I'm Thankful for Thanksgiving!!!

First things first: Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to you all!  I hope you all had a great holiday weekend with all of your loved ones...I sure did!

The time off has been great (although school is still ongoing, so it hasn't been TOO much of a break!)  Seth even got off early on Wednesday (and came home early without telling me, so I thought we had a burglar in our house!)  Wednesday night, one of my best childhood friends (Adam Dodd) was in town and performing at Riot Act Comedy Club, so we went to go watch him and kick off a nice, long weekend!  Adam was great and we had a good time.  To end the night, we went home and I started getting everything prepped for Thanksgiving morning cooking :)

Me and Adam after his show.

On Thanksgiving Day, I got up early and started cooking my portion of the dinner: cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, and an apple bacon (yes, bacon!) pie :)  With the Macy's Parade (and the National Dog Show, which I think I should enter Honey in) on, I finished cooking, cleaning, and putting up our decorations...so we are officially ready for the holidays now!  Seth and I actually got in a pre-Turkey workout and then picked up Andre from the airport before heading to Mom's for dinner.

 

 

 

The Apple Bacon Pie :)

Dad helping us unload dinner supplies - hehe!

Thanksgiving was really nice - lots of good food which, of course, was accompanied by good company :)  Although we def miss the Odoyle clan, it is nice to be able share holidays with the East Coast fam!  After eating ourselves into a food coma, we enjoyed some football and Thanksgiving TV specials (including Lady Gaga!) before calling it quits and heading to bed...and as you will see in the pics below...EVERYONE was exhausted!

Maybe this was what really made everyone tired lol!?

Post-Dinner visiting led too...

Lazy!

Lazy!

Lazy!

After recovering from our food coma, we spent most of our Black Friday avoiding the outside world and hanging out at the house.  In the evening, we all hopped in the car and headed down to Richmond (Mom, Dad, and Andre went to go see Bill O'Reilly's tour).  In honor of Dad's birthday next week, we got a cake and celebrated all together over dinner...and I think Dad liked his gift from us :)  Seth and I found a close-by theater and went to see a movie while we waited, and before I knew it, I was back on the couch watching Lock-Up!

Andre, Mom, & Dad at dinner.

Dad and his Birthday cookie cake!

 To wrap up our trip to Fredericksburg, we got up on Saturday and went to meet Aunt Carol for lunch to celebrate Andre's birthday (which was earlier this month, but since he was in town, we ate in his honor!)  After lunch, we went down to visit Aunt Kathy in the hospital.  For those of you who don't know, doctors just found out that Kathy had a malignant tumor in her pancreas, but thankfully they found it in time to remove it all before any of the cancer spread!  She is looking much better and seems to be on her way to a full recovery, so please continue to keep her in your prayers :)

Today I woke up early to finish decorating and wrapping up things (it's really my last weekend of freedom for a while, because this week I start prepping for finals!)  After getting Honey's check-up (clean bill of health, although she wasn't too fond of her shots!) we hopped in the car and headed to Mt. Airy, Maryland to see Seth's sister Chrissy who was in town visiting her husband Ryan's family for the holidays.  We had a great visit and enjoyed seeing her and baby Nolan (who has grown so much in the three weeks since we last saw him!)  Although we wish we got to see her and all of our beloved Odoyles more often, we are officially counting down (28 days!) until we head to Utah for Christmas!!! 

Honey under the Christmas Tree :)

Baby Nolan had lots to say to his Uncles today :)

Well, it's about that time again...Sunday night blues are hitting and another week is approaching.  But, in the spirit of the holidays, I want to end today's Blog by reminding each of you how THANKFUL I am to have you in my life.  I am truly blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people, and hope you never forget how much I love and appreciate YOU!!!  Hugs and love!

Happy Birthday...to Me :)

Hi there everyone!  Hope this finds you well...it certainly finds me very happy and loved (and TIRED!)  This has been an AMAZING week!  First things first, work and school were great this week (some good stories from Court especially!) and I continued the interviewing process in an attempt to find a summer associate position for next summer...and the best Birthday present came (early!) on Friday morning when I got a call from a partner at Patton Boggs LLP offering me a slot in their 2012 Summer Associate Program!!!  I couldn't be happier: the firm has offices around the country/world but I will be able to stay in DC, they do a lot of policy work (which is perfect for my interests), and its a well known/respected firm and I am thrilled to be a part of it!!!  Thanks for all the crossed fingers and prayers - it paid off!!!

With work plans lined up for next summer, the weekend stage was set for fun, fun, fun!  On Friday, Seth and I went to dinner with Brooke and Matt at DC 901.  It was deeeeelish and I enjoyed every single bite :)  On Saturday, we got up and met Amy and Meghan at Level One for a brunch with unlimited Mimosas :)  They made me feel so special - cake, flowers, and love!  Following brunch (and a nap!) we headed over to my friend Tensie's for a joint birthday dinner/party with her and a bunch of law school friends.  We had a blast and danced the night away :)

My beautiful flowers :)

Tensie and I at Madam's Organ celebrating!

Today, on my actual birthday, we got up and ate some homemade breakfast (thanks to Mister Seth!) before heading to Pentagon City to meet Mom, Dad, and Carol for lunch and shopping :)  We had a good time (as usual), and I was showered with love (and gifts), and even got some nice new threads (thanks Mom!)  I guess my old age has caught up with me, because by the end of the afternoon, I was pooped and ready to go home to rest :) 

A bird's eye view of Mom, Dad, and Carol at the mall!

I'm not OCD, I'm CDO :)

Well, like I said earlier, my old age has gotten to me and I need to get some shuteye soon (I need beauty rest to keep me looking somewhat young hehe!) But before I go to bed, I want
to thank you all so much for making my day so special and helping me feel so loved...my birthday wouldn't have been the same without you :)  Much love until the next time!

All Work and No Play Means...Game Night

Well, aside from 11-11-11, this week was kind of a bear with school, work, etc... (although I did make a wish at 11:11!)  But never fear, it all wound down in time for Game Night :)

On Friday, we invited about a dozen friends over, so my Friday afternoon was busy getting ready (I told Seth I sometimes wonder if I should just have been a party planner instead of going to law school!)  Anyway, it was lots of fun, and much needed after such a busy week.  The menu was pretty yummy (if I do say so myself): cucumber rounds topped with salmon and chipotle queso, bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese, pita chips with hummus, home-baked pizza, mini-eclairs, mini-fruit tarts, and (of course) some deliciously potent punch :)

The gang playing Sour Apples to Apples/Loaded Questions - fun!

After Game Night, we were convinced not to be the old, married couple and went out on the town to dance the night away (for which my soaking wet socks the morning after can serve as proof hehe!)  We didn't get home til almost 4:00 AM, so we were pretty tired...but from the looks of things below, Honey was even more tired :)

Miss Honey Child is pooped!

Well, speaking of tired, its time to go fold my last load of laundry and wrap-up things here, but more to come next week :) 

Jay & Tina Get Married...O'Doyle Style

A big hello from Boise to all of you :)  Seth and I are sitting in the airport awaiting our flight to Minneapolis (which is delayed, so hopefully we make it in time for us to get on our connection).  It sure has been a wonderful weekend...and we needed it after the busy week we had!

On Friday, we got up at 4:30 AM (ugh!) and headed off to Dulles for our flight.  After having some problems with my boarding pass (stressful!), we made it to our gate with about 15 minutes to spare before boarding...and guess who we ran into?  Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah :)  Being a true politician at heart, I introduced myself to him and we had a nice 10-minute or so conversation.  When I was telling him about being in law school, he noticed my wedding ring and asked if I was married, to which I replied simply "Yes, I am" with a big smile on my face :)

After a nice flight to Salt Lake, we purposely missed our connection to Boise in order to be part of VanFest 2011!  The family rented a 15-passenger van and we trekked it from Salt Lake to Boise (about a five hour drive).  It was actually really fun and we had a great time with all of the O'Doyles :)

Why hello Utah, so happy to see you again!

Andrew, Mindy, and Chrissy displaying the O'Doyle Van.

Baby Nolan and Uncle Seth :)

After VanFest safely made it to Boise, we ran by Jay and Tina's to say hello and meet some of Tina's family.  We didn't stay long though, because VanFest tired us all out :)  The next day, however, we were up bright and early in time for the big event!  We all met and took pictures before heading to the cutest little chapel right by the Boise State campus!  It was a simple, sweet ceremony and we couldn't be happier for the newlyweds: Congratulations Jay and Tina!!!  To show their appreciation for everyone coming, we all went to lunch at the Cottonwood Grille for some yummy food and even yummier wedding cake...but that was just the beginning of all the food!  After lunch (and a nap!), we headed back to Jay and Tina's for a BBQ.   It was so much fun and just like old times to be able to have everyone together...and only 49 more days (according to our Delta itinerary) before we are back for more :)

Goin to the chapel and they got married :)

Tina and Jay - Congratulations!

The Longhurst boys and Jack.

It totally looked like Jay was going to shove Tina's face in the cake!

Me, Jack, & Seth in a food coma from the BBQ!

Well, like I said, this has been a wonderful weekend and now its back to reality: school and work - boo!  But it's OK, because its times like this weekend that make all the hard work worthwhile!  Gotta sign off and get ready to board our flight, but I will talk to you all again back on the East coast - much love until then!