Meet Ginger

As of 9 pm last night, Drew and I are the proud parents of Ginger, a loveable 8 week old kitten who we adopted from Last Chance Animal Rescue, a local non-profit group that rescues animals from high kill shelters.

Ginger is playful and cuddly. She's an attention hog and seems to have a slight case of ADD. She never sits still-hence the blurry pictures. Hopefully you can see the video though.

All in all-she's Puuuurrrrrrfect! We love her already, although we can’t say the same for Ernie-he’s been hiding in the basement all morning. Hopefully he’ll adjust soon.

Back on our feet and out and about...

April and May just flew by. Drew was busy recovering from his torn Achilles tendon and Jackie was busy traveling to Mexico, New York City and Philadelphia for work. We were able to have some good times though.

Here are the highlights:

We welcomed home our Brother-in-Law, Josh, from Iraq.

Josh flew into the Baltimore airport and was welcomed by his new bride, Danielle, us, and volunteers from Operation Welcome Home Maryland. (Please check out their website for volunteer opportunities and/or to donate).

Shortly after Josh's return, Jackie headed to Boston to cheer for Danielle in her first Boston Marathon. Danielle finished in 3:29:26. Amazing and Congrats! (Also, Happy Birthday Drew-We missed you).
We celebrated Danielle’s Amazing Race with Boston's Favorite: Lobster Dinner. Yummy!!!

In early May, Spring FINALLY sprang so Jackie got to work on Baltimore's largest container garden. She hasn’t stopped talking about “the harvest” since. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for good weather!
Memorial Day Weekend is finally here and there is no better way to celebrate the start of summer than to be on the water. Unfortunately, none of our friends have boats yet, so we took the Baltimore Duck Tour. Quite cheesy (we both covered our faces when we passed our office buildings!!) but we had lots of fun and learned a lot about Baltimore in the process.

We closed out the month with a quick vacation to Nantucket Island to celebrate our friend’s wedding. Nantucket is kind of off the beaten path, but worth the effort of getting there.

Wandering around downtown Hyannis on Cape Cod before the ferry left…

Off we go…..onto the Grey Lady. Fun!!!!

Taking a break from strolling around town…

What’s a vacation without champagne?

We visited the Nantucket Whaling Museum and really enjoyed the history and the exhibits. Who would have thought that such a charming little island was founded on a nasty, dirty, smelly history?

Ready for the Whaling movie.

Check out the whale teeth in the background. I wonder what a trip to the dentist would have set this guy back?

Onto the beautiful wedding of Laurel and Ken… The reception was at the Nantucket Golf Club. The view from the clubhouse was gorgeous!!!!

What’s a wedding without cake????? Delicious!

Jackie cut up the rug most of the night but Drew sat a few out to rest his ankle.


Brunch the next morning at the Nantucket Yacht Club was so good.

One last stroll around the wharf then it was onto the ferry.

What’s a weekend without pizza? We had dinner in Little Italy of Providence, Rhode Island, before heading back to the airport and back to reality.

March Madness.....

The old saying goes “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb” and there couldn’t be more truth in this for us. March started with a late night excursion to the Emergency Room after Drew tore his Achilles tendon in a basketball game. We were thrown for a loop with Dr.’s appointments, surgery and recovery.

It’s 1 am: Do you know where your Achilles is???? Drew is NOT a happy camper.

It’s now 5 am and Drew is bandaged up and feeling slightly better. He’s ready to schedule surgery for later this week.


He makes it through the surgery and is on the road to recovery. We’re both all smiles and thankful for the good work of the doctors at Johns Hopkins.



Drew’s new mode of transportation. Life on crutches in a 4 story rowhouse is not fun!! Keep your fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.



In the meantime, we had a Duckpin Bowling Party to celebrate Jackie turning 30 (ouch!). The jury is still out on which hurt more: Jackie reaching middle age or Drew’s torn tendon!!??!!



About 40 of our closest friends and family came out to celebrate the big day.

Getting Ready to Party……


Testing out the keg……..


Poor Drew couldn’t bowl.

Could this be the World’s Biggest Birthday Cake?????


Hanging out…..

Finally, we ended the month with a laid back Easter dinner at Jackie’s Sister’s house.



Let’s hope April is less crazy.

The Tanenbaums head South of the Border

Over President's Day weekend, we took a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to escape the cold at home. We fell in love with the town and by the second afternoon, we were trying to figure out when we could find time to return. Here are some pics from our trip. Enjoy!

Day 1:



Yeah, we know how to party. Within 10 minutes of arriving to the Hotel, we were at a bar on Playa’s main drag, 5th Ave. Just kidding...we’re lame -- these drinks don’t have alcohol.



About 15 minutes after checking into the hotel, we were on the beach. The weather was awesome--sunny, breezy and highs of about 85.



We finally showered and then went out to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Flambéed fruit for dessert was a sweet treat.



Day 2:

Drew went for a jog while Jackie went for a walk. Then we hit the beach for the morning.


These two gringos were getting fried in the hot Mexican sun so we went for a walk around the town.





We were slightly appalled by the Wal-Mart in downtown Playa but we did have to go in because yours truly forgot to pack toothpaste!



After the Wal-Mart experience, we needed some culture so we headed to El Fagon for some authentic cuisine. It was sooooo good......



and spicy!!!



After a huge Mexican lunch, nothing hits the spot like a siesta.



We finally got motivated to hit the town.



Love the Mariachis!!



Day 3:

We don’t know what happened to Jackie, but “Yaki” got some coffee to fuel the Aventura Mexicana that lay ahead.



It just so happened that Drew’s colleague and his wife were vacationing in Cozumel at the same time we were in Playa so we planned a day trip with them to the Mayan ruins of Tulum.


We rented a car and Drew drove while Yaki navigated.







We made it!



We were greeted by some natives.



We then watched some performers do the original pole dance. This pole dance is much more elegant than the pole dances that are performed on “The Block” back home in Baltimore.



One last stop before we get to the ruins. Jackie can’t resist loving a stray cat. By the way, can you guess which one in the picture is pregnant???? Don’t get too excited, mom, it’s the kitty!



Onto some culture.....







Then lunch at taco stand in the town of Tulum. Muy delicioso!!!!




Then, back to the beach...





All that laying around in the sun made us hungry. Take note, Whole Foods: This fruit cup was less than $2!



Onto the good stuff and some people watching on the Avenue.




And just like that, it’s back to reality....