Places I want to go before we leave Michigan

like how I said that?
WHEN we leave Michigan.
as if I'm not planning on being here for residency.
because I'm not.
Dear Lord Jesus please send us south. please!


So there are the obvious places that we haven't been yet -
Detroit Zoo
Detroit Institute of Arts
Tiger's Game
Lion's Game - if possible
and a Red Wings game too if we can swing it!

Mexican Town- especially the Honeybee's market I'm interested in!

I NEED to see the Fairy doors in Ann Arbor!  How cool is this!!!

Avalon Bread - downtown Detroit.  I hear they have a sea salt, dark chocolate cookie that I've got to try! 

Doc's Sweets' Candy Shop - the largest candy store in Michigan?! what?!

Historic Fort Wayne - and the Tuskegee Airmen Museum is also there.  I won't be too sad if we never go here, but it might be cool!


I do need to explore the western coast of Michigan a bit, who knows, I could love it and don't even know yet!
Here's a list of the best beaches on Michigan's west coast nicknamed the sunset coast. I like the sound of that.
Sand dunes! 

and if we get REALLY adventurous and find ourselves with time off I want to see Mackinac Island and while we're at it we should head further north to the U.P. as the locals call it, the upper peninsula of Michigan where there are MOOSE roaming free and this insanely gorgeous place called Pictured Rocks and they have   2 hour cruises that take you along the shore.  I HAVE TO DO THIS!!!!!

You never know, I may just start to love Michigan.... at least 3 months out of the year.

The Answers to ALL Your Questions!

People ask me the following questions ALL the time
(even if it's only been a week or two since they've seen me!)

so... is Lee finished now?
is Lee an American citizen?
what rotation is he in?
how is he doing?
how much does he get paid?
you're in HOW much debt?
what kind of doctor does he want to be?
long will residency be?
do you get paid for residency?
what is the residency process?
how much longer in Michigan?
where do you want to live?
when are you having kids?
how do you deal?!

and occasionally someone says - so what do you do? :)


I've decided to answer every single question as plainly as possible!  If you have anymore feel free to ask, I really don't mind answering, promise. As you may have noticed I have no qualms with personal questions about money or our lives.


so... is Lee finished now?
nope!  Medical School is still a 4 year degree process!  We began in January of 2010 and will finish January of 2014!!!  Lee is a 3rd year medical student (MS3).


is Lee an American citizen?
no my sweet boy is still a true Canuck.  He may never become a US citizen, we don't know.  We have applied for his Green Card so he can be a permanent resident of the US and not need a student or work visa.  This will greatly increase his options for medical residency positions because the hospital he applies to will not be responsible for sponsoring his visa.  Is it easier because I am American? Yes and no.  It's not easy, but me being American helps.  I am technically his sponsor, but to be a true sponsor one must make a certain amount of money for 3 year and have assets.  I have none of these (remember those 2 years on a tropical island with no job?) So we applied with a joint sponsor (a family member, THANK YOU!).  Lee had to do a physical exam and xrays to prove he has no diseases.  We had to have the pastor who performed our wedding write a letter saying it wasn't a hoax.  We had a friend who knows us well write a letter stating our relationship is ongoing and sound.  My boss wrote a letter saying I have a job and will make x amount of dollars. and lots of other personal things...
Lee goes Monday for his biometric exam - where they will fingerprint him and ask him lots of questions.
If that gets approved, as well as my sponsorship abilities we should find out sometime in the next 3-12 months!
One little stipulation is that he cannot leave the US while this is processing.  We live 15 minutes from Canada but he cannot cross the border until it is either approved or denied.  Here's to hoping it gets approved fast!
oh and it costs about $1,800 to do this. gross.

what rotation is he in?
currently he is in his Internal Medicine rotation.  It is 12 weeks long and is his last rotation of 3rd year! whooooo!!!!!
Here was his schedule for 3rd year -  (I may be off on these week amounts, I get confused if it was 4, 6, or 8)
12 weeks Sugery
6 weeks OB/GYN
6 weeks Psych
6 weeks Family Medicine
6 weeks Pediatrics
12 weeks Internal Medicine

How is he doing?
well if you know Lee you know what a hard worker he is.  Every rotation they have tried to convince him to go into that specialty because he would be so good at it.  His patients love him because he's so patient, thorough, and empathetic. The residents like him because he makes their lives easier.  We ran into one of the residents in the grocery store and he basically high-fived me for marrying Lee because he's that awesome (as if I didn't already know)
And he absolutely would hate for me to tell you anything about his grades or scores but I'll just say I know that the grade of A+ exists on shelf exams for a reason......

how much does he get paid?
zip, zero, zilch.  In fact since he is still in school we pay tuition. and a lot of it.

you're in HOW much debt?
for Lee's schooling we're going to end up in the ballpark of $200,000 in debt (hopefully less!)  Which truthfully is a walk in the park compared to some medical school grads we know and have talked to.  Residents at Lee's hospital think nothing of being $350,000 in the hole. yikes.
Tuition is twenty-something thousand per semester and we're paying for 10 semesters (I think).

what kind of doctor does he want to be?
we're pretty set on Family medicine.  Mainly for the lifestyle.  We want a family!  and Lee wants to be actively involved in all our lives too, so surgery is out. lol.
Family is also interesting to Lee because you see a wide variety of patients, you can have your own practice, and still have options to specialize in OB/GYN, Sports Med, or ER.  And you can work in a hospital if you prefer that to a clinic setting and do more internal med type stuff.

how long will residency be?
Family Medicine residency is 3 years.
We will begin residency in July 2014.  All medical residents, every year, begin in July.  Never schedule a surgery for the first week of July at a teaching hospital. It's apparently chaotic.

Do you get paid in residency?
yes!!! not a doctor's salary, but enough! average is between like $45-60,000 per year.

what is the residency process? 
well.... I don't know 100% yet.  That will be our life this fall. Lee will start applying this fall and will apply to LOTS of programs at hospitals all across America.  The average student applies to 70ish programs.  Out of that 70 hopefully lots of them will offer Lee an interview.  That will be Nov13-Jan14.  He will spend a lot of time and money traveling around to these interviews, impressing lots of people!  After your interviews you rank the program and they also rank you.  They compare up these rankings and in March of 2014 we'll enter THE match and find out where we're going!! We're hoping to interview at 10+ hospitals to make sure we have the best chance of matching and in a place we want!
Sadly, not everyone matches..... and you pray you're not the one.

how much longer in Michigan?
not completely sure.  Lee will finish rotations (4th year) around Jan/Feb 2014.  He will "match" to a residency program in March 2014, and begin in July 2014.  If we match outside of Michigan (please God) we will move a some point between March and July!  Probably depending on where (how far) and what my job situation.

where do you want to live?
south!! south of the Ohio River preferably.  It seriously makes such a big difference in weather.  I'm begging for Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, or Texas.  And my BFFFFFF Amber and her husband put Arizona and Virginia on their list and they will match in just a couple weeks! so where they end up will be added to my list of desired places ;)

when are you having kids?
someday!  Lee and I want a big family.  4+ kids so the sooner we can get things going to better according to my biological clock, but we definitely will be waiting until after he starts residency.  Why? someone in this relationship needs an income and I currently don't have health insurance that covers maternity care.  Pretty good reasons if you ask me.  So we will re-asses after July 2014 and see where I am with my career and my longing for Grenada.........

how do you deal?!
you know what, medical school sucks. suck suck suck sucks and we're poor and in debt... but everyday we get up and life goes on and we're genuinely happy and are trudging along.  Lee is so over school and the process, but we're 3/4 the way done and $140,000 in debt, so no turning back!  Someday, sommmmmmmmmmmmmeday, we'll look back and be thankful for this experience and the hard work will pay off.  But if one of my children says "I want to be a Dr. like Dad" hahahaha we'll probably discourage it.
When you're in love and married to someone who makes life easy, you'd be surprised at how much you can handle.  And I stay busy to avoid getting lonely!

so what do you do?
Well, I am still at the job I got the week I moved to Michigan, I am a Chiropractic Assistant, Front Desk, Office Manager type person.  It isn't necessarily glamorous, but I love the people I work with and LOVE our patients.  They really feel like family and I'm happy to come to work every morning.  My boss is super supportive and accommodating. I work 4 (long) days a week and have a 3 day weekend every week... which leaves time for me to do school. I'm getting my masters in Counseling/Human Services through Liberty University  (I work full time, go to school full time, and Lee is still usually busier than me if that gives you an idea) This semester I'm doing 12 credit hours.  Last semester I did 9 and felt like I handled it really well, so I upped it....... might not have been my absolute best move, but I want to finish asap!  Unlike Lee I'll let everyone know my grades, I worked hard for them! so far I've got straight As!
The plan is do do another full 12 hours this summer, 6 credits the first sub-semester of Fall and the second sub-semester do my big Capstone project!  And finish December of this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do Lee and I do together?
We are working with the youth group at our church.  There is a youth pastor, so we just assist and support him.  Lee is the Sunday School teacher and seriously is the best teacher I've ever had.  He's so good.  I look at him sometimes and am amazed that I get to share my life with him. He explains things to the teens and I'm like wow, wish someone had told me that when I was 15. We have fun doing other stuff with them like Wednesday night church and volleyball on Friday nights.
And we try to eat dinner together each night and go to bed at the same time.  So we  get about 2 hours together a day, which is better than nothing!

So, that was... long.
Anything I didn't cover?

Winter in Michigan

February is the month where you start to be completely 100% OVER winter... if you were ever not over it to begin with.
I was never ready for it.
and am more ready than anyone for it to be over.

How is winter in Michigan?
terrible
and we're in like the southern most part of the state.

It hasn't been above freezing for weeks (ok except for that one, really mean, teaser day when it was 50degrees)
tonight it's supposed to be 7 degrees. SEVEN!
I don't like single digits!

It snows about every single day.  Just enough to make it messy, ugly, and slippery.

In an attempt to embrace the cold and make the best of it Lee and I recently went to an ice sculpture street fair.  They were beautiful, but we only lasted maybe 20-30 minutes.  We were NUMB.

The Seahorse was my favorite!

Dreaming of Grenada.

Quite the switch from my Grenada wardrobe eh? :) 

New year, new attitude

I'm for real doing some resolutions. 
and sticking to them!
or at least trying really hard to.  

1. Blogging!! 
I had a bit of a difficult year... I've felt a little "off" and I've associated it with the loss of things that I love.  I lost Grenada.  I lost the sunshine, the warm air, the beach, my friends, my kids,  my "I'm doing something with my life feeling"....   and along with that I quit blogging. on both blogs.  I quit updating about our lives, just assuming that since I feel like our life sucks, no one else will want to hear about it.  But really, interesting things happen to me everyday!  Detroit is a crazy place!  Life is never truly boring... 
and I really do love my Kelsey Inspired blog.  I love crafting and sharing things with the blogging world.  I'll to do better with updating and I know I'll be happier for it. So look for a blog layout makeover coming soon! 

2.  Volunteering 
When we moved to Detroit I really wanted to get involved in something. I started volunteering with the crisis pregnancy center, but I had to miss a couple of weeks and then to be honest lost interest.  It's is such a needed, important ministry... but I as a young woman with no kids, no experience with child birth or parenting I didn't feel as though I was really that much of a help to these girls and usually left feeling as though I had short-changed them or something.  If that makes sense. 
I need to find something I am passionate about, there is so much need in Detroit, I just have to find my place. yea? 

3. Get Healthy. 
Exercise!? - ugh. I had to say it. Lee and I are going to be so much healthier in 2013.  We were so good when we were in Grenada and then we get back to America and it all goes to pots.  Whatever. It's a new year and I need to get skinny skinny for that trip back to Grenada for 2013, right?? :)  
What are we doing differently?  Well eating better for starters.  Less snacking, less carbs, less sugary drinks.  More fruit, more vegetables, more fish!  I got a new programmable crock pot for Christmas (thank you Lee's parents!) and I'm going to use it.  Healthy dinner Mon-Thursday is the goal. 
Lee has this ab ripper dvd that he's been doing and I did like 5 minutes of it... once. so I'm going to try to do that more often and elliptical. all that.  and walk!  I need to go outside and walk a little to get what tiny traces of sunshine exist in Michigan. I need vitamin D in my life! 

4. Think positive. 
I promised Lee that in 2013 I will not hate Michigan.  I spent June-December 2012 hating this state. the entire place.  and secretly, not so secretly I still do.... but I'm not going to say it anymore!  I'm going to be happy about life and where I am, or at least make an attempt.  and that's all you can ask for, right Lee?? 

5.  Stay in better contact with family and friends
It's tough to admit you're a bad friend, but I kinda am.  I get so stupidly busy during the week that when I get home Mon-Thursday all I do is eat and go to bed.  And the weekends I've been traveling a lot so I forget to keep up to date with my family and friends' lives.  They are important to me so I need to show it!  I'm going to be better about facebook messages, emails, texting, and calling my family!  Isn't it a wonderful problem to have too many friends to keep up with?! :)
To kick off to a good start we're having a party on Saturday with our friends from Grenada who are now in the Detroit area! 


and this was my 400th post?! whoa!!! 

Chiropractic Assistant

 I've been at my job at the Chiropractors office for about 2 months now and it's going well and I've finally decided to accept that this is my job and what I'll be doing for the near future... and it could be so much worse.

What does a Chiropractic Assistant do you ask?

Well, I assist the Chiropractor.  I don't do any kind of adjustments or even really touch the patients other than putting them in traction chairs to create curvature to the neck.

I sit at the front desk, greet patients, book appointments, take payments, enter patient notes, call insurance companies, develop x-rays, order supplies, and help my boss with lots of other random projects around the office.

It's not a bad job.  I get to dress cute everyday and talk to the patients and take long lunch breaks.

I now have keys to the building, my own email address, and am getting an all expense paid trip to Philadelphia to a chiropractic conference (where I'm meeting up with my friend Amber for a mini adventure!)

Why have I decided to accept that this is my job and end the search for my "dream" job? 
I'm starting classes this fall for a Masters in Professional Counseling!!
I haven't really "announced" it yet (not that I need to... who do I think I am?) but I've been waiting to tell everyone when I know for 100% sure that I can pay for it... which is still a couple days off, but I got accepted a couple weeks ago and registered for classes last week!!! :) :)
I'll be taking online classes through Liberty University - rated #1 among online schools in America and the largest Evangelical Christian University in the world!

I'm so excited to start this program and get closer to my dream of a career in public service.
Why am I no longer getting my MSW? 
a really big reason is that I need to take online classes so I can continue to work full time and there are practically no online social work programs that I can afford and could get accepted into this fall.   I don't want to put it off any longer because it's going to take me a few years as it is! 
A lot of the jobs I've looked into require either an MSW or a Masters in Counseling.  Both are licensed by the state and all they really care about is the licensure. 

I've been volunteering at Pregnancy Aid - a crisis pregnancy center in Detroit and have been trained as a counselor for the young women who come in and I absolutely love it.

It has taken me a long time to figure out what I want to do with my life and is going to take me a lot longer to actually get there.... but we're making progress.

I feel like 25 is so old and I'm running out of time to "figure it out" but I was encouraged the other day while listening to some political banter and they talked about a guy who's 42 and they referred to him as "a young rising star". 
Nice.

Eastern Market

One of the first "group outings" I did in Grenada was visit the Spice Market downtown St. George's...and one of the first things I did with a group from church was visit the huge farmers market downtown Detroit known as Eastern Market.

It was really neat, unlike being in Detroit for sure.
I'm starting to think that maybe this city very, very slightly gets a worse rap than it deserves. (yes I totally goggled "bad rap" to see if that was the correct word or if it was "bad wrap")
I'm not saying it's a safe place to walk around at night.... but it's not all bad... right?

It was huge too. huge.
more produce and plants than I've probably ever seen at one time.
and lots of free samples :)

There were people selling specialty cheeses, jellies, organics, fish, jewelry, and lots lots more.

It is held every Saturday - all year round!  How cool is that?? I doubt it's a place I'll want to be going come winter... but maybe it's cool at Christmas?

My finds of the day:

House plants for $1!!! such a great deal!! I love to have plants around the house!!
and I found a little something for Lee too - he loves it!

Date night in the Village

Downtown Grosse Pointe is called The Village.
It's a beautiful downtown area about 3 blocks long, both sides of the street.  I wrote about it a bit before here.
If you're from the Columbus, Ohio area it sorta reminds me of Easton.
Stores that are typically in a mall, but have outside entrances and lots of flowers, benches, and fountains!

We walked over from our apartment, it's about 4 blocks away from us.
It was a perfect summer evening.  We strolled around, had dinner, and considered getting ice cream at Cold Stone - but decided to go to Kroger and get a whole carton for the same price instead :)

 

We had dinner at the Village Grille.  I had actually been there before {when I finally met my blogging friend Marisa in real life! She blogs at Count On Me For Life about her life as a SO to an SGU medical student, now resident! }  It was pretty good, so we went back to try some of their other stuff.  I can now say that their hamburger, "lumber jack" aka french dip, and calzones are really good.

Fishflies on everything ~ Fishflies on everything ~ Fishflies on everything

My mom and I dance around singing "_______{fill in the blank} on everything"
It's from the show So Random that my nieces watch and there is a song - ketchup on everything {you can watch it here if you'd like, but I'm warning you it is soooooo dumb, so dumb it's funny}

Anyway, my point.
FISHFLIES.

I first heard about fishflies from a little girl in the office.  It's the name of a running group for elementary kids at the local school.  Her mom said they're called fishflies because there really isn't a point, they just run after school. no race. no winners. just run for exercise.

Ok..... then I learned about the actual fly.
Lee and I saw one on our door the other day and he pointed them out.  He calls them Shagflies.
They serve no purpose.  They supposedly live for only 36 hours and die.  They breed and lay their eggs in the lake.

If you're from southern Ohio think ladybugs.
think the plague of locust in the Bible.

We're talking epic proportions of flies.

This was the scene at the bank this morning.




Thankfully they haven't infested our house. We have to go through 3 doors to get inside our apartment. Hopefully we're safe.

Q & A - SO to SO

A friend of mine in Grenada is looking to move to MI and is crossing all her fingers that her husband is placed at St. John's (so cross yours too!)  I'd love to have her and her sweet family nearby!

Here are a few questions she asked me and I'm happy to have a topic to blog about.... keeps me on my toes.  Thought I'd share for anyone else wondering the same things.

*Disclaimer - I have only lived here for about 10 days.  I am in no way an expert.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you think about St. Clair Shores to live... too far?  I want to live in Grosse Pointe if we can find something in our price range, but I've looked at SCS and it seems to be cheaper.

I think that living in St. Clair Shores would be great.  It isn't far, just about 10 minutes away from the hospital (maybe a little more with traffic or depending where in SCS you live.  We've driven through a few times and it is absolutely beautiful.  The lake will remind you of Grenada and make you feel at home.  SCS and all the Grosse Pointes run together and are more like one large residential area.
St. Clair Shores will actually be closer to shopping malls and a Target, KMart, Walmart, etc.
SCS also has a park that residents can join (as do all of the "Pointes") http://scsparksrec.net/ and I think that , that is the one with the big water slides!! so the kids will love it! You can get a pass for a family of 4 for $50 for the year (or pay per time)  and that is all information I got off of that website.
The parks in the "Pointes" are free though to the best of my knowledge.

City Place Properties is who we used to get our apartment so it couldn't hurt to call and ask what they have to offer (and you could always drop our name and maybe we'll get a discount or something! hahaha) 


What about houses outside of Grosse Pointe... like right outside the limits... safe or too risky?

To the South and West of Grosse Pointe or SCS - NO.  As you can probably tell I am fairly adventurous and I have explored a tiny bit into Detroit city limits and the shift going along Mack Avenue and Jeffereson Avenue is instant from Grosse Pointe Park to Detroit.  The police from Grosse Pointe will not respond out of city limits and I've heard that the Detroit police basically have deserted parts of the city. Think on the level of Grenada police, but worse.  or so I've heard.  A lady I work with lives in Eastpointe and she says it is absolutely terrible and they sold their house to a rental company cheap just to get out.  The office I work for used to be located about a mile into Detroit and they said that the city literally crumbled around them and they had to get out.
Lee heard yesterday that to save money the city of Detroit was going to stop using street lights in certain neighborhoods..... dark Detroit streets? yikes.
You will be amazed at the difference between the two communities when you get here.
I also want to make a point to say that EVERY person I have met in Grosse Pointe or Detroit has been extremely friendly.  Male and female, black and white, from the doctors who visit the office to the girl taking my order at McDonalds.  Nice people.  Detroit is just on a terrible track with corruption in the government and police and lack of education and a system that isn't helping the people do better.  It's so terribly sad.
There is a rebuild Detroit initiative going on, but I think it is more of a downtown thing.

Is there a Walmart close by? Sam's Club/Costco?

There is a Target really close at the Eastland Mall.  But the Dr. I work for said that is isn't a good place to go alone, especially in the summer when the teens are out of school.   It's in a rough neighborhood.  Buuuuuuttttt, I can probably guarantee I'll be going there.  Lee and I went together and as long as you go during the morning, I think it'd be fine.  There is a mall there, but not with much you'd want to shop at other than Target or Macy's.  They have a Lowes and Home Depot.  Applesbees and Chilis.
A little further is a KMart and a Walmart, in Roseville maybe?? I've only been there once.
I've heard people talk about a Costco but haven't seen one.

In Grosse Pointe there is a Kroger and a Trader Joe's Downtown and a Village Market on Mack, about 10 blocks from the hospital.  As well as lots of pharmacies, restaurants, and other shopping.
The Pointes will have everything you'd ever need, but I've heard about 15-20 minutes north is more variety.

Do the boys need Smart Phones?... (this is a rumor I'm hearing)

Basically no.  Lee doesn't have one and has no intentions of getting one.  He has a pre-paid phone and infrequently needs to text a resident or someone else at the hospital.  Residents at St. John's receive ipads and Lee says EVERYONE else at the hospital have smart phones though.  But we don't exactly go with the flow....
Interesting tid bit though - with a St. John's Hospital ID you get a discount with AT&T!  It's about 22% or somewhere in that range.  We just found it to be too expensive for us and unnecessary really because we have survived just fine this far without smart phones or data plans.  Target has a phone that you can get pre-paid for $30 a month unlimited text and calling.  I have that and Lee has just a basic pre-pay like top up $20 here and there type thing... just like in Grenada!! 

So Lee has weekends off? 

YES!!  Occasionally he'll have to do a weekend shift or be on call.  But for the most part he has Saturday and Sunday off.... and he NEEDS it!   It's just as taxing as school if not more because of all the emotional and physical stress.  

When he comes home does he have to study or can he just relax?

When he comes home during the week he usually has some homework to do, which his residents will assign or just things he's noticed during his shift that he doesn't understand or needs to brush up on to prepare for a patient he is going to have the next day.  We usually have at least a full 2 hours to spend together at night... but he also has been going to bed really early because he gets up at 4:45 and it is a looooong day.

At the end of each rotation he'll write a Shelf Exam on whatever subject he just did so as much studying as he can get done throughout is best.
And then as we get closer to Step 2 (end of 3rd year) time he'll have to study more for that. 
... those stupid tests just keep coming......

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So, there is my little interview.  Have any more questions about medical school, being the spouse of a student, the clinical years, Michigan??  I'd love to answer them!

Grosse Pointe according to Wikipedia

Grosse Pointe refers to a coastal area in Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA, that comprises five adjacent individual communities. From southwest to northeast, they are:

• Grosse Pointe Park, city
• Grosse Pointe, city
• Grosse Pointe Farms, city
• Grosse Pointe Shores, city
• Grosse Pointe Woods, city

The terms "Grosse Pointe" or "the Pointes" are ordinarily used to refer to the entire area, referencing all five individual communities, with a total population of about 46,000. The Grosse Pointes altogether are 10.4 square miles, bordered by Detroit on the south and west, Lake St. Clair on the east and south, Harper Woods on the west of some portions, and St. Clair Shores on the north.

Grosse Pointe is one of the most affluent suburban areas in Metro Detroit, sharing a border with northeast Detroit's historic neighborhoods

Many prominent Detroiters, members of the Ford family, including Edsel Ford (son of Henry Ford) and his wife, Eleanor Clay Ford, as well as Henry Ford II (grandson of Henry Ford), have chosen to reside in Grosse Pointe. The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, at 1100 Lake Shore Drive, is open to the public for guided tours.

Grosse Pointe is frequently referenced in television, film and literature, often as an icon of wealth and luxury. Grosse Pointe is known for a very preppy lifestyle, including dress, auto, and homes. The classic "preppy/old money" style is extremely popular in the area, a prominent subculture existing alongside an appreciable but less well-known working class in the Grosse Pointes.

Thank you Wikipedia, now back to Kelsey.

The Village   - the downtown shopping area that is more like a mall than a downtown with stores like Ann Taylor (and Loft), Gymboree, Coldwater Creek, Chico's, and Talbot's...
They also have a Trader Joe's, Kroger, about 10 coffee places including Starbucks and a Carribou, a Panera, and lots of other restaurants.
And this is about 3 blocks from my house!




So as you can probably tell Lee and I don't quite fit in, in Grosse Pointe.... but we don't quite fit in, in Detroit either. It's a no win situation that if I hadn't lived in Grenada previously I might not be prepared for.... but whatever.

1 week in Michigan

This has been a crazy busy week! 
I can't believe I've already been here a week.

I've come to love this apartment more and more.
I love the kitchen and the big living room, our sunny bedroom, and even our pink bathroom... 
The neighbors are great, and I got a job 2 blocks away!!
more about all of those things later.

I'll share some pictures of our first day in the apartment and around the neighborhood to calm everyone's fears about me living in downtown Detroit..... and then later I'll share about the real Detroit.

 Grosse Pointe, MI
if this town had a motto it'd be "a bubble of obnoxiously wealthy people in the middle of a city in despair" 

 Our quiet little street.

We're about 1 mile from the shore of Lake St. Clair.
There is a park with a pool, but not really beach access anywhere around here. 
About 30 minutes north there is a beach that I want to check out though! 

 St. John's Hospital - where Lee is rotating.
The hospital is huge!  and I'll tell lots more about what Lee's doing later. promise.

A new header is in order as well I know..... but what am I supposed to do without pinick?? :(

Grosse Pointe Movies

Just a little tid bit that I found interesting...

You know the movie and book Virgin Suicides?
It's set in Grosse Pointe!

and the movie Grosse Pointe Blank? yep!

I need to re-watch Virgin Suicides and water Grosse Pointe Blank for the first time!

Source: google.at via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: impawards.com via Zelda on Pinterest

5 days till moving day!!!

from one SO to another

I got this sweet facebook message from an SGU SO who has already completed their clinical rotations (which I found is really called medical clerkship) in Detroit.  She really calmed my nerves about living in/near Detroit!  I thought this might be helpful to anyone thinking about heading to MI for rotations.


Don't be nervous about Detroit. You won't really need to go there for any reason. There are some fun places in right downtown (greek town, mexican town, etc). But we lived write on Mack Avenue by the hospital and loved it. There are cops around 24/7 to keep it safe and a nice community. We never felt uncomfortable. In fact - there were for sure times I felt more nervous about living in Grenada!

Also - I went to Target at Eastland ALL the time. My husband did say they had some crime at night so maybe just stick to daytime hours. The mall is pretty ghetto but I even took my kids to play there at the indoor playland a few times during the winter. I never felt unsafe.

What is your address? Do you know what "park" you belong to? They have private community parks that we spent all our time at. A free pool, one even has a movie theater (GPP)? I hope that you love it as much as we did. Will your hubby be at St. Johns hospital? It's a great one. So lucky you were placed there. What was it on your list? You will be glad in the end. All our friends that went to Jersey and NYC were bummed cause 4th year they had to scramble and find rotations themselves while St. John's sets it all up and you don't have to move around What does your husband want to go into? We just were matched in AUstin TX for ER. We are super excited. Good luck with your adventure. MI is great Let me know if you have any other questions!




Thank you so much for your help Alexis!!
The SO community is really great, I have never even met her and here she is offering all this help!  Awesome!
And now I'm more exited about our Michigan Adventure!

Apartment Found!

when does a girl like me blog??
when I am procrastinating.

It's been almost a month since we found out that we got placed in Detroit....
in that time we have been to visit, found an apartment, and I have applied to 3 billion jobs with a reply or some sort of contact from only 3....
thus I am blogging.
avoiding the internet job search.
which BLOWS.


Lee has already moved!! He's getting things set up in our little apartment and I am finishing up my last 2 weeks at work, then my best friend is getting married, then it's the social event of the year in this little town - MEMORIAL DAY PARADE!

Then I will join my Lee and start our life over again in a new strange place.
that isn't Grenada.

I told someone the other day we were moving to Grenada.... when I meant to say Detroit.
How do you make that mistake?
I sorta teared up...

but guess what................ ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO FOR ME TO VISIT THIS SUMMER/FALL!!!!!!!!!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

My heart is more at ease just knowing I can visit soon.
My heart longs for the kids and my body aches for the ocean.

I still truly feel like Grenada is our home and where we belong.  I haven't changed my mind one iota since being back in the states.  Everything is better there... even though the food sucks, it's disgustingly hot and there isn't a place to buy a decent pair of shoes or piece of clothing....

I haven't kept in touch nearly good enough with my kids.
I feel so guilty.  I write letters that never got mailed.  I talk to them sporadically on the phone...
I'm bad a long distance.  I just need to be there.  But that's selfish.
I wrote 6 cards today and am mailing them tomorrow. for sure.

Anyway, we found an apartment in a super safe neighborhood.  In a building with 8 apartments and a super nice property manager.  Lee says there is a nice old lady who lives across the hall. aw.

This is us!

I'll update more about it later!  Off to research plane tickets and more jobs. boo.

Michigan Bound!!

so this is a little late and you all probably already know...
but we're moving to Michigan!!

Lee found out his placement on April 19th and will begin orientation at St. John's hospital on May 24th and begin rotations on May 29th!!

We were so relieved to get Michigan... but now begins the mad dash to find an apartment and a job!

I've already applied for 2 jobs that I would absolutely love !!!
Figured I'd start with something I'd actually want to do before I beg for a job at Walmart (which I'm not above doing ;)

We're heading up this Friday to check the city out and see what we're getting ourselves into!
Eeek!

I can't believe it's been 5 months since we left our little island in the sun.
I miss Grenada every day and am still saving my pennies to get back....