You know, I ought to be used to this sort of thing by now. I grew up in Utah – Missouri shouldn’t feel that different. Here’s the catch though – I was born in Southern California. I think when you’re born there, you get an automatic gene that says “I. Love. Heat.” Whatever it is, I’ve got it.

All my love for heat can’t stand in place of my family though – and they live in this freezing place. In fact, this is part of their front yard. “Yard” is kind of a misnomer. They’ve got 25 acres of “yard.”

This beautiful place can be kind of dangerous sometimes. You know how I was supposed to take the Iowa Bar Exam this week? Well, it didn’t happen. Winter storm warnings, combined with actual winter storm conditions, made the risk just too high to travel the 3+ hours to Des Moines on Saturday, Sunday OR Monday. (The Iowa Bar examiners are pretty inflexible about “mandatory orientation” held on Monday. There is no getting around it. Even if you’ve taken 3 bar exams in the last 2 years and it would have been your 4th. If you can’t make Monday’s orientation, you won’t be allowed to take the Tuesday exam. You’re simply out of luck – and money.) At any rate, I made the choice to stay put. So you know what I did? I had that virgin mojito early.

Regardless of the accuracy of Reece’s claim, my weekends sometimes involve cows, even though I don’t wrestle them. Ever heard of the Westport Flea Market? One word. Burgers. Go there next time you’re in KC. Trust me, you won’t regret it. As long as you don’t run into Bob Berdella that is. (And you shouldn’t – he’s dead now.)

This weekend I spent a little time in the books. It doesn’t sound anywhere as cool as wrestling cows, I know. I am simply not as cool as Reece. Get over it. I’m taking bar exam number four this coming Tuesday. Crazy, right? But I registered for it back when my office was less than 30 minutes from Iowa, and since I paid for it already, there’s no reason not to take it. I’m not overly stressed about it. If I don’t pass it, it’s going to cause some damage to my ego but not to my career. So Monday I’m off to Des Moines (mandatory orientation beginning at 1:00) and Tuesday I’m writing a bunch of essays. I don’t have to take Wednesday’s portion (the multiple choice section). Small blessings.

Let’s not call it a bar exam. Let’s call it a mini-vacation. (Normally I’d pick a different destination than Iowa, but I’ll take what I can get.) I’ll let you know how it goes. If I don’t pass, let’s have a virgin mojito together. If I do pass, let’s have a virgin mojito together. (You see, either way it’s going to be good!) Cheers!

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.

I’ve attended the Bethany Rotary Club as a guest for the past month or so. The members are an impressive bunch. Not only are they professionally successful, they are genuinely good people. I’m excited to be “official” with them now.  A special thanks to Ron Cornett, my sponsor (& the president of BTC Bank).

We talked about some of the things we love to do and some of the things we’d like to do in the future. We figured it was okay to be “selfish” and do some of those things while we don’t have obligations to anyone else.  (It seems like it would be a lot tougher to jet off somewhere if you had a two year old needing your attention.)  And PS – I don’t think it’s really selfish to live your life and simply enjoy the stage of life you’re in. In fact, I think it’s pretty ungrateful if you don’t!

So, here’s my list of (kind of big) things that I’d like to do*…

1. Run the Kansas City Marathon in October 2010. This will require a lot of work before October – I am so up for it.  And for the most part (unless you run inside at a gym), running is FREE.  With iMapMyRun, how could you NOT want to do this?
2. Attend UMKC’s CLE in Italy in November 2010. If it doesn’t cover Rome, make the time for it anyway. I’ve been to Rome once already, but I am DYING to go back.
3. Take a Latin Dancing Class and/or a Swing Dancing Class. It looks like Kansas City has a couple of options, so I’m going to find one that works and just do it. This should also satisfy my shoes’ need.
4. Go to Tahiti. I. LOVE. THE. BEACH.  I guess it doesn’t really have to be Tahiti.  Just someplace where the beach is fantastic, the water is turquoise, and I can relax and play all day.  Virgin mojitos, anyone?
5. This isn’t really a “thing to do” per se, but I’d really like to PAY FOR IT ALL WITH CASH. Like, all of the above.  I think there’s a lot of freedom that comes with that – so if I can’t afford it, I will save for it until I can.

Now, I get that I might not be able to do all these things… my priorities could change.  But for now, I’m dreaming… so these are my true confessions.

*subject to revisions of course!

My family has been there along the journey to every bar exam.  When I took the Missouri Bar, two of my brothers came along with me to Jefferson City. We went out to dinner the night before the exam to celebrate – and the next morning, I ended up with food poisoning.  I’m confident that it was the prayers of my whole family that helped me to pass that test, because I don’t know how I made it through the exam. On the way home from Jefferson City (about a four hour drive) we had a tire blow out after a log fell off a big truck in front of our little Corolla.  My fifteen year-old brother managed to change the tire (in the dark on practically no shoulder!), we got off the freeway, and made it to a Wal-Mart where they changed the tire. Unfortunately Wal-Mart didn’t check the other tires like I asked – less than 15 minutes after we got on the freeway again, another tire blew out.  Needless to say, it was a very long day, followed by a very long night. When I got my pass results, we all celebrated – and then I went out to visit and was sworn in at the local bank by a notary public.

Thankfully the Kansas Bar was uneventful.  No food poisoning.  No tire blowouts.  That was all I wanted. Passing was an extra bonus. :)

I’m so grateful for my family – I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am without  their love and support for my dreams.  Thanks guys!  I love you.

Phil Conger (the reporter who wrote the article) did a nice job.  I met Phil for the first time at the Bethany Rotary Club and we scheduled a time to meet for an interview. He came to my office last Friday (the paper is published every Wednesday) and sat down with me to chat. His interviewing style was comfortable and friendly.  He even took his own photo!  I was impressed.

So there you have it – Leila Shea Christensen on the front page.