Brussels 2009

.....more details to come from Ben after he finishes the bar on Wednesday!

Happy 4th of July

Somehow I managed to convince Ben to take a break from his studies to go watch the 4th of July Fireworks with me a few weeks ago. We decided to walk from our apartment until we found a good viewing spot. We ended up sitting in a grassy area right next to the pentagon that overlooked the Potomac. The view of the fireworks on the national mall were great and we were home in 20 minutes after they were done!

This picture is pretty dark but that is the Pentagon about 200 yrds
away from where we are sitting.

The IRS

Yesterday I finished my third week of work at my new job at the Office of Chief Counsel for the IRS. The entire Chief Counsel is made up of about 2,500 employees. Most of whom are attorneys, with about 700 support staff.

I was hired by the finance and management division at the national office. My position is a 2 year fellowship. I will rotate to multiple departments within Finance and Management, in 6 month increments. After the two years they will permanently place me in a department. My first assignment is in HR, training. They handle all of the employee training for the chief counsel. Last week they sent me to Florida to help with a basic trial course that they run for new attorneys. It was a lot of fun! Everyone in my office is incredibly nice and its been interesting to get a window into the world of tax attorneys. Ben has been great for answering any legal questions I have.

Outside of my building


View from my morning commute

Views from my hotel in Jacksonville, Florida

Our New Life in Washington DC

I realized it had been a long time since I last posted when Ben said to me, "So...are you ever going to post on the blog again?"

I guess somewhere between finishing my masters, graduating, helping Ben get ready for the bar, moving to a new state, starting a job, and growing a baby, I ran out of blogging time. Thankfully things have settled down a little and I have a chance to update everyone on whats be going on our new life in Washington DC.

Exactly one month ago, today, we drove 7 hours south of Syracuse to our new home in Washington DC. We moved into a basement apartment in the home of a wonderful young family. We're just a few miles from downtown DC in a community called Crystal City. Although it is about half the size of our last apartment it is much newer. We love it!

This is the main living area and kitchen.

View from the kitchen.

I found this bed broken in the basement of our last apartment and begged Ben to let me take it with us. When we got to DC I repaired it and put it back together. I think it turned out nice. Its the first bed we've had since we got married 2 years ago.

This is the angle of Ben that I've seen most this summer.
He basically studies all day and half the night!