Christmas Remix

Happy Wednesday, fram!  (My final Wednesday at the Cleveland County Courthouse, no less.)  Judge Brockman treated Doris and I to lunch today - a Christmas farewell lunch for me, as he put it!  We had a good talk, and I got a picture with them on our walk back! ❤

They made me choose, so I went with Neighborhood Jam - no regrets! lol  This = gingerbread with caramel and cranberry topping, lemon poppyseed blueberry, and chocolate chip pancakes - all good, and the leftovers will be good later too! =)

Mom and I came here and carted home most of my stuff from the courthouse on Sunday... it feels strange being in my office with it this bare!  

But my home office space is shaping up nicely and feeling very cute and cozy!  This remix has made my whole house feel freshly alive and vibrant to me, and I'm feeling really good about the new job starting after Christmas!  ❤

I'm never likely to turn down a remote job, but I want to be very clear that I've loved my time in Cleveland County and been treated very well here!  Judge Brockman has given me his own gated parking space, worked with my school schedule, supported my adoption and counseling goals, and been great about taking care of the record (slowing fast attorneys down, having people spell their names, etc.)

I appreciate him and genuinely like all the judges in this county!  This is their 2025 Christmas party pic... left to right, it's Special Judge Scott F. Brockman (my current judge, in his "Walking in a Winter Thunder-land" sweater), District Judge Michael Tupper (a fellow runner with so many medals from various races, so we've talked about that a lot), District Judge Thad Balkman (only covered for him a couple times), Special Judge Nathaniel Hales (don't love the setup of his basement courtroom, but he's always kind), Special Judge Kim Conyers (the juvenile judge at the Couch Center - love her), Special Judge Bridget Childers (family law), Associate District Judge Bethany Stanley (love covering her adoption docket), District Judge Lynne McGuire (treats all the court reporters really well), Special Judge Cory Ortega (also does prelims), McClain County Special Judge Lori Puckett (used to be Cleveland County, so I've covered for her in both places), McClain County District Judge Leah Edwards (who I worked with when she was an ADA in Grady County back in 2005/2006), and District Judge Jeff Virgin (who approved Marla and I's busy internship schedules in 2023) - YAY, District 21 Judges!!

Last night was Evergreen Academy's Christmas program... I'm excited to attend some of those in the future... here's Tate Haywood, Parker Elizabeth, Hope Renee, and Miles Matthew all dressed up! ❤

Best. ❤

Fun fact:  Today marks my golden friendiversary with Chettles and Sarah Elizabeth! (17 years on 12-17)

I can't tell you how much this new ad calling the Great World Race "The Global 777 Challenge" makes me wanna do it! lol  So epic.

The original Muecke fam, 20 years apart (Christmas 2005 and 12-15-2025 at Jace's basketball game).

I'm so happy to be on a school break, and I've been very productive with finalizing everything at work lately.  I am 1/6th of the way done with the PhD program... yay!? lol  But after next semester, I'll be over 1/4th, and those final semesters of working on my own to write my dissertation actually sound infinitely better to me than more group projects!

I got an email today from Blossom with my official "Before photo" that Lori took the morning of my surgery.  They are closing that clinic soon, so they're sending a final email to all their patients, and this is the first time I've seen this particular photo.  (Something helpful to remember whilst every attorney in town is dropping off fudge, chocolate boxes, bundtinis, toffee, etc. for us for Christmas. lol)  I am grateful to be down 70 pounds from where I was in the before pic (taken at the end of my very effective pre-op diet), and I hope and plan to be down 100 by the two-year surgery anniversary next June! ❤

I was trying not to interrupt the 12 Days of Christmas posts so the titles would be together on the sidebar, but I really cannot be expected to avoid blogging for 12 whole days. lol

Excited for walking and dinner with Kristin Michelle tonight - it feels like it's been ages since we've gotten to talk!  That's all for now... more recaps tomorrow! =)

❤ ❤ ❤