Happy Fourth of July!!!

This is my first time blogging from my iPad, so please forgive me if my grammar is off. My MacBook air is in the shop again, of course....you know, by this point I've had a completely new computer from all my trips to the genius bar: I have a new motherboard, new keyboard, new trackpad, new fan, new display (monitor screen thing included), and now new speakers. It would have been cheaper for apple to just give me a new freakin computer. Anyway, I digress. This past long weekend Kyle came to visit! It is always nice when there is a long weekend bc the visit doesn't seem so short, but it still flew by nonetheless. Friday night he got in and we just hung out. Saturday morning we went to Alexandria to get my mini serviced and checked out the Countryman, which is the four door mini and a ridiculously awesome car. Probably my next car after this lease is over :) we came home, rented two movies from redbox, got food, and came home. Rented The Other Guys and The A Team. Both EXCELLENT movies, amazing! Sunday we finally decided to get the new bed, and so now we are proud new owners of a westin heavenly bed! Very exciting, since the tempurpedic actually hurt my back, which is really counterproductive. Nadia and Nick were in town for the day from Baltimore, so we met up in Georgetown. Got in line for g-town cupcakes. The line was insane, but as always, the cupcakes were worth it. We then headed to the Potomac River, which is literally a couple blocks away. We walked downhill, nearing the dock, and looked behind us. The sky was, no joke, BLACK. There was a fierce storm coming our way. The wind started going, water started churning. And the crazy thing was, PEOPLE WERE STILL GETTING ON THE BOATS, and people were still out on their kayaks, floating around. Well, our little group got a little nervous, so we decided to turn back. Sure enough, no sooner than walking half a block, this torrential DOWNPOUR came down. Not like, rain. But big fat droplets that pelted us. Luckily, we were under a highway, so everybody in the surrounding vicinity got under it. The river, which was half a block away, was now totally NOT visible. Virginia and the trees? Gone. The kayaks? I hope they're ok. It was a ridiculous thunder/lightning/rain spectacle that lasted a good 20 minutes. Freak storm for real. Anyway, after that we decided to be near a car at all times, so we headed to National Cathedral, then to Cactus Cantina for margs and food, after which we took Nadia and Nick to Union so they could head back to Baltimore :)

line @ g-towncupcake

Today (4th of July!) was pretty worthless. We got up, watched a movie, ate, slept, and read books all day, just enjoying each other's company :) We headed over to Duane and DeVere's for a little 4th get-together and to watch fireworks. Good food, good company, and a great view of the fireworks that were going over the mall. It really is something to be an American. I do a lot of immigration work, and so it makes me even more thankful to be an American, knowing what we have, and knowing how hard so many people strive in order to get that green card (which isn't even green...). Immigrants in this country really love being here, and are thankful to be here. Many of them don't take it for granted, and I think there are many people who can learn a thing or two from them. Anyway, that's my two cents for the day :) Happy Fourth, everyone! God bless America :)

great view of the fireworks from duane and devere's!

(ps: blogging from an ipad sucks. i had to switch to a real computer. blarghhh)

Marriage.

Kyle and I are pretty much liberal conservatives, however you want to take that. We were so, so excited to celebrate our first year of marriage together....as well as celebrate New York State legalizing same-sex marriage on our one year anniversary! Yay New York!!!!!! What a great anniversary present, as one friend termed it :)

This past weekend, Kyle came down to DC to celebrate our anniversary. He got in on Friday and left late Sunday, and we had a really good time together! Saturday morning we brunched outside at Clyde's where I live, then we did some grocery shopping at Costco and sauntered over to Nordstroms to look at beds. Kyle had purchased a Tempurpedic bed, but it's pretty awful, so he finally gave in and agreed to try out the Westin bed, which is my personal favorite. Annnnd I think we have a winner! Plus it's way cheaper than the Tempurpedic. I honestly don't know what you pay for with those beds. Anyway, that night, we decided to celebrate by going to dinner at a casual, but relaxed place, and we ended up at the Mussel Bar in Bethesda. It was an hour wait, so we went over to Georgetown Cupcakes and got some DEEELICIOUS cupcakes. LOVE that place. Like, to the point where it's probably not healthy for me and negating all the running and working out I'm doing...

MUSSELS GALORE. This place was worth the wait!

Cupcakes, beer, and mussels. Great combo!

Sunday, we had dim sum in the morning (by now Kyle is a total expert and knows exactly how to order, and even uses chopsticks better than me :)). We then headed over to the Jefferson Memorial, which I've never actually been to. It was a very very beautiful location that was serene and quiet. Nothing like the hustle and bustle the Washington and Lincoln Memorials have. Very much enjoyed sitting on the steps for a while and just looking out :) Beautiful day, great time with my husband, can't really ask for much more, can I?

In front of the Jefferson Memorial.

This pic, on the first try, is courtesy of the Samsung camera that has the screen on the front ;)

Sitting appropriately under the Preamble.

Sitting on the steps peacefully.

I am so so SO lucky to be with someone I love very much. It's not only been a year since we've been married, but almost a year since I found out I was going to transfer, and of living apart from each other. We've done pretty well, I must say. That night, we FINALLY picked out the final shots from our wedding. Here are a few of my favorites I would like to share with all of you again, taken by our professional photogs and by our very good friend and professional photographer, Austin Benton :)

Happy days :)

New York!

New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of; There's nothin' you can't do; Now you're in New York; These streets will make you feel brand new; Big lights will inspire you; Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York.

I have always loved this song. I made the trek from California to Texas, and finally to New York bc I had always wanted to work at the United Nations in some human rights division. Of course, a lot has changed now, but there's no doubt about it. I heart NY :)

One big reason? Kyle was officially admitted to the New York Bar as an official attorney, sworn in and everything fancy!

I present to you, Mr. Kyle Pozza, Esq.

I am so so SO proud of him! Two days after he was admitted, he was sent to court to argue his first motion. Now THAT'S what I call awesome lawyering :)

Other than that, the weekend of the 18th, I went to NYC for a little weekend trip with my friend Emily, where we met up with Nancy, who, I must say, is now a TRUE native of New York. I kid you not, we were able to see ALL of New York City (Times Square, Rockefeller, Central Park, Wall Street, Ground Zero, East Village, Chelsea, Columbus Circle, Bryant Park, Meatpacking District, AND we took a ferry to Staten Island. I was really quite impressed. Our feet were dead tired from walking so much, but it was well worth it! Now, the real reason for our trip was to attend the Glee concert, which was THE most amazing concert I have ever been to. No joke. This beats Backstreet Boys back when I was OBSESSED with them, like in 9th grade, when I went to two concerts in a row. Regardless, the Glee concert was ON FIRE. Everyone from the cast was there, singing live, and BLAINE WARBLER was extra dreamy ;) I've actually had 3 independent sources tell me now that they think Kyle looks like Blaine. Ha! Anyway, the weekend was soooo much fun. We stayed in Times Square, in this little SHOEBOX, but we were literally a block away from all the bright lights. We got into NYC maybe around 11:30pm, and everything was still SO bright.

It really was a great weekend getaway! Here are some pics: Radio music hall, Central park, the Glee concert, the Wall Street Bull, etc.

At the Glee concert in NY!!!

This is perhaps one of my most favorite quotes from Glee.

Everyone knows the Journey song/outfits well by now!

The entire cast of Glee singing Empire State of Mind. How appropriate :)

Hiiiiiiii Blaine!

Hot dogs in Central Park are a must!

Wall Street Bull. No comment.

It was a great weekend. Loved visiting. Not sure I can live in such a hectic city...unless I have a couple million to spare to buy a "large" (aka 1500 sq. ft.) penthouse :)

A very very special weekend :)

This past weekend was the amazing and incredible wedding celebrations of one of my best friends- Ellen Pollack :) It was truly such an amazing and happy day that I wish they could do it again! It was a very very whirlwind weekend...I got into Buffalo on Wednesday night...midnight to be exact. My flight was delayed an hour, which is fine, Baltimore and Buffalo are my favorite airports to be in bc they're clean and small. Thursday was a lot of running around tying up loose ends and ended with spa night with the bridesmaids. Friday was more running around and checking things off the to-do list, rehearsal, and rehearsal dinner, before we all headed back to Ellen's to spend the night! Saturday morning was another whirlwind. We were all ready by 11am, and then the groom's side came to the bride's house! Armenian tradition was SO cool to observe and be a part of. Then came the ceremony. Absolutely beautiful church. Then were the pictures. And lastly- the reception, where the party REALLY started. It was SUCH an amazing wedding with awesome music (half of which were in Russian but it was still a ridiculous beat nonetheless), a freakin' awesome wedding singer, and emcee who could salsa like nobody's business. We literally all danced the night away. Below are some pics. You can tell that the theme was very pink :)

Kyle and I before the ceremony. The first and last time you'll see me in so much pink :)

The party bus!

All of us now. So pretty

Seriously one of my favorite shots. Love candids.

I was having a GREAT time.

FAVORITE PICTURE EVER. Ellen looks ridiculously happy and beautiful while I look...special.

CONGRATS TO ELLEN AND GEVORK!!!!!!!!

First weekend of June!

I love love love June. For so many reasons. It's my birthday month, as well as the month Kyle and I were married! Plus, June is the beginning of summer, which is my favorite time because it signifies that there are still 2 more months of glorious weather to be had :)

This weekend was quite a busy one. One of my sorority sisters, Nancy, came down from NYC to visit me in DC on Thursday night, to stay through the weekend. Thursday night we went to Clyde's, which is right across the street from where I live, and we sat outside on the patio, next to a Jamaican band playing. The weather was amazing, and to top it off, my Guinness had a perfect four leaf clover drawn onto the foam! Friday night we headed to Georgetown for some shopping and Georgetown cupcake. Georgetown Cupcake is seriously my favorite cupcakes, even though I feel like such a tourist every time I go in there. This is actually my first time inside the Georgetown location, bc I normally like to go to the Bethesda one (which is very close to me) since it's normally locals who populate it, and there really is no line most of the time. After Georgetown, we both came back and went to sleep REALLY early because the next day was the Race for the Cure! Saturday morning (like, 6am), we headed out to get Emily, then went down to the Mall for the race. It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a 5k, and it was super cool. We had a lot of fun! Emily and I didn't manage to beat our time from our last 5k, but it was because we spent most of the time dodging walkers and kids and strollers. Ugh.

Race for the Cure pics. The "pink" White House was a little overkill...

After the 5k, we showered, cleaned up, then headed to Baltimore! Baltimore Inner Harbor is SUCH a pretty area, and so is Fells Point. We walked around, got sunburned, ate at a GREAT crab shack place, and basically spent the afternoon/night just hanging out. It was very relaxing.

Inner Harbor sitting from the top. Check out the volleyball courts!

Memorial Day Weekend

Ah, Memorial Day weekend. To me, it signifies the return of being able to wear white dresses, bottoms, and shoes! Ok, I'm kidding. It basically signals that summer is here, which I'm super excited about! After Kyle's graduation week, I headed back to DC. Man, it is HOT here. It has been constantly in the upper 80s-90s, with what feels like 100% humidity. Walking three blocks in my neighborhood leaves me a sweaty mess. So I got to Buffalo Friday night. My flight was delayed a good hour and a half, and I got in close to midnight. Needless to say, sleep was on my agenda. Saturday, Kyle and I had a great day consisting of shopping for our good friends Jesslyn and Tyler (graduation and birthday presents all around!)...we got Tyler these bad-assToms shoes. I will never ever stop advocating for these shoes, because each time YOU buy a pair, a kid somewhere in the world, who NEEDS shoes, gets a free pair. One for one. And, they are honestly the most comfortable pair of shoes that I have ever owned. Ever. Later that night, I went to the most epic concert ever- NKOTBSB!!! For those of you who are not well-versed in pop language it stands for New Kids on the Block + Backstreet Boys. It was pretty epic, but also a bit of a let-down, BUT ONLY BECAUSE they are clearly from two different genres. I did not know a SINGLE nkotb song, and so it was awkward bc it was essentially two different concerts. Regardless, had a blast with my favorite Pollacks and Nadia's friend Lauren :) GREAT times. Here are some awesome pics:

Backstreet Boys!!!!!

Insanely awesome!

The next morning, Kyle and I decided to make the most of the Memorial Day weekend. We got up earlyish and went down to the Buffalo marathon to cheer on Rob, who Kyle works with. Rob came in at an impressive 3:16!! For 26.2 miles! That is impressive, for real. After that, we picked up Jesslyn and headed to Niagara on the Lake, which is one of my most favorite places in the world :) It is in Canada, and is extremely cute, beautiful, and scenic, all wrapped in a little town. It also includes my favorite wineries for ice wine. Ice wine is really cool because it is sweet, and great for dessert. Because it's so cold up in Canada during the winter, the grapes freeze. I think it's something like 1-2 drops come out of a frozen grape, which then is made into ice wine. Niagara on the Lake definitely has the best.

On the lake. BEAUTIFUL view :)

In the little town of Niagara on the Lake. Gorgeous tulips :)

That night we got home, exhausted. Rented Gnomeo and Juliet and Black Swan. Loved the first, hated the second. I don't understand Black Swan. Really. Ugh. The gnome movie was SUPER cute, and went by pretty quickly. Highly recommended.

Monday, Kyle and I did laundry in the morning, then had brunch outside at Panos. It was a beautiful day in Buffalo, not too hot but just right. We then went to the outlets to get Kyle some new suits :) Success! And headed over to Jesslyn and Tyler's for some good chow! Early Tuesday morning, I flew back to DC. My flight landed at 7:30am, and the 80 degree heat hit me like a wall. It was disgusting :( Had a bunch of things to do during the week. I NEED to start on my dissertation. It WILL happen. Starting...NOW.

Anyway, here are some pics from graduation that I really wanted to share of Kyle and his family. Doesn't my husband look amazing? :) So proud of him...

Kyle and his parents at Niagara Falls! No trip to Buffalo is complete without the Falls...

Kyle and his proud parents @ graduation :)

Kyle and some siblings! The rest were there in spirit, definitely!!

Anyway, that is all I have in terms of updates. I will try to update this once a week :) Since it's summer, and I'm supposed to have more time...

~k :)

Playing Catch-up

Wow, where has the time gone, huh? I've recently been inspired to restart this blog that we used to reserve only for vacations (except going to China last summer sort of ruined that...we had this grand plan of blogging our entire trip, only to discover that China basically blocked every social website on the planet, no joke...and we just forgot about it in England and Prague back in March). Kyle's cousins have been blogging non-stop, and combined with the fact that we're always getting asked what we're up to due to our current circumstances, this might be an easier way for our friends and family to follow us on our journey! So...let's recap, shall we?

Kyle and I were married last June on the 25th, so we're coming up on our first wedding anniversary! It was a beautiful event, one that we've been requested to replicate again this year...and the next...and the next. Well, when I win the lottery, we will be sure to throw another party :)

The day we got back from California (literally, we took a red-eye back to NY), I received an email saying that I had been accepted to transfer into American University Washington College of Law. I started freaking out. I'm not even kidding. Kyle had gone off to work, and I was sleep-deprived and all by myself in our apartment. I applied to AU on a whim, and never really thought I would get in, and even if I did, didn't think I would go. Well, I'm now sitting in DC blogging away, so you can guess what my decision ended up being. It was the best decision for both of us, and we knew our relationship was strong enough to get through it. Sure, it's hard, but it's something that we both decided to do, and we both knew the challenges we would face leading up to it.

Fall 2010: My first semester at AU was hard, mostly because I was studying for/taking comprehensive exams for my PhD which is still in Buffalo. I was flying up to Buffalo every weekend, Thursday through Sunday, and didn't really meet any people, plus I had one awful class. I got through first semester (and passed comps!), and Kyle finished his last semester of law school! Kyle finished school and classes with a bang- graduated with honors, and received both his JD and his MA, as well as bagging a FABULOUS job.

Spring 2011: Kyle moved down to DC for three months to study for the NY bar exam, and life was easier for me. I didn't step foot in an airport for a good three months, and it was GREAT. Even though he was studying for the bar, we managed to do fun things on the weekends, and it was great seeing him every night, and he managed his time so well that when I WAS home, he was able to hang out with me. It made all the difference in the world. Come end of February, he packed all his stuff back up and headed back to NY to take the actual test. After the test, we celebrated by going to England and Prague for Spring Break. SO. MUCH. FUN. Also- SO.COLD. We stayed with Sam and Louise the entire time, and had a blast. If only we remembered to blog about it... Our yearly trips to England/a-new-European-city is pretty awesome.

Kyle, me, Louise, and Sam in Prague :)

As soon as we got back, Kyle moved back up to Buffalo to start his new job. He has an AMAZING job he loves. He works with great people who do great work, and I really can't say anything bad about his job, other than maybe the location. In fact, I like where he works so much that I actually go hang out in the office every now and then :)

As for me, the second semester went MUCH better. My stress level was also a lot higher. I put more on my plate than I did before. Took 5 classes, had to write my comment for Law Review, and was working. I was streeeessed out. But it worked out. Why? Although I wanted to stab myself in every class I took, I met some really great people every which way I turned. Writing my comment for law review was anything but fun, but hey, I got a chapter for my dissertation done, and through law review, I was able to take part in one of THE coolest things I have done so far: oral argument at the Supreme Court, tour of the S.C., and tea and cookies with Justice Alito!!!!! It was truly one of the best moments, mostly because I've heard so much about them in law school (of course), and also studied them individually through my PhD work (the attitudinal model is no joke).

Started doing Therapy Thursdays with some other transfer girls, and all-in-all, actually participated in law school. I made the school's Society for Dispute Resolution team, and I will be officially competing at the International Chamber of Commerce next February in Paris! :) Imagine that. I was never that involved in law school at Buffalo, more so because I didn't want to, but I actually WANTED to be part of law school here. The firm I started working for is awesome. Actually made me start participating in 5ks, and I also signed up for a half-marathon! Love the people, the professionalism, and just learning the way a firm works.

The other big news of this semester- Kyle not only PASSED the NY bar exam, but also graduated law school! The Pozza clan headed up to the Northeast to attend graduation (which was this past weekend), but unfortunately, Stacy and Amy weren't able to make it because of flight delays and cancellations. Boo storms. But we managed to Skype them the ENTIRE graduation, which was SUPER cool, and I'm really glad I made the investment in an iPad 2. Anyway, here is my handsome, amazing graduate of a husband!:

I will actually upload more pics as I get them from Kyle, because it's all on his camera. Want to share all the fam pics! Anyway, since graduation was only this past weekend, I can still upload them later and be "current" on my blogging.

Other than that, I think that's about it for our update. We have some here-and-theres for this coming summer and upcoming school year (including some incredible weddings), and I'm super psyched to be sharing them!

~Kristen