This Semester is Going to be "Taxing!"

Hey everyone!  Sorry this is a little late, but this past week/weekend was crazy-cray!  School has officially kicked in and is really starting to consume me...I'm taking 17 credits, working as an Extern and Dean's Fellow, and volunteering with VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program)...so needless to say life is a liiiiiitttttle busy!  In fact, I spent most of my Saturday and Sunday in training for the VITA program - but I am officially certified and ready to do some taxes :)

Although most of my week was spent doing school, I sometimes make the tradeoff of sleep in favor of a little fun :)  A.K.A. I'm tired, but smiling!  One of my best friend's from law school and I have officially established "Revenge" night (an amazing show on ABC!) to served as our midway break for the week...and boy will I need that this semester :)  Seth and I were also able to make it out to a friend's birthday party this weekend and even did some Salsa dancing afterwards with some girlfriend's - fun times!  And luckily for us, we made it home just before the snow/ice hit, so I think it was God's way of saying he was glad we went out to have some fun :)

These glasses even made sweet ol' Seth look like a creeper :)

Honey looked so cute walking on the ice :)

Speaking of ice and snow, I forget how wimpy we are in DC when it comes to weather!  On Sunday night, I got a call from my boss at my externship saying that we would be opening 2 hours late on Monday (even though there wasn't really any snow), but I wasn't complaining ;)  My first day at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) was great, and I am really excited for the externship!  My boss, Ty, is actually a friend of mine, and everyone else is really friendly and fun...so I think it's going to be a great time!  As for my work, it is a lot different than what I was doing in the Courts, but it is super interesting and I like it a lot!  My first day, I did everything from reviewing potential legislation in Oklahoma, to vetting Judges, to drafting testimony - and it's all for issues that I believe in :)

My office - right outside of DuPont Circle

Cheesy pose, but love the fleece my summer firm sent me to keep warm :)

Well, that's about all of interest I can think of (we were actually pretty boring this week!)  I hope that everyone's week is great so far - and hopefully it only gets greater :)  Love you all!

Hi Ho, It's Back to School I Go!

Hey there everybody!  Well, it's one week down and a semester more to go...but all is well and so far, so good!  My first week of school was fairly laid back since I set-up my schedule to allow me to ease back into things (only three classes, with two more starting this coming week, and my internship starting the week after next).  Given the easy first week, however, I took advantage and had a fun MLK Holiday Weekend :) 

Between the Alabama football game/party on Monday, a tanning date with my friend Tensie on Wednesday, and various and sundry other things, the week flew by!  On Thursday (which is like my Friday!)  I went to dinner at the Melting Pot with some law school girlfriends and then ended the night at our weekly Bar Review - and boy do these law school kids know how to blow off steam haha!  On Friday night Seth and I met our friend Whit (who is in town from Utah) for dinner and drinks...we sure do love having visitors!

Gotta love the Melting Pot - yummm!!!

To kick off the weekend, a few of us got together for brunch at Level One and, thanks to their delicious food and potent unlimited mimosas, our brunch turned into and all day affair - football, dinner and drinks, and dancing!  Even though it was totally last minute, it was really a fun day :)  In fact, it was so fun that we almost overslept our date with Marge today...but luckily we didn't!  So, after racing to get ready, we met Marge for a wonderful lunch to wrap-up our weekend...and then came home to take a nap :) 

Me, Abby, Daniel, Allen, Lauren, & Seth at brunch.

Well, that's about all for now, but I hope all is well and that you enjoy a wonderful MLK Day tomorrow :)  Ciao!

One Last Hoorah!

Hello again!  Well, school is officially back in session and I am back at it for my fourth semester of law school (can you believe it!?)  After getting back from Utah, I spent most of last week visiting with friends that had returned from break and resting up for my last weekend of freedom.  How to celebrate you ask?  Las Vegas is too far away (for now at least!), so we did the next best things: Atlantic City!  Seth, Brooke, her boyfriend Matt, and I drove up from DC and met Brooke's cousin Kristen, her boyfriend Rob, and their friend Amanda for a fun and crazy weekend!  As a matter of fact, the weekend doubled as Kristen's 30th birthday bash, and mine and Brooke's last hoorah before starting back to school...and boy did we make our 24-hour stay worthwhile :)

Me, Seth, and Veronica at Sushi the night before AC.

The East Coast Vegas = Atlantic City

The view from our room.

After checking in to our hotel, we headed to meet up with the other half of our party for a quick visit before heading off to play Blackjack.  I am definitely not a professional gambler, but I do enjoy playing cards.  I started off with $200...and ended with $200, so I call that a win :)  As a group, no one lost money and we actually walked away with about $1,000 more than we came with, so that was extra nice!  After our time at the tables, we grabbed some dinner and took a nap to get energized for the fun night to come :)

Since it was Kristen's birthday, we surprised her by getting bottle service at Mixx (AC's #1 nightclub) in the Borgata Hotel & Casino...and boy was she surprised and happy (she almost cried tears of joy!)  After checking in, we were escorted to our table and enjoyed an amazing night!  It was a little pricey, but totally worth it!  The dance floor was PACKED, but we enjoyed our own little private area to dance in...and my oh my did we (I in particular) dance the night away :)  The DJ/music was amazing, the venue was great, and the crowd was so much fun!  After about five hours of dancing, we finally called it a night and headed home around 4:00 AM for some pizza and sleep!

Ladies Night (hehe): Amanda, Kristen, me, & Brooke in the Borgata.

Seth, me, Brooke, Matt, & Rob at our table.

Kristen and I danced ALL night!

 Unfortunately for us, the next day happened to be the Giants first playoff game, so Brooke was up and at 'em early and ready to head home by 9:00 AM so that she could catch the kick-off (that is SO something my Mom would do!)  So, tired as we were, we said our goodbyes and headed home to chalk up another fun weekend trip :)  Needless to say, we spent the rest of our Sunday relaxing and getting ready to head back to reality!  And now that we're back to the grind, it isn't so bad...at least, not yet :)  But, I am pooped (just got home from a football party at our friend's), so I gotta hit the hay and get ready for my Tax Law class in the AM...so until the next time, much love and tons of hugs from me to you!

A Very Utah Christmas and an Interesting New Year

Happy New Year!!!  I hope that 2011 ended well and that 2012 has been great for your all so far! 

Since the last Blog post, Seth and I had the chance to head to Utah for Christmas with the Odoyle clan and all of our Salt Lake friends...and my what a good time we had!  We flew in on Christmas night, just in time to see Andrew and his girlfriend, Stephanie, before they headed off to California to spend the holidays with her family.  After a little visiting, we got some shuteye (at the 5-star Ahern Inn of course!) and rested up for the busy week to come!

We spent most of our time visiting and relaxing with the fam...good times!  The day after Christmas we actually opened presents since we didn't get there in time to do it Christmas night.  On Wednesday, we headed to the Hogle Zoo to see the animals and "Zoo Lights."  The weather wasn't too cold (at least to begin with) and we enjoyed some hot cocoa while strolling through the Zoo.  Friday was Family Fun Day!  We started with a gourmet lunch from Little Caesar's (yum!) to give us energy for Boondock's.  What is Boondock's you ask?  It's a family fun center and has bowling, race cars, laser tag, etc... that kids enjoy.  But come to think about it, I think the adults might have even had more fun than the kids :) Of course, no family trip would be complete without a visit to La Puente for some smothered burritos, so we made sure to get dinner before heading back to Mindy's to play Dayton's Wii dance game and burn off some serious calories!

Jack loved her "Pamper Day" in a box!

Chrissy, Seth, Mindy, and the chillins opening presents.

Zoo Lights!!!

Seth outside the Tiger's den.

The tiger looked freaking possessed!

Dayton was so excited, he ran all around Boondocks!

To prove to Mom I broke 100!  118 to be exact...and no gutter guards!

See below for the next winner of So You Think You Can Dance!

Aside from family time, Christmas in Utah is always a good chance to catch up with our Utah friends, especially those who are away at school during the year!  Between lunches, dinners, and drinks, our schedule filled up pretty quickly :)  It was great to see everybody, and we even got to celebrate Emily and Ryan's engagement with a party in Park City!  Every time we get to spend time with our friends, we remember how blessed we are to have so many amazing people in our lives :)

Me & Victor at The Bayou.

Kody, Me, & Seth at The Spur.

The gang was dancing up a storm while a live band played!

Whit and I pre-Thursday night dancing!

Although our time in Utah was busy, it was so much fun that time flew by too quickly!  Before we knew it, Saturday morning had arrived and we were headed back to the airport to fly home.  Although goodbyes are always bittersweet, we had much to look forward to back in DC...starting with a New Year's Eve Party!  Little did we know, however, just how our New Year's Eve would turn out :)

Flying home, we had a two-segment flight: SLC to Detroit to Washington.  Although our flight was delayed by about 20 minutes pulling away from the gate, we figured we would have plenty of time to catch our connection...and we would have had Delta done their job!!!  First the plane stopped on the runway for about 20 minutes due to a miscalculation in the plane's weight.  We eventually took off and got to Detroit just in the nick of time to make our plane...that is, had the pilot not stopped 2 feet away from the gate...and had we not had to wait another 20 minutes for Delta to send someone to unlock the door on the other side of the gate!  Thus, long story short, we ended up missing our connection and had to wait until the next day for a flight home...but luckily my cousin Chrys lives in Toledo, Ohio, which is only about an hour away from Detroit!  So, after getting things squared away (and using my arguing skills to get some Delta vouchers), we rented a car and headed down to Toledo for Chrys' s spectacular New Year's Eve Party!

Me, Riley, & Seth ringing in 2012!

After an unexpected but fun New Year's Eve, and a few hours of sleep later, we headed back to the airport...and this time we actually made it home :)  Our first item of business: picking up Honey Child from the Pet Hotel and enjoying a wonderful first day of what will hopefully be an equally wonderful 2012!

Honey rockin her Pink puffy vest!

Well, that's about all  I have for this week...but much more coming up next time...including a last hoorah trip to Atlantic City before school starts again!  But I don't want to put the cart before the horse :)  So until then, lots of love and a wish for a happy and prosperous New Year to you all!  xo

An East Coast Christmas

Merrrry Christmas everyone!  I hope this finds you and yours enjoying the Holidays, because it finds us loving every second of our break :)

After a busy week of Christmas shopping, Seth and I managed to finish up just in time to enjoy the familial festivities!  On Friday morning, I headed to the airport to pick-up Andre and enjoyed a fun 24-hours with him in D.C.  We had lunch with Amy in Old Town, went to Maria and Jay's for dinner with my sister Marita and her family, and then met back up with Amy and her sister Meg for drinks at Russia House...good times :)  After all the fun, I'm really looking forward to Andre playing tour guide when we are in Miami for Jen's graduation in May!!!  Hope you're ready Andre :)

Andre, Meg, Amy, & Seth at Russia House.

Before heading down to Fredericksburg on Christmas Eve, we had to drop off Honey at the Pet Hotel (since we were heading straight to the airport on Christmas Day)...so naturally we had to do Honey's Christmas before we dropped her off...and boy was she spoiled by her Grandmas, Great-Aunt Carol, and Utah Aunt's :) 

Honey opening her gifts.

Honey's "Pugz Boots"...she didn't like them so much :)

Honey pouting about her "Pugz Boots."

Honey is "Daddy's Girl."

After a fun Christmas with Honey, we dropped her off at the Pet Hotel and headed off to Fredericksburg.  Lucky for us, Jen was in town, so Seth and I met up with her for lunch at our favorite Mexican place before going to Mom's house.  We had a nice visit with the family and were stuffed with Prime Rib and a wonderful Christmas dinner, courtesy of Pepe Roman.  Little did we know, however, how good Santa Claus would be to us, because it turned out we'd need all the energy from the food to open all of our presents :) 

Underneath our Christmas Tree :)

I love this wall-hanging...Thanks Chrys!

Luckily, the WSJ Wine Collection came early :)

Mom's Christmas Tree

Way too many presents...thanks Santa!

Mom, Andre, and Dad opening presents.

Seth, Mom, and Andre are thankful for Santa Claus!

Dad was wayyy too excited!

Even the cats were spoiled...Wheezie loved her cat-nip :)

After opening our presents on Christmas Eve, all that was left for Christmas morning was a delicious breakfast (courtesy of Pepe) and the Church Christmas program...and Mom was happy to have all THREE of her sons in attendance :)  After Church, Seth and I headed home to finish packing before Dad picked us up to head to BWI for our flight to Utah for Christmas Part deux :)

Happy Holidays!!!

Hello again everybody - long time, no see!  Now that the semester is DONE and I am officially HALF-WAY through with law school, my lameness from exams has come to a conclusion, I'm back in action, and am ready for a new Blog entry :)

Since my two weeks of exams were uneventful, there isn't much catching up to do about all that (although I did take a break between the two exams to meet a girlfriend that was visiting from Atlanta!)  While I don't know my grades yet, I think things went well and know I did my best :)  SOOO glad to be done!

Me & Alex outside of Front Page in DuPont.

Since being off from school, life has been even more jam-packed than before...but this time with parties and fun :)  To kick off our celebrations, Seth, my two friends (Tensie and Daniel), and I went to grab a margarita (or two pitchers) at Guapo's (an old standby for students at my school).    On Friday I spent most of the day getting ready for our party - cleaning, buying supplies, making appetizers/sangria, etc...  We had about a dozen of our close friends over to celebrate the end of another crazy semester!  But we didn't stop there...we had to get our dance on, so we headed downtown to boogie down :) 

Theo, Yasmine, Tensie, Veronica, Me, & Emily waiting on the Metro.

Seth & Yasmine boogying down :)

Saturday we were up and at 'em fairly early to meet Amy and Megan for brunch at LevelOne (again, in DuPont...kind of our stomping grounds).  As we were getting off the Metro, Seth looked at me and said: "Brandon, my wallet fell out in the Metro."  Shortly after speaking with the Metro guard at the station, Seth got a call from his credit card company with a message: some lady had found the wallet and left her number for Seth to call her so that he could come and get it.  It's so nice to see that there are still good people out there...and with the good news, we still made it to mimosa hour with time to spare :)

Meg & Me at brunch with our bottomless mimosa :)

The rest of our Saturday and Sunday evenings were full with dinners, holiday parties, and lots of fun!  Then, on Monday morning when the alarm went off, I looked at Seth, smiled, and laid back down :)  (Sorry babe!)  But, I haven't been a lazy daisy...I've been busy doing much needed Christmas preparation!  Our cards are out, shopping is almost done, and now we just have a few more details to wrap up before the weekend is here! 

The result of my shopping today!!!

The result of Honey playing with her new toy :)

And with that, I think you're about caught up in the life of Seth, Brandon, and Honey.  I hope this finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying the holiday season!  Between last minute Christmas activities, travel, etc... there is much more to come this weekend...but until then, much love and many well wishes :)

Half-Way There...ALMOST!

Hello again :)  Hope this Blog finds you well...it finds me a very happy camper :)  For those of you who don't know, December is a pretty lame month for law school students, thanks mostly to exams (boo!)  Luckily for me, however, this December won't be THAT bad - although, it still is pretty lame :)  Since I only have two exams this year (two classes had papers that I have pretty much finished and my internship ended before Thanksgiving).  I am not as stressed as I was this time last year!  That being said, this will likely be the last Blog I write for the next two weeks (partly because I will be studying, but partly because I will also be lame and not have much of anything fun to write about)...and then I will be officially half-way done with law school!!!  This week though, I do have some fun updates to share, so away we go!

To celebrate the end of classes (along with the end of social life/beginning of exams), some friends and I went to Cactus Cantina to grab a margarita for my friend Abby's birthday.  The week got even better when we got a call from Chrissy asking if the Ahern clan could come visit and spend the night at our place before heading back to Utah...and of course we said HECK YES!  We had a great visit and are so glad we got to see them a SECOND time this trip :)

Happy Birthday Abby!

Look what Santa left us under our Christmas Tree!

On Friday, we bid adieu to Chrissy, Ryan, and Baby Nolan and got back to the grind.  I had to head to school, while Mister Seth stayed home to recover from his cold (luckily, he seems to be feeling better now!)  Although Friday and most of Saturday were pretty dull, we did have a really fun Saturday night (courtesy of Marissa and Peter!)  Seth and I attended the CentroNia Charity Auction (an annual event that we were also able to attend last year) at American's Katzen Arts Center.  CentroNia is a great program in DC and Maryland that has 5 campuses which provide programs for underprivileged kids.  Maria (Marissa's Mom) sits on the Board and each year, CentroNia hosts a fundraiser where they sell tickets to the auction and auction off donated art from local artists, as well as handmade crafts.  This year was the 25th Anniversary Bash and was wonderful - yummy food and drinks, great company and entertainment, and we were even able to buy someone their Christmas present :)  Check out the video and pictures below...good times!

Maria (on the TV) giving her speech.

Jay, Maria, Seth, & Me - too bad you can't see my bowtie :)

And with that, it's back to editing my papers and counting down the days til my FINAL final :)  Until then, wish me luck and I will talk to you all very soon!