This Is Eternal Love

Who has the best brother and sister-in-law ever??? Me! It's me!

Not only do they put a roof over my head, give me the clothes off of their backs (seriously McCall shares her cute clothes with me), and are the light of my life..... yesterday I came home to find this:

A beautiful rose with a sweet Valentine note. See, I told you they are awesome! I love you Launce and McCall! You made my day! :)

My New Trial? Opportunity? Blessing?

I've had to do and experience some hard things in my life, but apparently I still have some room to grow.

This week, I learned that I am being laid off my job, effective immediately. Yikes. I didn't see it coming and now I'm not sure what I will do.

One thing that I have been grateful for is a good network. As I've told my friends and colleagues about what happened, I've been so impressed with how many people have been willing to help by sharing information, putting me in touch with others who might be able to help, and sending job postings. There are a lot of really great people out there! I may have something big brewing, which is why I am calling this my new trial? Opportunity? Blessing? Nothing is set in stone yet, so stay tuned for details.

Richard G. Scott, (my favorite apostle), said:

"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain." "Trust in the Lord," Ensign, November 1995.

I'm doing some stretching!

Casey's Wedding

My brother and BFF got married earlier this month. I felt torn because I felt like I was losing my best friend, yet I was really happy for my brother.

When I moved back to Utah, it was really hard because of all the relationship drama. I think I was genuinely depressed. My brother, Casey, had a big influence on helping me to pull out of it. When he got home from his mission, he hung out with me all the time. He got me to go to the singles ward with him, took me on dates, opened the door for me, made me feel special, listened to all my problems, ran with me, and just was super awesome! I'm so grateful for his love, kindness, and friendship. I really don't know where I'd be without him.

Here he is with his beautiful bride Becca:
And here's a few others:

My three bros (Launce, Casey, Jason) and me.

Immediate family.

This is what most pictures looked like. It was so hard to get everyone to look at the camera!

All the siblings.

CONGRATS CASEY AND BECCA! LOVE YOU BOTH!

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! This post is for me. I made some goals for myself this year and somehow I feel like by putting them out there in Blogland, I will be more accountable. Here they are:

1. Blog more! In 2011, I wrote a total of 5 blog posts. This means that I will only have to write 6 in 2012 to meet my goal. I'm already 1/6th of the way there! ;)

2. Train for a race and beat my previous time. I'm still toying with whether I want my goal to be another marathon or a half-marathon. I'll probably be running another half with my dad in March when I head to Las Vegas for his retirement ceremony. There is a part of me that wants to run another marathon, even though the day after the first one I decided that I never wanted to run again! It was so painful! Now that some time has passed, I look back and feel like I truly accomplished something amazing. I kind of want another round. We'll see. Maybe I'll just set my sights on the half for now. (Do you get the theme yet?? I need goals that are totally achievable!) Half-marathons are my favorite distance to run because they are hard enough that I have to train for them, but I don't need lots of recovery time after.

3. Attend the Temple 24 times. I think this is yet another easy one for me. I'm really loving having the opportunity to go to the temple and having so many temples so close. This is one thing that I love about living in Utah. My life feels more complete and more peaceful when I make time for the temple. When I walk inside, I feel like I am at the House of the Lord and doing His work. While I am there, I more easily feel his love, comfort, and direction and I feel like a better, nicer, sweeter person. If you are unfamiliar with temples, you can learn more at: http://lds.org/church/temples?lang=eng.

4. Learn how to do my own taxes. Yes, it's true. I have never had the joy of completing this task on my own. The weird thing is that I actually did take tax law in law school, but I never learned how to use the forms. I'm kind of excited to figure this one out. And, I guess this is the first year that I really care, because last year was the first year that I worked full time for an entire year.

5. Memorize five hymns on the piano. Last year I had the goal to memorize ten. I failed. This year, I decided to downsize to make it a little more attainable. I want to accomplish this one because if I ever attend church in a small, foreign town where absolutely no one can play the piano, I'll save the day!

The Year in Review

So, I'm a bad blog writer. It seems like when I was in the married world there was lots to say, and now that I'm in the singles scene, there's still lots to say... I just don't know if I want to say it! :)

I just thought I would share a few of my most memorable moments from this year.

On July 25th, I ran my first marathon. That's 26.2 miles people! Sometimes I can barely believe that I did it. This was an incredibly hard, scary, yet rewarding experience. I didn't think I could do it.

I also ran my first Ragnar Race with these gals:
Ragnar was awesome!!! Ragnar is hard to explain for those who have never done it. (See this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL1hLU_LBvs). I loved it because it was a fun challenge, I got to hang out in Las Vegas, and best of all, I got to do it with some of my favorite friends from Philadelphia.

This year has kind of been the year of running. I also ran two half marathons (one in 110 degree weather!) and two 5ks with my brothers.

Aside from running, I gained a new appreciation for my family, especially my brothers and my sister-in-law. I guess being in Philly and in law school the three years prior to 2011, I was so busy that I didn't think I was missing my family. Now that I'm back, I have a strong sense of what I missed out on during those three years that I lived away. Family is EVERYTHING. I'm so grateful for the family I have and that our bond is eternal. We've been having so much fun together shooting the breeze, running races, watching movies and The Next Iron Chef, playing games, getting yogurt, snowboarding, traveling to Las Vegas, and doing who knows what else.

I am especially grateful to my brother, Casey, who pulled me out of a slump and helped me to be normal again. Thanks to Casey, I started going to the singles ward again (where I have been serving as the Relief Society Secretary) and I also met my goal for 2011 of running 8 miles in less than 80 minutes! Our latest 8 mile time was 67 minutes. Woot!

I switched firms this year (yep, that was quick) and switched from practicing civil litigation to bankruptcy. A year ago, I never would have guessed that I would be specializing in bankruptcy. I didn't even take bankruptcy in law school! I feel like the Lord has a way of making life work out like it's supposed to though. The days go by so fast and I don't want to be doing anything else. In sum: love the firm, love the practice area. Win win.

Thanks to the firm, I met and had dinner with Olene Walker, mother of SEVEN and the first and only woman governer of Utah. This lady was one of the most inspiring people I have ever met in my life! When I asked her how I can be a successful female professional in Utah (aka the Old Boys Club), she said "Be educated about the issues you face, speak up, and volunteer (but make sure that whatever you volunteer to do, you do well.)" This advice has stayed with me and I have tried to implement it this year.

Of all the things that happened this year, I think this year will really be remembered as the year that I truly gained a testimony of the Atonement and healing power of Jesus Christ. I have never had a stronger testimony of His saving grace, His sacrifice for us, and His potential influence in all of our lives. Likewise I have never before had a stronger sense of gratitude.

He has changed my life.

I am grateful to be celebrating His birth this holiday season by doing His work and testifying of Him. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season! Wise men still seek Him!

Blazing the Trail

In case you didn't know, I'm famous now. I wrote the following letter to the editor of the Standard Examiner and they published it! Read on to hear my rants...

Female lawyer experiences belittling comments

By MaryAnn Bennett

Standard-Examiner Contributed

Fri, 07/29/2011 - 1:30pm

I am a 26-year-old female, attorney from an East Coast law school that was 51 percent men and 49 percent women. I felt like an equal until I moved back to Utah. In Utah, 77 percent of attorneys are male while only 23 percent are female. I feel like I have been treated differently, stereotyped, and even harassed because of my gender. Recently, at a continuing legal education course, I asked an attorney with 18 years of experience if I could ask him question. His response? "Sure. But only because I think you're cute."

Once, without my consent, a male client reached over to tuck a piece of my hair behind my ear so that I could look "better" in court. Later he invited me to go shooting with him while mentioning his wife and kids were out of town.

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked "Are you a paralegal?" right after finding out I work for a law firm, I'd be rich.

At one hearing, even while wearing a suit and carrying a file, I was asked "Are you represented by an attorney?" as I approached opposing counsel.

I feel like male lawyers don't have these same experiences. It can be uncomfortable to be a woman lawyer. I have to develop thicker skin. I hope by sharing my feelings, more people will be aware of the disparity and avoid making other women after me experience the same discomfort.

MaryAnn Bennett

Ogden

The Firm

I have a confession to make. I've tried to put on a smile, be positive, and endure it well but now it's finally time to admit that since I started working in December, I've HATED my job.

I've never cried over a job before this one, and I've had a lot of them. It turns out that becoming a lawyer hasn't been all it's cracked up to be. I went to law school because I had an overwhelming desire to create a little more justice in the world and to gain the necessary knowledge to avoid being screwed over. Instead of saving the world, I ended up with six-figure debt and only one job opportunity thanks to the lack luster economy and over-inflation in law schools. I took the first opportunity that came along and have been miserable ever since.

In this job, I have had to work all kinds of crazy hours while putting up with low pay and high pressure. One Friday night, I was on a date when my boss called, made me end the date early, and go file something at the courthouse after 11PM! Unfortunately these this was not an isolated incident.

The good news is that I just landed another job! I can't tell you how excited this has made me. I couldn't even sleep the night after I got the offer because it felt like being five years old and knowing that Santa is almost here! I will soon be working at a bankruptcy law firm in South Jordan. I think bankruptcy will be much better fit for me than general litigation because there is more client interaction (about 50% client/court time and 50% paperwork), the hours are much more predictable, and I'll become an expert in a useful field of law. Another nice thing about bankruptcy is that it's a field of law that I could possibly practice at home, should I ever need to stay home with kiddos. Best of all, I'm getting a significant raise.

I feel like landing this new job is a big answer to prayer. I've been praying about the job situation almost every day since I first started working at my current firm. I feel like I learned an important lesson in all of this. It seems that no matter how bad life gets, if I will be patient and do the best I can, it ends up being okay. "Success is usually earned by persevering and not becoming discouraged when we encounter challenges." - James E. Faust, "Perseverance," General Conference, April 2005. I am so thankful for the new job and I look forward to getting started in two weeks!