4th of July in Washington DC

We had such a great time in Washington DC for the 4th of July. Greg's wife, Amy, came into town from California for the weekend so the four of us took the adventure together. I would recommend anyone visit our Nation's Capital on the 4th of July at least once in your life. Josh, Amy, and Greg at noonishJosh's brother, Jay, and his girlfriend, Liz, even met us for the fireworks!

I remember when we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial around noon, I wondered, "Where is everyone?" I expected people as crazy as us to arrive early and camp out for the entire day. Not to worry, by 7pm we were packed together like sardines.

TIMELINE

To Our Backs; The Lincoln Memorial: Noon
4 PM7 PM

Our View of the George Washington Monument:
Noon3PM8 PM

Around 4 pm, Amy and I decided to walk outside the barricaded mall to find dinner for everyone. We asked some police officers where the nearest restaurants were. Apparently close by = 7 - 10 city blocks to local cops! We walked passed the White House and into business downtown until we found burgers, fries and milkshakes. We were excited until we realized our journey was only halfway complete. When we arrived back, we promptly kicked the boys out of the chairs and scarfed down our dinner.

From about 7 - 9pm, groups of people swarmed the area. It was especially hard fighting the experienced photographers. I set my camera and tripod up way in advance to "claim my spot". My present camera is smaller than the average professionals but I thought it was pretty obvious that I was going to take pictures of the fireworks. However, when I stepped behind my camera, the photographers, who had wisely arranged their cameras directly behind mine, panicked and became agitated. "Are you going to be standing there the whole time?" they asked. "Yes?!" I replied. Disgusted, they scrambled to find a new view. This occurred at about 8pm, so I thought I was polite enough to give them about an hours warning. I think 9 hours of waiting around entitled me to my spot.

Here are some of my personal favorites. This experience has reignited the photographer in me. I hope you enjoy my pictures and I hope you all had a great 4th of July!

"Obama for President"

Early Anniversary #2

Today, Josh and I returned from Ocean City, Maryland. Since the end of July and beginning of August will be very busy for us with moving and traveling, we decided to celebrate our 2nd year anniversary a month early with a weekend beach getaway. The parents of one of Josh's friends from college, Jackie, own a studio apartment in Ocean City, that they occasionally use for vacationing. They generously offered us the apartment for the weekend. We were so grateful, especially since standard hotel rooms in Ocean City during the peak season range from $200 - $500 a night. We baked in the sun, ate delicious seafood (yes I am acquiring a taste for certain seafood!!), and played some miniature golf. Aside from my nasty sunburn, we had a wonderfully relaxing vacation together. "I love my home... planet earth". Thanks for the reusable bag, Mom! It is a perfect beach bag.

Just 4 more weeks in Baltimore, and where to next is still unknown...

The life of a doctor's wife

More and more I am beginning to feel like the wife of a doctor. The long hours and the nerdy jokes. I am alone most of the day which is starting to weigh on me, especially when I am no closer to discovering what I want to do with my life! I am use to seeing Josh all the time or at least have other spouses I can relate with. But it isn't all bad! Last night we experienced the first "perk" of being in the medical profession. We were invited to attend a celebration for all of the graduating Residency at Good Samaritan Hospital (the hospital Josh is doing his rotation with). The dress code for the event was sport jackets and dresses. We even bought Josh his first suit especially for this evening. I found a nice dress at Target for $20 bucks, what a steal! We had a really nice evening. My favorite part was the dessert buffet with endless strawberries and whipped cream, pastries, cake, eclairs, and more. I was in hog heaven.

This is Josh and his first Resident, Nabil Zeinah. Josh loved working with him. Greg and Josh having a grand old time

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 ;)