Free Food, Shoe Shopping, and Brandon's B-day

I love free food. Call me a mooch or a freeloader, or even refer to my Jewish heritage, and then admit that deep down you love free food too. I have come to accept, however, that not every one loves it as much as I do. My bro and I have talked about this multiple times because we've noticed that our spouses don't have quite as happy a response as we do when we find out we will be served/given free food. We've joked that it must be something genetic, or at the very least environmentally influenced, because our dad is a pretty big fan of "shmoozing and mooching" (which is what he does at nearly every Chevron event-- and he's really good at it!).

A week ago last Friday, Brandon and I attended my work's annual fundraiser "bull roast" and auction. Now, remember, I work for this expensive private school so most of the parents and alum there are loaded. One silent auction item sold for $1,000! We had free tickets and didn't bid on anything, but we did enjoy lots and lots of scruptuous, deluctable, absolutely free food. We ate shrimp, oysters, lasagna, roasted turkey and beef, salad, and bread. I couldn't understand why more of my colleauges weren't there! I mean, free food!

This weekend we enjoyed being tourists down in DC: meeting our friend Brea for brunch at Eastern Market, walking around Capital Hill and looking at the different vendors, and taking the metro to the National Geographic museum. Then, we headed back up to Bmore with a stop at the outlets. Our main goal was for Brandon to find new workout shoes because it was his birthday and his parents wanted to treat him to a nice present. He must have tried on at least 10 pairs and analyzed the pros and cons of each, before selecting the "sting like a bee" style (so named by Brandon because of the yellow accents on the shoe).

So, we move forward into this second week of March, we are hoping for continued weather in the 50's, the snow to keep melting, and Brandon to enjoy his new year of life! Happy b-day Brandon!!!