for no apparent reason, you have one of those days when you take stock of your life and realize just how truly lucky you are, despite any sadness that crosses your path.  And you simply smile and appreciate it with every ounce of your being.  Today is one of those days.

Sorry for the quiet around here, kids — I've been feeling a tad sluggish this week for various reasons: change of season (for good, I hope), ramping up the triathlon training, visiting spots for upcoming columns, etc.  Real post to come this weekend.  In the meantime, you'll have to make do with my Serious Eats posts!

Every year when I return from the Pro Bono Institute, I'm re-energized and full of good ideas for enhancing our pro bono program.  Much of this is due to being surrounded by my enthusiastic colleagues who attend the conference each year.  But I am also inspired by two great women who I always feel are there in spirit, even though they are both no longer with us.  Hanna Cohn was the director of the Volunteer Legal Services Project in Rochester, and Tanya Neiman was the director of the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the San Francisco Bar.  Both of these women offered me guidance in the early days of my pro bono career and were truly an inspiration of how I would like to continue to build it going forward.  Hanna & Tanya — we miss you and are doing our best to build upon the work you did to bring justice to those in need.

As much as I want to shift my body clock, going to bed early seems to have little to no impact on my ability to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  I have trouble falling asleep before 11:30 – 12 and even if I do somehow managed to fall asleep earlier than that, it's rare that I wake up before my alarm.  I will then proceed to snooze for at least 1/2 hour if not more.  That's just the way it is.  I've got some work to do before I get that dog, apparently.

I'm always very proud of "my" attorneys for the great work they do on pro bono matters, but just wanted to point out their assistance to Haitian nationals in applying for Temporary Protected Status at Legal Aid and City Bar clinics.  Great job, guys!

I once loaned a book to a special guy in my life and when it was returned to me, this was one of two notes stuck on a post-it on the inside cover.  Who knew post-its could be so romantic?  And one of my live-in boyfriends used to leave romantic notes on post-its stuck in cookbooks where he thought I'd stumble across them.  Anytime I do, they still give me a huge smile.  Don't underestimate the power of a well-placed post-it.  Happy V-Day.

So "the big blizzard" wasn't quite as crazy as everyone made it out to be.  I was at work for most of the day, and from my window the snow looked like it was going in every possible direction — down, sideways, diagonally, up, and swirling around like a tornado at points.  Later last night the city looked peaceful in its blanket of white.  I love the snow, and the plows were out in full force (at least we know how to deal with snow here, as opposed to in DC, where I have friends going stir-crazy, trapped at home since Thursday) last night.  What I don't like as much, however, are the huge moats of muck that now sit at many of the city's corners.  I nearly sunk into one up to my mid-calf on the way home last night, and even my toasty snow boots are no match for a slushy muck puddle.  Watch out for the muck today!

PS — I stole this picture from my friend Rob.  Thanks, Rob!