Our first visitors, Sam and Katrina!

This week our friends Sam and Katrina drove from Saginaw to visit us. We met Sam and Katrina in Dominica (Sam is a medical student too), and we really became close when we moved to the same apartment complex in Michigan. Sam and Katrina had never been to the east coast so naturally we had to show them all the "important sites"! Below is just an array of pictures from their visit, including our trips to Washington DC and Philadelphia.

Philly Geno's and Pat's are two competing cheese steak restaurants in Philly. Each location sells essentially the exact same product and each has two strictly enforced rules: 1. Pay in cash and 2. Read their instruction on how to order, practice before ordering, and don't mess up. We witnessed intimidated customers practicing their order in line. Quite hilarious if you ask me, although they were very very very serious about their rules. I preferred Pat's merely because Geno's refused to give me a glass of tap water... which I believe is illegal? Anyone know!?

Liberty Bell - It is a beautiful exhibit. The Liberty Bell is placed in front of a glass door that overlooks where it originally hung in Independence Hall.

National Christmas Tree - Which in our opinion, needs some pruning!

First trip to Washington DC

Our first trip to Washington DC as Maryland residents was a cold and rainy one. But we loved every minute! 1 trip down, at least 4 more to go :)

Our friends Sam and Katrina are arriving today. Washington DC is definitely on our to-do list since Michigan is as far east as either of them have been. My to-do list also consists of having lunch with President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. (Totally possible!!)

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend.

My new obsessions

Since the 100 calorie snack packs emerged, I have really enjoyed the Lorna Doone cookie pack. edition. They are buttery and delicious. My afternoon isn't complete without my diet coke and a pack of Lorna Doones. (Most of the time I am pretty good about sticking to just the one pack!)

Last week I randomly purchased a bag of Tostitos new blue corn tortilla chips, which are made from organic corn (although this was not my motive for purchasing the chips). For anyone who loves chips and salsa as much as we do, try these chips. So Yummy.

As you can tell, I would have a hard time on the Atkin's Diet! I love my carbs!

Baltimore, MD

We arrived in Baltimore without complications and we are settling in. We are so fortunate to have had our friends Greg and Amy here when we arrived, mostly because Greg owns a truck!! He helped us promptly purchase our first bed, first couch, first television, and even let us borrow some of their furniture he placed in storage.

Josh and I were hesitant to sign the lease when we arrived because the exterior of the apartment complex is quite unsightly. The hallway leading up to our apartment smells vaguely like an old wet gym sock. It appeared that our luck with apartment complexes had finally run its course. But we signed the lease anyway (since we only had two days before Josh started his clerkship and since the rent was very inexpensive for living in Baltimore). Josh promised to buy me some pepper spray for protection!! The first few days we felt a bit edgy but having Amy and Greg here calmed our nerves. Two weeks later, we feel at home. Especially since this is our first home as a married couple that we have purchased our own furniture together. It makes a difference! This will be our home until the end of July. We are still waiting to receive Josh's Step 1 scores. His score will help determine where we are moving next. (Hopefully back to Saginaw, MI)


We are always welcoming visitors and don't be deterred by my previous comments! Baltimore, like most cities, has areas to avoid but we don't live in one. And in fact, downtown Baltimore (the inner harbor) is one of the most beautiful inner cities I have seen. Plus we only live about an hour from Washington DC for all you history enthusiasts. My goal is to visit DC at least 5 times while I am here (already one down). Maybe I will just bump into Barack and Michelle Obama on the street... you can't blame a girl for dreaming!

I thought this picture was funny....

How many future doctors does it take to build a grill?!

~If you want it to take an hour, then two ;)