Philadelphia, PA

The Reason:

I had an oral exam the Tuesday after our anniversary so I had to study over the weekend, so we didn't get to do anything special.  So we decided to take advantage of the proximity of cities in the northeast, and take a weekend to visit Philadelphia.  Neither of us had been here before so it was just a good way to celebrate 3 years of marriage!

Richard and I had an amazing time, on our anniversary weekend.  Saturday we went to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Christ Church and the Christ Church Graveyard, Carpenter's Hall, the First National Bank, etc...  It was interesting to think about being in the birthplace of our nation, and pretty amazing to stand in the very same room that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. 

After a morning full of history, we headed to the Franklin Institute.  This is an interactive science museum in honour of Benjamin Franklin, it was so much fun.  They had a giant heart, and you could walk through the chambers along the path of blood flow.  They also had an OR suite set up, so I was able to show Richard what I do everyday.  If you have kids or are just a big kid yourself, and are planning a visit to Philly, you must go here.  It was very entertaining, but the reason we went was to attend a temporary exhibit called "Cleopatra: The search for the last Queen of Egypt".  This is a National Geographic exhibit, very similar to the King Tut exhibit, so if you enjoyed that, you will definately enjoy Cleopatra.

Sunday, before heading home we visited the Rodin Museum (definately worth a look).  Before taking a trip up the famed "Rocky Steps", to see the best view of the city.  Then we headed to Pat's steaks for treat for the road. 

Hotel:

Sheraton City Center

Hotel Review:

A+.  It was very nice hotel, in a PERFECT location.  Situated right on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a short stroll from all the museums and the Love park, and about a 15-20 minute walk to all the historic stuff.  The view was great too!

Restaurant Reviews:

Bistro 7****: We ate here friday night.  Fabulous, intimate BYO restaurant, near the historic center.  Very romantic atmosphere with an organic decor.  The food was mostly local, seasonal.  The highlight was the fresh butternut squash ravioli in a sage bacon cream.

Reading Terminal Market*****: Saturday Breakfast.  HIGHLIGHT of my trip.  This place was like heaven for me.  It's a huge indoor market with all kinds of local fresh food, produce, candy, seafood, meat, everything you can imagine.   It was wonderful, they have just about any kind of food you could hope for from classic homestyle cooking, to crepes, to Indian, to Cajun and everything in between.  We had Amazing crepes at Profi's Creperie (I highly reccommend), just as good as a streetcart in Paris.  We also had the famous fresh blueberry pancakes at the Dutch Eating Place, a must!  These were the lightest fluffiest pancakes, and you've only tasted blueberries this fresh if you've picked them yourself.

Gigi**: This was a wild card, we hadn't planned on eating here, but they had patio dining on a beautiful day and we were nearby so we stopped to eat.  The hummus was great, it was combined with a traditional pesto, great combo.  The sandwiches were good, but average, with a fresh delicious seasonal side salad.  It's ok, but don't go out of your way to go here.

Kanella*****: This is a Greek BYO.  The food is fantastic, seasonal/local (see the theme) menu changes monthly.  The atmosphere is lively and homey, feels very much like you are having an animated family dinner.  We had Rabbit White Bean casserole as an appetizer, it was tender, hearty, and had a very luxurious feel.  Try it out if it's on the menu.

Sabrina's Cafe*****: This is one of the best breakfast's I've had at a restaurant and the chef seem's to have an obsession with Chuck Norris (which is always a plus).  It's very popular, get there early on the weekend.  We had the french toast, it was made out of inch thick brioche slices, soo soo great!  Also, all their savory breakfast options come served with delicious crispy homestyle potatoes.  

Pat's King of Steaks****: The birthplace of the Philly Cheesesteak.  The line was about 20 minutes long at noon on a Sunday.  It was delicious, and we didn't even eat it for about 2 hours.  I reccommend trying the Cheese Whiz, untraditional for most of us, but worth a try.  Caveat: I've never been to Geno's so I can offer no comparison as of now.

3 years and Counting...

9-29-10

This was the anniversary of the best day of our lives! (the day we got married)

Since it was the middle of the week, the celebrations were minimal, but we both enjoyed it immensely!

We tried out a restaurant in DC called Cedar, that Richard picked out.  Neither of us had been here before, and we didn't know anyone who had, but decided to give it a go.  It was A-mazing!  If you need a restaurant rec in DC, try Cedar.  I highly reccommend the braised oysters with leek in cream, it is the best appetizer I have had in a long time.  If you don't like oysters, TRY IT, this is your chance!  You will love it, trust me!  Then Richard had a perfect NY strip on a bed of canellini puree and I had a perfectly cooked butter poached lobster on a bed of mashed potatoes and creamy crimini mushrooms, we both highly reccomend these dishes if you go. 

Guess what we bought each other?  We both bought SHOES!  Haha!  We had a good laugh about it... We both separately without discussing it, researched the traditional gift for the third anniversary, which is leather.  Best leather gift=Shoes!

A day in the life...

So now that clinicals are in full swing I thought I might give you a little idea of what my life is like...(on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday)

5am-Get up
5:30-Leave for work, the drive to the hospital is one of my favorite things about my day.  At this time of day it's a short drive with very little traffic, and it's dark (for now anyway, we'll see in a few weeks with the time change).  When it's dark in DC all the monuments are lit up, and it's really beautiful.  I drive along the GW parkway and see the Washington Monument, the Jefferson,the Lincoln and the Capitol all lit up every morning.  It's a glorious reminder of where we live, I love it!
5:50- I arrive at the hospital, get all settled in, and check my assignment.
6:00- I am in an OR setting up for the first case of the day.
6:30- I pre-op my first patient of the day.  Have you ever had surgery?  You know all those people who come in and ask you the same questions and do the same thing over and over, while you are waiting to go back?  Well, I'm one of them!
7:30-First Case....Followed by other cases...with lunch and a couple of breaks in between.
3:45-I leave the hospital to come home in DC's fantastic traffic.  This is the part I hate.  Unlike other cities (Dallas at least), the traffic pattern in DC is different every day!  You never know what to expect so the drive home ranges from 30 minutes to an hour... This makes me a little crazy, why is there not traffic in the same place everyday?  Transient city...

Me in my hat and scrubs after the weeks work!

Then I usually get home between 4:30 and 5:00, in time to workout (a little P90X action), cook dinner, clean up, and prepare care plans for the next day.  So that's pretty much what my life will be like for the next two months...then the hours get much longer!  So I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts!

First Week of Clinical

Wednesday September 8th was an important day in my life this year for a reason other than the fact that it is my husband's birthday.  It was also the day I had my first official day of clinical.

So at the end of the week I would like to recap how I've felt... I LOVE it!!!

It has been a tough week having to get used to getting up again at 5am everyday, and used to being up and on my feet all the time again (instead of sitting on the couch studying), and of course being the new kid who knows nothing.  However, at the same time knowing so little is exhilarating, because you learn so much so fast.  It's also nice, because there are 8 Georgetown students at Washington Hospital Center with me, so there's always a friendly face, and it kindof takes me back to my NIP days.  So I just want everyone to know that this was a great decision and I am super happy to be starting this phase of my training. 

From here on out I have 15months of clinical left, before I graduate.  My only fear is that I only get two weeks of vacation TOTAL in that time period.  I get one week between December and May and one more between June and November.  Then I am planning a trip to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to celebrate!  (but that's still a long way off...but a lot closer than it was a year ago!)

The BEST present you can give a compulsive competitor!

Wednesday was Richard's 29th birthday! Which of course he is not thrilled about, and neither am I seeing as I am going to get to spend the next year hearing about how he is "almost 30"! But we have had quite the week of celebration none the less.

Wednesday also happens to be our kickball night, so after my first day of clinical I helped Rich make dinner, made some homemade birthday hats and we headed down to the mall for the game. It turns out the Wednesday after Labor day isn't a big kickball day and we only had sevegn players show up. Which means we had to play three players short... So after much debate we decided to play short handed, meaning we started with a score of negative 3 and every time we got through our batting order we had to automatically take three outs. So needless to say we did not anticipate a victory, but our team played a glorious game with a 15-8 win.  So my husband was gifted with glory for his birthday!

We continued the celebration into the weekend with a romantic dinner for two and our favorite french place (best mussels EVER), and then the birthday party on Saturday.

I love this pic, despite my BIG head :)

I planned a party and the Biergarten Haus on H st. and we had a great turnout with 12, including Sara and Tom (no small feat, thanks guys), Karen (Richard's friend from middle school), all of my besties from school, and Katie and Kurtis.  This is a pretty authentic German Biergarten, complete with live polka band, German food, and our favorite German beer on tap (Franziskaner).  We really had a fantastic time, although our other German travelling buddies were definately missed, and of course all our friends from home who we usually celebrate with.  But I just wanted to thank you all for coming and celebrating with us!!!

What I missed most...

August has been my research month at school, which means I have not had any organized classes I've simply been finishing my thesis research.  Needless to say, it did not consume all of my time by any means, so I've had time to resume some of my favorite hobbies and of course do some fun stuff with my husband and friends.

Hobby 1...Reading:
1-4: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.
These were actually better the second time around, New Moon wasn't near as depressing.
5: Mansfield Park
It's no Emma or Pride and Prejudice, but still very good, it made me want to do a Jane Austen book club.
6: The Gatecrasher
By Madeliene Wickham who used to be Sophie Kinsella, not her best work, but a quick read none the less.
7. Snow Flower and The Secret Fan
This book was absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a good read.  Definately the WINNER!!!

Hobby 2...Cooking

For the last month I've made all kinds of new and delicious treats, the highlights being homemade Focaccia and a Boston Cream Pie!!!

Focaccia Take 1

Boston Cream

Focaccia Take 2

Hobby 3...Having FUN!!! 

Dinner's, Happy Hour's, the Zoo, Family, Inception, Brunch at the Kennedy Center, ect.

What I didn't miss, but had to do anyway...

• Laundry
• Errands
• Dentist
• Dr's Appointments
• Class president duties

Either way August was a GREAT month, I'm going to miss it, tomorrow is my first day back to school!

What's SUP?

Last week Nicole and I went to Chesapeake Beach, MD to go Stand Up Paddleboarding.  What is it you ask?  It is exactly what it sounds like it is standing up on a board with a paddle to move yourself along.  We did this in the Chesapeake Bay.  You do not actually get into the water (which is good since there is a massive jelly fish invasion), you step directly from the dock onto the board and paddle.  It is a very fun adventure if you have considered it, or ever get the opportunity I highly recommend it!  Here are a few pictures to enhance your understanding.

I started on my knees, to make sure I wasn't going to take a dive with the jellies...

You can also sit when you get tired or don't feel stable enough to stand.

Standing in the Bay!

Ok, any questions?