You Win Some, You Lose Some...AND You Win Some!

Howdy ya'll :) Well, this has been quite an interesting week!  First of all, in case you hadn't heard, the East Coast got POUNDED by winter weather!  In DC, it only takes a little bit of snow to wreak havoc, so needless to say with a mini-blizzard that poured 5 inches in a couple of hours, the city was in disarray!  On Wednesday, class got canceled due to the storm and same for Thursday classes...which would normally be A-OK with me BUT in law school, you have to make up EVERY missed class, so it's likely that some of these classes will have to be made up on a Saturday :(  Oh well, I enjoyed the snow day nonetheless!  Guess I should just count my blessings that it only took me 2 hours to go 4 miles instead of being like my Aunt Carol and Uncle Skeeter who took about 9 - 10 hours to get home...CRAZY!  Luckily, everyone made it safe and the weather has chilled out and we can all enjoy making snowman (see below plus there was even a barista snowman outside Starbucks!)  Seth even got the day off on Thursday and went into school with me (since our power was out for a bit!) and enjoyed a fun day kicking it with us boring law students :)

Tenley Circle Snowman with an orange cone on his head!

Anyway, aside from a fairly lazy weekend, a few updates on school stuff.  This weekend, I participated in the 1L Mock Trial Closing Argument Competition.  It isn't actually trying out for the team yet, just an opportunity to practice and get ready for tryouts.  I gave my argument on Saturday and, while I didn't win, I did get a lot of good feedback and felt encouraged to tryout in March :)  I was glad I did it and, as soon as I walked out, I got a call saying I had been accepted to write on the Legislation & Policy Brief at school.  It's a great opportunity to start writing and getting some of my work published, so I'm excited!  To boot, I found out that I have made it into the final round of interviews for this amazing judicial internship program and have a training this Tuesday with an interview in the coming weeks...so keep your fingers crossed!  Anyway, not much else going on right now, although I am sure that the coming weeks will bring us (and hopefully you too) lots of good news and new adventures ;)  MUCH more to come SOON...love you all!

Time for Family Time

Well thank goodness for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day...celebrating human rights and a day off school...what could be better!?!?! :)  For real, with no class Fridays and then a day off this past Monday, I had a four day weekend after my first full week of school...and I could sure get used to it!!!  Anyway, the long weekend was fun but this week made up for any extra rest I got!  As you all know, this semester is not only filled with school but it's busy with searching for jobs and such.  This week we had an internship fair at school with lots of potential employers, and Thursday I went to the Hispanic Bar Association of DC to network and meet local attorneys.  So far  no job offers yet, but I have two second interviews and lots of applications out there...so wish me luck :)

As is typical for our Friday nights, Seth and I were in the mood to celebrate the welcoming of the weekend!  Since this week was Restaurant Week, we took advantage and went to a yummy dinner at Couer de Lion downtown...SO good!!!

Seth chillin (literally) on the patio :)

After a good date night, I made us some German pancakes Saturday and we packed up and headed down to Mom's for Uncle Skeeter's birthday party with the fam.  Between the good food, amazing cake (courtesy of cake maker extraordinaire Aunt Carol), and wonderful company, we had a great time and enjoyed our first visit down to Mom's since 2010 :)  Today, we got to use our gift cards for massages/pedicures and loved having a pamper day with Mom (although I wish I didn't have to intermingle school work!)  After a yummy lunch with Mom and Dad at La Pizzeria, it was back up to DC for a last bit of time before another week of work and school!  Every time we cross the Potomac and drive through the city on our way home, I still lose my breath when I look around an realize we are living in Washington, DC - life is good!  Anyway, had a nice Skype date with the Utah fam and now it's time for dinner and on to another week!  Hope all is well with each and every one of you...and always know you are loved very much by the two of us!

Uncle Skeeter and his grandkids (William, Ethan, Logan, and Kylie)

I'm One Lucky Boy!

Well this has been a GREAT week!  School started off kind of slow and didn't really throw too much at me this first week (which I really appreciate!) and it's a three day weekend (for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) so I don't have school on Monday - hooray!

So many great things have happened this week it's hard to know where to begin, but I guess the best place to start is with updates on my summer job hunt.  While I do not have any firm offers yet, I had two interviews this week regarding an internship with various federal court judges and I got offered a second interview on both of them - so keep your fingers crossed!  To boot, I have almost all my grades back from last semester and am very please with the results...looks like I might be cut out for this whole law school thing after all :)

Self-portrait on my way to the interview :)

And the luck didn't stop there.  This week I won a contest from Dr. Oz for a free pair of Nike shoes!!!  Since I got new shoes for my birthday, we got Seth some running shoes so we are both ready and equipped for the DC Marathon in March...now we just need to start the whole training part haha!  And speaking of lucky, we are the luckiest people in the world because we have the BEST friends and family out there.  This week our friend Whit (from SLC) came to town and we got to spend some time with him.  Since I don't have class on Fridays, I made Whit a birthday brunch and enjoyed catching up on gossip :)  Friday night, Seth and I met some friends from school out for dancing and drinks downtown and it was SO fun (Section 1 is the BEST!!!) 

On Saturday, Seth and I met our friends Beah and Matt downtown to get our cars detailed (Seth got me a two-for-one coupon at Christmas to get this done) and as we pulled up, much to our surprise, the Secret Service, police, and hotel security were EVERYWHERE because there was "a VIP in the hotel."  Gotta love DC!  We suspected it was China's President (who was in town this week) but then also wondered (judging from a lot of the people in the lobby) whether it might have been the President of India.  Either way, it was still pretty cool...oh, and the car looked great by the way :)  To end the night, Seth and I met Whit and some of his friends downtown and then headed home to rest up from going out two nights in a row...hey, we're not spring chickens any more :)

Me, Seth, Whit, Tim, & Dan.

PS: Sorry this pictures have been so blurry lately. I take most of them out and about with my phone, so when they are downloaded to the Blog, they are never as crisp as originally but you get the idea :)

Anyway, not much else besides school work and relaxing going on for the rest of the weekend, but I hope this finds you all well!  Have a wonderful week and know the biggest reason we are so luck is not because of free shoes, good grades, or potential jobs, but because of each and every one of you who we love so much!  Til the next time - xoxo!

And the Beat Goes On...

Well...it's been real but, all good things must come to an end :(  Tomorrow, break is officially over and it's back to school I go...time sure does fly by when you're having fun!  The last week of break was spent mostly just getting a lot of things tied up (a lot of wedding stuff and planning some of our upcoming trips and activities!) before another semester begins.  I'm still waiting on grades to be posted but, in the mean time, it's onward to next semester with my game face on :)  <---- like my game face? haha!

This weekend, Seth and I tried to take advantage of the last bit of freedom by having TWO date nights.  Friday, I prepared a Fondue Night followed by some DVR catch-up.  Then, on Saturday, we made a trip down to Tyson's Corner for dinner and a movie.  We saw Black Swan (kinda weird, but meh, it was kind interesting anyway) and then home for more wedding plans (Seth actually really likes to plan as much as me even though he might tell you otherwise!).  It's gonna be a blast, so be on the lookout for more information soon!

Our FREE iPad came this week - amazing!!!

Seth ready to Fondue for Date Night :)

Today, we went down to Old Towne Alexandria and met Mom and Dad at Il Porto for some yummy Italian food and a good visit!  We miss our Utah family, but it sure is nice to have my parentals close by in their steed :)  Now, if we could only find a way to get us all place at once...oh wait, I'm already scheming on that plan :)  Well, it's almost dinner time and I gotta get a few more things done and hit the hay to get ready for school tomorrow but, until the next time - love you all mucho!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!  Hope 2011 is treating you all well and that 2010 went out with a bang!  For Seth and I, to end the year, we flew to Los Angeles for the weekend to visit with my sister Marissa and her fiance Peter.  The trip was really fun and, seeing as we are really trying to finish saving for the wedding, we tried to cut corners...which led to some great stories :)  To start, we got a small rental car which, even after Seth put the seat all the way back, his knees still touched the dash haha...and we drove it all the way over to...the Econo Lodge (which we booked on Hotwire through the blind bidding process) in WeHo.  After we checked in, my 'diva' side (as Seth likes to say) came out and we checked right back out (and got a refund cause, for real, it was ghetto!) and headed back to Marissa's where we stayed the next two nights :)

Peter, Marissa, me, and Fergus

Our view from Jamaica Bay Inn...much better than the Econo Lodge :)

We went down to the beach, did some shopping in Glendale, and enjoyed the California sun with friends.  On New Year's Eve, we checked into the Jamaica Bay Inn in Marina del Ray and met up with our friend's Ryan and Emily to ring in the New Year.  We chilled at the hotel for a while and then headed down to Main Street in Santa Monica where we danced the night away at Finn McCool's Irish Pub (and SO random, the first person I see when I walk in the pub? a guy from my law school class back in D.C. - I guess it really IS a small world after all!)  Anyway, got up the next day and headed to the airport to go back to Salt Lake for one last hurrah with the family!  We had dinner at Chrissy's house and then ended our trip with traditional smothered burritos before it was time to leave back for the East coast.  After an hour and a half delay of our flight (due to a broken toilet in first class haha) it was up and away and we made it safely back to D.C.

Ryan, Emily, and Seth pre-partying at the hotel!

Dayton, me, Seth, and Jack :)

Seth is now back hard at work and I am enjoying one last week of relaxation (mixed with job application and gettin 'er done) before the new semester starts!  Thanks to all of our family and friends who made our Christmas Part 2/New Year so wonderful!  I hope that this finds you all well and that your 2011 has started off great!  I love you all so much and look forward to sharing another year with you :)  Til the next time - xo!