Duck… Duck… Doctor! – Baltimore, MD – July 2009

Meet Dr. Bill and Dr. Quack.

They were graduation gifts to the Hub from my brother and sweet sister-in-law. They are such a unique pare that I thought the blogesphere should get the chance to meet them.

Both are now at Hopkins with the Hub and are quite the talk of the resident room.

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Four Years - Baltimore, MD - July 2009

Happy 4th Anniversary to the Hub and I!!!

Till next time,

Bon Voyage!

Pick-A-Path – Baltimore, MD – July 2009

I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a story on my blog with reader input. Sort of like the Choose Your Own Adventure books that I used to read when I was a kid.
Here are my thoughts…

Wednesdays and Sundays are my days off and the month of August just so happens to have five of each. I would publish a new installment of the story by the end of the day each Sunday which would have two choices as to the direction the story will take. Readers would have till the end of the day on Tuesday to vote for there choice of where they want the story to go. The choice with the most votes will carve the way for the next section which I will publish the following Sunday.

If at least one person thinks this would be fun I’ll do it! We’ll get started right away. I’ll first post a few scenarios or opening sentences and let you guys choose that first.

If this works the way I’m envisioning, There will be 5 story sections and my blog readers will be picking the path of the story as I write it. I really think it will be fun! Let me know if you have any questions about logistics and if you’re up for the adventure!

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Allergies – Baltimore, MD – July 2009

Meet Kitty Sticks!

Expert in all things that involve napping…

Supervisor of our move…

Vice President of our household…

Note to Reader. In case you were wondering, I hold the title of "First Lady".

Owner of the fattest belly in our house (proportionately that is)…
And due to her allergies, she’s now the proud owner of this fancy new anti itch cone!Note from Kitty Sticks: Look at this face, and listen and listen carefully. I promise I will not, except when no one is looking, scratch my ears or lick the anti itch cream from the places I have already itched, but could someone PLEEEEEEESE remove this lamp shade from my head!!!Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Lexington Market – Baltimore, MD – July 2009

One of the cool parts about living in the Northeast, right on the Chesapeake Bay is the seafood. Since we arrived, we’ve had the chance to try some seafood that was way out of our budget in Memphis, but up here it’s VERY affordable. In our first week here Jeremy stretched his culinary wings and made steamed mussels, sautéed scallops, and broiled lobster tails! Needless to say in the next four (maybe five) years we’re going to be spoiled on good seafood.

One of the other food related jewels of our new town is Lexington Market. The only place that I know of that you can purchase Alaskan king crab, raccoon, or marsh rabbit all at the same vendor stall. See below for proof!Lexington Market is also the home of Faidley’s Crab Cakes. They are a Baltimore icon known by all as the home of the best crab cakes in Baltimore. The smaller ones are regular crab cakes and they’re made out of the claw meat. The bigger ones are lump crab cakes and they are made out of meat from the body. These are so good but they’re really rich! Oh and don’t you dare ask for tartar sauce! The Hub did and was scolded by an old man that mumbled while he walked away “I bet you put A1 on your steaks”!

In addition to inexpensive seafood, Lexington Market plays host to a ton of other types of market vendors, from fresh beef, sausage, and poultry, to produce, and just about any kind of baked goods you could imagine.

Note to Reader: I haven’t yet mentioned the three best parts about Lexington Market, so here goes.

One – We can take the metro to the market!

Two – We got everything you see here for under $8: 2 peaches, 2 plumbs, 2 nectarines, 3 forth of July cup cakes, a GIANT peace of German chocolate cake, and one GIANT apple turnover (not pictured).
Additional Note to Reader: The apple turnover is not pictured because in the short time it took me to get the camera out to document our loot, the turnover had mysteriously disappeared and the Hub looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary or the apple turnover in this case.

The third best part about Lexington Market is the people!!! This market houses the most eclectic and diverse array of people. If you are at all a people watcher, you could get your self a cup of coffee, find a centrally located place to sit and you could easily spend all day long watching all the odd balls walk by! It’s AWESOME!!! I have a feeling that this place is going to yield at least a few blog worthy stories. Yay!!!

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

One Week – June 2009

So today marks one week until I go back to work. I’ve been blessed to be able to take three weeks off before I start my new job.

Note to Reader: Same company, TOTALLY different job.

So in celebration of my last week of housewifedness (if that’s even a word), below is the schedule I’ve been strictly adhering to… unless I change my mind and decide to do something else.

5:30am - Wake up with the Hub – This is a practice that started at the beginning of medical school in an effort for us to keep the same schedule and thus see each other a little more. Now it is a force of habit combined with the fact that I am an extremely light sleeper.

5:45am - Make coffee (for the Hub) and hot tea (for me).

6:30am - Ship the Hub out the door with pager, cell phone, metro pass, iPod, hospital i.d badge, and a kiss. Oh and I almost forgot, the 9 lbs of mail from the previous resident of our home, all marked “Return to Sender – No Such Person”!
Additional Note to Reader: When moving, please, for goodness sakes, CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS!!! Not only is it important that you actually get your mail, which includes the bill for your Fredericks of Hollywood credit card account, your Comcast, and cell phone bills, and your subscription renewals for fine living, Cosmopolitan, Readers Digest, and Guns and Amo magazines, It will also keep the future residents of your former home from lugging your mail up the 39 stairs from the mailbox to the front door, wasting their black Sharpie marker, and then lugging all that mail back down the steps to the out going mail box.

Note to Self: Verify that you indeed submitted your Change of Address form with the USPS as well as all those that bill you.

6:30 - 10:30am - rite outside on the deck in a happily uninterrupted writing trance. Sometimes this goes long, maybe as long as noon or 1:30pm depending on how far in the zone I am.

10:30 (or whenever) - Lay out at the pool reading The Time Traveler’s Wife and soaking up all the sunshine I can stand, which is a lot! Additional Note to Reader: One day I will tell you about my theory on how laying out is almost as healthy as working out.

2:00pm - Shower, eat, catch up on e-mail, and blogs, and clean house, while deciding what to make for dinner. Tonight is dinner with the residents, so I don’t have to worry with that, so maybe a nap, but tomorrow I think maybe a pot roast. Mmmmmmm!

3:00pm - Run to grocery. I must point out that grocery shopping used to be an all day event because we lived 30 min from the good grocery stores, but now, we are between .5 and 2.5 miles from EVERYTHING!!! So when I say “run to the grocery” I literally could run there if I so desired.

4:00pm - Cook dinner

6:30pm - The Hub’s home!

6:45pm - Dinner!!!

There’s a country song called “You’re Gonna Miss Thiss" by Trace Adkins that says exatly what I'm feeling. Although I think after a month or two, or three, or maybe even four, this might get boring, for now I can confidently say that I’m gonna miss this!

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

39 Steps - June 2009

There are 39 steps between where I park my truck to where I wipe my feet on our welcome mat.
Note To Reader: These are actual stairs, not lengths of measurement!)

I’ve been climbing these steps for a week now and everything from my thighs down hurts. I’m a runner gosh darn it! I’m supposed to be in shape! Needless to say, after these next 4 (maybe 5) years we are going to have some rockin’ legs!

Check them out! Today skinny bird legs…

Tomorrow maybe THESE!!! (Hey a girl can dream!)

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!