Happy Holiday Season!

A Great Weekend

Life post-law school has been fantastic so far!  I had several days without any responsibilities, and I have felt very productive because I've been studying for the bar during the mornings and afternoons.  In the evenings I've gotten chores done, and I've experimented in the kitchen with some old and new meals.  Derek is quite enjoying my free time as well!  He's usually the one who likes to cook, but I think he enjoys eating just as much (if not more haha).

On Saturday I went to my friend Vicki's apartment for some charades with friends.  We always have a good time coming up with the charades clues.  When you get a bunch of law students together, the clues end up saying things like "Airplane jurisdiction."  We had a great time!

Vicki!

Bhanu

Amanda

Sally

Charades in action!

Hayley!

Sam!

One word... 

Vicki is moving in about a week, so she cleaned up and found some temporary tattoos

On Sunday, Derek and I studied in the morning and afternoon.  Derek has several big tests coming up (including one on the day after we get back from Becca's wedding!!), so he's been working a lot on school-related activities on top of working 14-hour shifts at the hospital.  I don't know how he's doing it.  He also made me this:

Delicious latte

The Avon Walk for the Cure is a 39-mile walk to benefit breast cancer research that takes place over two days.  The route went right in front of our apartment!

In the evening, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we enjoyed some festive food and music!  I cooked some beef in the crockpot all day with peppers, onions, and a spice rub for carnitas.  I'd also pinned something on pinterest that I was excited to try -- homemade flour taco bowls!  You take a flour tortilla, spray it with Pam, and drape it over a ball of aluminum foil.  Bake it in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, and you get a taco shell!

Now dear readers, I warn you... if you have not eaten in the past 2-3 hours, you should probably consume a snack before scrolling down through the following pictures.  Good looking food ahead!

 

After dinner, we broke into a bottle of champagne I received as a gift from the professor I worked with as a Dean's Fellow.  This was my first official glass of champagne--since it's not technically champagne unless the grapes were grown in Champagne, France.  I also googled the price because I'm curious like that!  It was a nice bottle, if you catch my drift.  Honestly, Derek and I must not be very worldly because I couldn't really tell between real champagne and sparkling wine.  Either way, it was a very thoughtful gift, and Derek and I enjoyed it!

I have also had the chance to learn more about my new camera (thanks for the early graduation present, Mom and Dad!)  I've had so much fun fiddling around with it.  I don't think a day goes by that I don't pull it out and try new settings and functions!  I have probably 300 pictures of Brennan modeling! Here's some fun pictures I took last night:

I like playing with the focus the best.  Look how pretty everything is blurred out in the background!  And the colors are so crisp and pretty!

Studies Show...

New reports show that studying with a cat snuggling nearby greatly enhances a subject's desire to remain sitting in the same position.  Observe*:

* All evidence gathered by webcam over the last 5 months

As more data is gathered, this research will be updated.
--Brennan

Today, I took my Last Law School Final

Yesterday, at 12:30 PM, Catherine Allison finished law school.  I then ran some errands for a few hours afterward in a fog of unknown feelings.  It's finally started to sink in, 9 hours later.

I feel like I should take this moment to say thanks for all the love and support from friends and family!

Derek is still chugging away at the hospital.  He's currently on a Vascular Surgery rotation, and it has been less than ideal.  Today, he dropped this on me:

Breaking for just a minute

STUDYING a ton, but thankfully I have a great study partner!

Together we're going to ace my Adminsitrative Law final!

Photoshoot at GW Law!

Yesterday I got to try out my alternative career as a business model!  GW is putting together a bunch of promotional materials for the next couple of years, and they asked if I'd like to be involved in a photoshoot... and if you know me AT ALL, you know I was all over that!

It's been HOT in the District, but yesterday, a few classmates and I donned our power suits and pranced around the Capital posing for pictures!  The photographer was really fun (as only photographers can be haha).  He does a 'one picture a day' blog, and I was on his blog!

http://dougplummer.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341c9b4653ef017eea2618c4970d-pi

We did a lot of shots talking and walking in front of various buildings.
These were his initial comments to me:

"Stop smiling at me."

"Yeah, don't look at me.  Try looking over there.  Oh much better [when I was no longer facing him at all]!"
"Ummm... can you relax your face?  Uh, no not like that."

So it looks like I don't have much of a career in modeling!  Haha but we had fun, and maybe I'll end up on the GW Law website or catalog!!!

Our Trip to Baltimore

Derek and I had such fun trip last Saturday up to Baltimore.  We may be one of the only people in the world who tours hospitals when we go on vacation! :)  We wanted to check out Johns Hopkins Hospital while we were up in Baltimore.  Obviously we're not making any big plans, but it's good to check out our options!  So we've toured University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University Hospital, so only about a thousand other hospitals to get to next!

 How gorgeous is this building??  And with my sweet-awesome-graduation-present-camera, it looks even better!

These are all pictures that we chose not to post on Facebook haha.  But we wanted to share them!

 Baltimore ended up being much cuter than I remembered!  Here's the skyline.

 Seriously such a pretty hospital!

 It was awe-inspiring to walk the halls of Johns Hopkins.  So many medical discoveries and procedures happened at Johns Hopkins first.  I also learned that a year after the medical school was founded, several women got together raising money to help fund the medical school--with the stipulation that women be admitted.

Anyway, it was a great trip!  Maybe we'll end up there this time next year... For now, we're enjoying this time period in our life where we could end up almost anywhere when Derek opens that envelope on March 21, 2014!
--Catherine