abbey Road in London--truly a different kind of museum :) it was kind of hard to find, but we met some pretty great people on our way there! -->

<--Cooking at our hostel in London! Free kitchens rock!

Enjoying Cabury chocolate smothered crepes in front of the London eye--yet another impromptu moment of bliss. -->

My friend Hamish, the Scottish highland cow! Discovered on a bus tour pit stop! (he's famous--google him.)

<--

Like I said--pros and cons to traveling in December...while the fog made it impossible to see Stirling Castle, it sure was gorgeous--and FREE.

-->

On a bus tour in the middle-of-nowhere-Ireland, we found this amazing landscape. Where they filmed Braveheart and P.S. I Love You. Something for everyone :)

Part of my fantastic, 3-month adventure in Spain--but THAT is a completely different blog :)

--> http://stephaniesspanishadventure.blogspot.com/

Mountain Woman

So, I've got a new goal for this summer that has to do with my BEAUTIFUL HOME STATE of UTAH!!

For those unfamiliar with the totally awesome stuff UT has to offer--here's a little taste:

Here's what I was thinking:

I've never taken advantage of these fantastic hiking spots! I've been camping, fishing, etc., by my super whiny attitude towards hiking has stopped me from getting the coolest spots around the Beehive state. 

So, I'm working on a sweet workout plan at the gym that involves a steep incline on the treadmill and carrying weights, so that when the sweet, blessed summer rolls around, I'll be able to climb a mountain without passing out!! Can I get a Hoo-RAH!! 

I do have a specific place in mind...

AND HERE IT IS!!!

:

Red Castle in the High Uintas!

Now this is going to take a significant amount of endurance (for me at lease--since hiking the Y makes me want to cry....) and this is a journey of a few days. Hopefully I can convince my dad and brother to take me, and we'll have a jolly good time :)

How to Socialize in a Socially Awkward Zone

So this Friday there's a YSA Winter Formal at the stake center in Springdale, AR--for those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about--I'll explain.

YSA stands for Young Single Adult. What makes you a "young, single adult"? Well in Mormon lingo, it means you're between the ages of 18 and 30, you aren't married, and you have no qualms about sticking to your gender's side of the basketball court drinking root beer.

"Winter Formal" means fancy dance.

"Stake Center" means church building.

Springdale, AR means that i'm about to experience something "other-worldly"...

Now don't get me wrong--i'm excited! Getting dressed up is DELIGHTFUL! BUT, am I really prepared for the amazingly awkward things that happen at church dances? I mean there are some strange folk at these gatherings....

Who to look out for:
You've got the crazies who dance non-stop until they're drenched in sweat, then say "Hey--wanna dance?!" *big goofy grin* and all you can think is argh....I don't reeeeeally want to touch you..... Then, you've got the creepers who latch onto ONE girl and stare...and hover.....they ask her to dance, but they don't talk to her while swaying in a circle....and then they continues to hover and ask for dances to slow songs in for the rest of the night. You've got the hot shots who don't dance at all, and you wonder why they even come; they're only matched by the wall flowers who simply don't dance because they're petrified--Girls man, GIRLS!!

Theres....
The guy you shouldn't give your number to.

The guy who's got a girlfriend--but it's complicated, and she's in a different state.

The guy who's actually 35.

The guy who's actually 17.

The guy that insists on wearing his cowboy hat the whole time (and we're 87% sure he's never ridden a horse).

The guy with the seersucker suit.

This is how they're pointed out to me--even before the dance has begun. Watch out for this, watch out for that. Now tell me people--what am I getting myself into??? Is this really my only option for dance craze outlet? You can only have a dance party in your apartment so many times before you're bored. I guess that's why we go though......because there's never a dull moment at a YSA dance.

But hey, it's gonna be great. Why? Because fun is created by those courageous enough to seek after it, and by golly--if I don't have fun, then I've failed at life. So bring on the seersucker--this girl wants to dance!!

A Fantastic, Delightful, Wonderful New Idea

The snow days have slowly been killing me. Granted, I've had fun with friends and playing in the snow, but you can only do so much when there's 3 inches of ice on the ground, and nobody want's to venture out to do much of anything. So today after church (now a balmy 60 degrees), I decided I needed some Stephanie Time.

(Stephanie Time: Me thinking, preferably outdoors, without any disruptions--i.e. nobody is invited).

I decided it would be an adventure.

I walked away from my apartment complex up into a hilly area that i'd only ever seen from a distance. Surely "The Natural State" would have a lot to offer, right? To make a long story short, I walked onto what seemed like a snow covered field, only to find that it was a slightly frozen-over marsh. I could give details about the surprise on my face, the mud that soaked into my shoes, the funny looks I got from people walking their dogs and my shoes gushed and squelched as I walked back, but I wont. Long story short, remember?

I got home and sat on my couch, contemplated my life, and decided it was time to re-evaluate it (my life I mean...).

One thought led to another, and another, and NOW, I have a new goal:



I WANT TO LIVE IN A TREEHOUSE!


Fantastic, eh?
(don't worry about my train of thought so much as the end result)

I mean, people do this for reals--here are some pics! -->








Yes. Awesome. I must have this. I can't handle being so far away from a good spot for Stephanie Time, but if I lived in a treehouse, I could like, LIVE IN STEPHANIE TIME!!

What a satisfying idea.

The Snow Day to (Hopefully) End all Snow Days...

Wow! This is like snow day #7!

So yesterday we got like 2 feet of snow--which apparently is quite the record for Arkansas! 

...obviously school was cancelled....again.........which is totally cool.......except I'm NOT looking forward to having to make up all of these classes! (shout out to the professors that don't follow U of A policy and think their class is the most important thing in the world).

Ok, so yesterday was pretty awesome--make-shift snow clothes, a tarp, and a snow-covered hill made for quite the adventure. Being from Utah, I'm a pretty classy sledder: slick snowsuits, wool hats, boots, and Heaven forbid--REAL SLEDS! Hahaha! But all the same, it was one of the greatest days ever! I didn't even touch my homework! I've got some pretty fantastic friends here, so they really made it for me :)

Also, this is what I look like when I've fallen in snow and my roommate's dog tries to save me:

This is my roomie when she fell in the snow...

Afterwards, the boys made us dinner from the random crap they found in our chicken (which apparently could be turned into chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, and beans!?) MmmMMmMmm...De-LISH.

What's up for today? That would be a whole lot of homework (since it looks like the snow is melting--i.e. I might have class tomorrow), some laundry (almost out of clean underwear...TMI?), and if institute gets cancelled, party at our apartment with the ward peeps! Eila and Adam wanted to try Swedish Pancakes for dinner, so that should be interesting :)