Breakfast - my favorite way to start a day

Recently my boss went out of town, so our lab social director, Patrick, called for "a critical Cutting Lab planning session" in lieu of our weekly lab meeting. The planning session, also known as breakfast, took place at one of Mark's and my most favorite eateries in Baltimore - Blue Moon Cafe. It's a tiny little row house restaurant located in Fells Point. The decor is eclectic, but the food is worth the 1+ hour wait on a Saturday. Fortunately we had no wait at all on a Wednesday morning! About half of my lab was there, and we enjoyed stuffing our faces before heading back to the lab. It's always tough deciding what to get, but I stuck to my go-to Captain Crunch French Toast and Mark got a delicious omelet.

Cap'n Crunch French toast

Mark's omelet + fixin's

Labmates: Bridget, Deanna, Scott, Patrick, Chris, Neeraj & me

A couple days ago I joined some friends in preparing and serving breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House in west Baltimore. One of my grad school friends, Sarah, had volunteered there in the past, and she organized the event. I didn't know that much about the RMH organization, and I learned that it provides a home away from home for seriously ill children and their families. The facility was really nice and had a very homey feel to it. There are 36 bedrooms and they are constantly full. Seven of us put together a scrumptious spread of eggs, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, sausage, fruit and juice. It was sad to see the kids with health problems - some were in wheelchairs, some were deformed, and some looked fine but I'm sure they had an illness of some kind. At the same time, it was really sweet to observe the normalcy of the kids eating breakfast in their PJs. The families were so thankful, and it was very rewarding and really wonderful way to start my day!

Rebecca whipping up pancakes

The breakfast club - Sarah, Evan & me (the others left before I could get a group shot)