My running has been sporadic over the past few months. I was blaming that on my fooorever long commute, but since moving to KC three weeks ago, I still wasn’t feeling it. For some reason, Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” as my alarm doesn’t help me vault out of bed. And if I don’t work out in the morning, it’s probably not happening. I am SO a morning person. Last week, I changed my alarm. Nickelback. Just about anything from their Dark Horse CD makes me jump out of bed. Problem solved, and I am back on the wagon. It’s a good thing too – I unpacked my scale this week. Of course, given that I’m taller than I thought, that number isn’t really as bad as it could be – I’m only six pounds off from the range that I give myself. Give me a month and I’ll be back on track. For now, I’m just extra bootylicious. That’s hardly a bad thing.

This morning I talked my roommate into going with me. Let’s call her Juarez – that’s where her family’s from, but it’s not her real name. (Roommates are almost family, but they get some level of protection. Come on, that’s only fair, right? Reece wishes he was my roommate.) We’ve actually got another roommate who will be joining us in a few short weeks and we can’t wait! Maybe we’ll rope her into early mornings too. It’s always more fun to run with someone else. Even when you’re not running “together.” (That wasn’t a problem today. Juarez is shorter than SixFour.)

Take a look at how beautiful it is out there in those early morning hours. Care to join us?

Now that we’re finished with that, let me get back to the point of things. Every girl needs a girlfriend. I don’t care who you are, or what your relationship status is. (Though, thanks to facebook, I’m bound to figure that out.) You need one. Who else is going to tell you when those jeans really are NOT the best for your figure? Because if you don’t know, you’re never going to move on to the pair that makes you look fabulous. Girlfriends are where it’s at.

I had a couple girlfriends over for dinner this Sunday – LilSis and H20Lover. It was SO. Much. Fun! LilSis looks really similar to my actual sister Alisha, aka Absolutely. Gorgeous. Plus she’s younger than me. Hence the nickname LilSis. (Yes, I’m brilliant.) H20Lover is a HUGE fan of humidity. I think that’s kind of a crazy love, but since we all live in Missouri, I’d imagine it’s a better route than hating it. I mostly hate it. I am working on my attitude. Maybe if I spend enough time with H2oLover I’ll eventually espouse the virtues of humidity. (Yeah, I’m not really buying that either.) After spending an evening with them, I came up with a few reasons why girlfriends totally rock. Here you have it – add to it if you wish.

Ten Reasons Girlfriends Totally Rock

1. If you want to try out that new recipe, you can. If it fails, there’s always microwave popcorn. For the record, the new made-up recipe was a success. But the microwave popcorn was ready, just in case!
2. If you cook, they do the dishes. I wasn’t even expecting this one. Total BONUS.
3. You can spend all night talking about EVERYTHING.
4. And looking at pictures of cute men on facebook.
5. When you walk them out and their tire’s flat, you can all laugh about it.
6. And eat another chocolate molten cake.
7. And call someone – because face it, changing a tire isn’t fun. Especially when you can’t even figure out how to get the spare off. (Cut us some slack – it was a pickup truck. Not anything like my little Nissan Altima.)
8. When you get mosquito bites from being outside, someone’s got anti-itch cream in their purse.
9. And they’ll help you get the bites on your back where you got bitten THROUGH your shirt. Stupid mosquitos.
10. Best of all, they love you. And you love them back.

I imagine most people go to Fogo de Chao for the fantastic meats. Or the great service. Or the Brazilian lemonade. I love all of those. But what I really go for are. The. Cheese. Balls. I can eat a trillion. I must have been a little off my game last night, since I only inhaled enjoyed eight. Of course, I was determined NOT to keep track. (It’s much easier to enjoy them when you don’t know how many you’re enjoying. It makes the whole calorie thing seem irrelevant.) SixFour couldn’t help himself. The minute I said not to, you can bet the econ major in him came out. I’m telling myself it was because he was trying to figure out where I put them. Whatever it was, he couldn’t help himself. Such a guy, right? Tell them not to do something and you might as well give them an invite to do it.

At any rate, my debt’s paid off. Which means I can feel free to turn into a cheese ball whenever I want, no guilt attached. That’s WAY better than a pumpkin.

There IS a cool story behind my love of calla lilies. (It doesn’t involve dead ones, don’t worry!) When I was around 14, my church group had an activity for moms and daughters. The moms were asked to identify a flower that reminded them of their daughters and talk a little bit about it. My mom went above and beyond. (If you know my mom, that is no surprise.) My mom chose a calla lily for me – and she brought a beautiful silk calla lily with her, along with a whole letter about why calla lilies reminded her of me. (No, you can’t read it. Mostly because I can’t find it right now. I think it’s in an old journal somewhere.)

Anyway, back to lilacs. Of all the flowers that grow in Missouri, lilacs are my favorite. They come in the most beautiful colors, can grow as bushes or trees (and are equally gorgeous either way!), smell absolutely divine… AND I just discovered a whole bunch of them blooming in my postcard. (Notice the transition… I’m totally claiming Loose Park as “mine” now.) What a great life.

Running today made me want to create my OWN postcard property. Not this week of course. But I think one of these days (when I get that space of mine that I’m still pining for), I’m going to put together a really great running trail so that I can have a postcard in my own backyard. Or in my front yard. Or all around my whole house. A few lilac trees, lots of roses, a grapevine or two… It could be Totally. Freaking. Awesome. Oh yeah, I can see it all now. (And no Mom, I did not forget a water feature – it’s totally got to have a water feature.)

Until I’ve got my own postcard, I’ll stick to running in one of Kansas City’s. After all, it’s looking like the perfect place to steal ideas from.

I’ve discovered it’s easy to keep the title of “BEST SISTER EVER.” No, I did not give myself that title. I totally earned it. Just ask the little girls, who proclaimed it today. (Sorry Alisha and Jessie. I’m the oldest, and I’m likely to keep it.) Today, the rest of our family (minus Logan, who had to study, and Alisha, who is busy in Utah compiling reasons that she should NOT move to Missouri) headed to Nebraska today to attend the Winter Quarters Temple. (Alisha, you can’t count the long drive to a temple as reason number 1309 because we are getting a temple in KC. Scratch that off your list.) Once a temple’s dedicated, you need a recommend to attend it, and little kids can’t get recommends.  You can find out more about temples here or here, if you’re curious. The temple in KC will have an open house for whoever wants to come see it before it’s dedicated.

Since Sam and Cassie can’t go yet, someone had to keep an eye on them. I volunteered and we decided we’d make a girls day of it. It was SO fun! The 2.0s put together a soundtrack for our adventures (iTunes is a wonderful thing), we put it in the CD player, and we were off to Kansas City. They got to check out my new office (loved it!), went to Union Station (to pick up my mail, but they thought it was the coolest building ever), to the Nelson-Atkins (my favorite museum in KC, which is now their favorite too), and to Miller Park (where we ate the picnic they prepared and they ran around for ages). It. Was. Great.

And the whole “best sister ever”? Don’t tell the girls, but I already know who really has the title. Here’s a hint – it’s a tie between four people. Alisha, Jessie, Sam and Cassie have me all beat. For now though, I’ll claim it. After all, isn’t that the point of being the oldest?

If you’re here visiting, let me introduce myself.* My name’s Leila Shea Christensen and I’m the owner of Leila Shea Law, LLC. I practice exclusively in family law, and I’m licensed in both Missouri and Kansas.  (I’m licensed in Nevada too, but I do all my work out here in the Midwest.) I grew up in Utah, went to Brigham Young University (for both undergrad and law school), worked in Vegas, and then moved out near Kansas City. And no, I did not get a serious case of wanderlust in order to move here – my parents and six (of seven!) siblings up and moved on me, and I finally followed them. (We’re working on getting my last sister out here, don’t worry.) Oh – and I am the oldest. My brothers and sisters will tell you that I never let them forget it. Now that I live here, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.  Kansas City’s a gorgeous place and I love it. I especially love it when it’s warm – this whole freezing thing is not really me.

I’m crazy about great food, working out, salsa dancing, speaking Spanish, and making cupcakes. Reading’s one of my favorite things, and I’m always in the middle of a book. I love all sorts of music, think art museums rock, and enjoy going to movies.

My law firm’s located just a block from the Family Courthouse in Kansas City at 2526 Holmes, Kansas City, Missouri 64141. Reach me at 816-471-1000 anytime.

*The “official version” of my bio can be found at www.leilashealaw.com. You’re getting the informal version if you stick around.

PS – I promise to blog more later. This weekend is full of boxes and moving. Normally, I wouldn’t plan for anyone to move their apartment AND their law office all at one time, but when you live above your office… It’s going to be a busy weekend.

You see, my brother Logan hasn’t been to a night club EVER. When we decided to go dancing at the spur of the moment, silly me failed to check that he had the appropriate footwear and we happily took off for Kansas City. He was wearing TENNIS SHOES. Well, technically, they were futbol shoes. But whatever you want to call them (Spanish speaking shoes or not!) they got him turned away at the door. I even used my best pleading look with the bouncer. Total fail. I am out of practice!

Enter the beautiful size 15 shoes you see in the picture. (Note to you – the brown shoes are the size 15s. My black shoes are a size 6. Please. I’m 4’10″. Think about it.) After the total fail with the bouncer, I texted a friend to tell him that I. Was. Not. Happy.  (Actually, what I think I texted was “I. Am. So. Mad!”  But you get the idea.) I was sad, but I wasn’t going to buy Logan a pair of dress shoes so that we could stay and dance. My friend’s 6’4″ – I knew that there was no way he and Logan would wear the same size shoe. And they don’t. But my friend came through and saved Logan’s life. No, Logan does not wear a size 15. But these shoes worked to get into Casa Grande and I danced the night away. And Logan can now claim he’s walked a mile in my friend’s shoes…

And just so you know – I tried them on too. If you want to get specific, I went about 2 steps. Definitely not a mile. But who’s keeping track?

There have been definite “I-sure-wish-this-didn’t-happen” moments this year – I’m leaving those behind. That’s the nice part about the end of the year. You throw those things out – at least you do if you’re smart. I’m smart. (At least for things like that!)

There have also been definite “I-can’t-believe-life-is-so-great” sort of things.  In honor of 2009, here are 9 of them:

• I spent half my year in Vegas – went to some great concerts, some fantastic restaurants and had some wonderful times with my family. (Alisha and Santana? Absolutely fantastic.)
• I passed 2 bar exams. (Missouri – despite food poisoning and throwing up through the exam! and Kansas – despite dealing with some things I left in Vegas. All I can say is, thanks for the prayers both times. They helped.)
• I turned 24 and Reece & I celebrated by going to Trace Adkins in Kansas City. (We didn’t care about Toby Keith. Sue me.)
• I now get to speak Spanish with Logan, who made it home from his mission with his passport intact. (That was a little iffy for awhile. Thank goodness it all worked out.)
• I discovered I like to run and lost 30 lbs along the way. (I also like the stairmaster. And salsa dancing.)
• I started my own law firm. (Running my own business is so satisfying. Sometimes stressful. But way satisfying.)
• I moved to Missouri. (It might be the middle of nowhere, but it’s a happy middle of nowhere. Plus I live close to my family now. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.)
• I rediscovered a real appreciation for being born a Christensen. (Not only for the name, which matters a whole lot to me. But for the automatic love and support that goes along with that. My family rocks.)

Life is so good and I have a lot of things that I am grateful for this year. I listed 9 – I could list a lot more. But I’m going to dance tonight, so I’m stopping there. Happy New Year to all of you!

*To be fair, I only expect them to get better, so I’m not surprised this is the best so far.  Next year will outdo it.