Another Exciting week!!!!

Well, another week has come and gone with lots of fun. We are still loving it here and are very happy with everything so far. Friday night we pretty much just laid around the house and relaxed together which was pretty nice. We used to never get to just hang out together so it is really great to spend so much time with each other. Saturday morning I got up and went to the gym with Amy. Yes, you read right, I GOT UP EARLY and went to the GYM!!! (pretty impressive huh?) For the record, Shane was still in the bed when I left, although he did get up and go to later. I ran 3 miles and then we went to find a Target or something similar to Target. I am sure that you will be shocked to know that we got lost (again!!). However, we did eventually find Target and go shopping.




Saturday night we all (Shane, me, Ted, Julie, and Amy) decided to go bowling at Lucky Strike in Center City. The place is really cool and has a restaraunt and everything in it. There is even a dress code to get in. Evidently, it is the "it" place to go bowling so EVERYBODY went there. After waiting 4 hours to bowl, we finally left. We then went to Buffalo Billards which was a cool place we went to a couple of weeks ago to play pool. We all went and had a great time, even though Shane and Ted beat Julie and I several times:(. However, we did win at least one game when Shane sank the 8 ball. I now know to never play pool against a scientist who can calculate the mathematical angle to shoot the ball.
Sunday morning, Amy and I (once again) got up and went to the gym EARLY and I ran 3 miles!! (arent you shocked??) I have to admit that Sunday was a tough day for me. For those of you who do not know, Sunday (January 21) was the 1 year anniversary of sorts of me getting hit by the car in Mississippi. It is hard to believe that it has been a year. Yet here I am, 1 year later. I am soo blessed to still be up and kicking (literally). Even though I was told I would not be able to walk normally again, here I am getting up early to go run 3 miles (as normal as ever, I might add). I am alive, I am happy, and I am blessed. Things are really good right now and I am grateful. I honestly did not know if I would make it back to this point after the accident and I am so glad that I have.

We went to Sharon Baptist Church which happens to be right beside our apartment so no, we did not get lost in shady areas trying to find it. It was pretty much a straight shot. I am not sure how we missed it the other Sunday when we did get lost. I have to say that the service was definitely different than what we are used to. Believe it or not, these people were soo happy to be at church. People were so friendly (Shane even got kissed by a very grandmotherly woman first thing!). We went with Julie and Amy and needless to say, we were a minority. It was a great service. The music was unbelievable! Man, they could sing. And guess what???!!! People actually clapped and moved a little (well, for some it was more than a little) with the music. They were so excited to be in church and to praise God. It was great to experience it. The sermon was awesome. We really enjoyed it and will probably go back there again soon. I do have to honestly say that this service made every other service I have ever been in look pretty ummmmmm . . . . . well . . . . boring and quiet.

We actually got a little snow this week. It was pretty, but just not enough of it. It always seems to snow when I have to work so I dont get to enjoy it, but hopefully that will change soon! Here are some pics of our apartment in the snow.

We decided it would be fun for all of us to get together and have either a game night or a movie night every so often. So, Tuesday night, we had our first one at Teds house. Julie had to work so she wasnt able to come, so it was Ted, Shane, Me, and Amy. I brought lasanga and everyone else brought stuff to go with it. It was alot of fun. We decided to play Trivial Prusuit of the 80s. We thought it would be semi-simple. However, it was soooo hard!!!!! I could not believe the questions. I was expecting questions related to the bad clothes styles or the no-so-cute hairstyles. Needless to say, I may have been born in the 80s, but I know NOTHING about that time. I do know alot more now thanks to the game though. Everybody else got the Strawberry Shortcake and Full House questions. I think it was rigged! Because we were all so clueless, the game took forever! we finally got home around 2am. I would love to blame it on traffic, but we live right across the parking lot! anyways, it was alot of fun and we cant wait to do it again (maybe with a different game!).

So, as you can see it has been a fun week. I feel a little overwhelmed because there is so much to see and do. We really do love it here and are excited to see what all this city holds for us!!!

More news from Philly!!!

Hey Guys!
Things are pretty great here in Philly!! It is starting to get alot colder here and we are hoping to have some snow here soon!!!! At least that is what I am hoping!
Until Tuesday, there hasnt been alot of excitement because I had to work every night this weekend so we didn't get to do anything together. I was off Monday night and Tuesday so we went off to have fun!!! Monday night we went to Manayunk, PA which is about 2 minutes from our house to eat sushi. I dont have any pictures because Shane and Ted (who went with us) would not let me take pictures of the sushi before we ate it. Oh well, it was raw fish! It did look really pretty on the plate before we ate it though! :) After we ate, we walked around the little town and stopped at Ben and Jerry's which was REALLY YUMMY!!!!!!!! Manayunk is a really cute place. It has alot of neat shops and what look to be really good restaraunts.


Tuesday we went with Julie to Old City (the really historical part of Philadelphia) to watch a movie. We went to Ritz East to watch "Children of Men". This is a picture of Julie and Shane outside the theater. The theater was really pretty fancy. The concession stand had all kinds of what i consider fancy snacks. They had itialian sodas, bruschetta, scones, and all kinds of other sweet stuff as well as cappachinos and hot tea. I just wasnt expecting to see that kind of food at a movie theater. The movie was good, but pretty depressing. I dont know if I would recommend it as a "must-see". I cried several times during it and felt SUPER depressed when we left. I even had bad dreams about it last night.

After the movie, we walked around the city for a while then we got on the bus to go back home. Ted got on at another stop which was pretty funny because that always seems to happen even though we never plan it. Anyway, we were riding along, just talking away (imagine that) when all of a sudden, the driver hits the brakes HARD, people go tumbling, and we hear and feel bang, thump, bang, thump. Wouldnt you know that if there was a bus wreck in all of Philly in January, I would be on the bus. From the way we hit, I knew for sure that there were several cars involved and that we (Julie and I) were about to get into some pretty ugly stuff. We made sure that everyone was alright on the bus, calmed the driver down, and got off the bus to help the people in the car. Surprisingly, there was only one other car and a tractor trailer involved. The tractor trailer sideswiped the car which caused it to spin through 6 lanes of traffic and hit the bus. Miraculously, the driver got the bus stopped just in time and avoided hitting the car head on, which would have been the worse-case scenario. Amazingly, noone was seriously injured. the driver who looked to be in her early 20s and her friend are probably super sore this morning and were really freaked out, but pretty much ok. The driver had a nasty knot on her head and probably a mild concussion. It was a miracle that they did not hit any other vehicles and that the bus did not hit them head on. Several people on the bus got bruises and a few knots on legs and such, but everyone was ok. We are fine, just a little sore. Hopefully this will be our major incident for this year!!!

Arent' these the two cutest males in Philly?? My mother fussed at me for not having any pictures of Samson up, so I took several adorable ones of him cuddling with Shane. Samson loves to be loved on and to cuddle (just like his mommy!!!). Isnt he just adorable????

I realize that these pics arent that exciting for most, but these are some of the decorations on the unit I am on at CHOP. They are wood frames painted different colors that display the kids artwork. All of the artwork up this month relate to handwashing and its importance. It is really neat idea and a great way to decorate without spending alot of money!!!

Another week in the big city!!

Hey Guys!!
Hope all is well! We have had another fabulous week in Philly! Here are more pictures of the fun we've had so far!!

We went up into the CIty Hall tower which was designed to be the tallest building in the city, which it was until the building ban was lifted in the 1980's. It is agorgeous building and is one of the oldest in the city. The elevator ride to the top was a little scary. The elevator only held 5 people, and you had to stand VERY close to all of the other people in it in order to all fit. Then, it made creaky noises all the way to the top, while the operator talked about how the mechanics had to always be there in case something happened to the elevator. It was not very encouraging. However, the view from the top was incredible!!! It was a gorgeous day and it seemed as though you could see forever! Here are some of the pictures we took!





More pics from the top of the tower. The bridge in the middle pic is the Ben Franklin Bridge that crosses over into Jersey.


More pics at the top of the tower!! As you can see it was an amazing day!!!!

I loved this spot. I never noticed as we walked by at ground level that there are statues of game pieces everywhere. It was really neat to see from that far up. There are dominoes, chess pieces, and bingo chips. The last pic is a close up of Broad street from above. Broad street runs pretty much through the center of Philadelphia

Yet more pictures of the view. It really was pretty cool to see. The last picture is of the Ben Franklin Parkway which leads to the Art Museum.

This is the art museum which most people know as the home of the "Rocky Steps". The next picture is a close up at ground level of Ben Franklin Parkway. The road is lined with flags from different countries. It is really cool to see all the flags lining the street as you walk up it.

This is the statue outside of the Art Museum with a building at the side. The building is so cool to look at and so we wanted a pic of it! The next sculpture is the Revolutionary War Memorial which is along the Ben Franklin Parkway. There are so many sculptures and memorials in the city. It really is incredible. Next is the view from the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Here they are! THE ROCKY STEPS!!!!!! Of course we had to go there and see them for ourselves! For those of you who are unaware, these are THE STEPS that Rocky ran up in his movie. Amazing sin't it? AND if you happen to forget while you are here, you WILL be reminded. OR if you are like me and are clueless about Rocky, you WILL get a very quick education with EVERYONE offering you their version of both the story AND the movie!! While we were at the statue (which was moved off the steps and onto the ground because it was cracking the steps), a man began to sing the themesong to us from Rocky. Of course, then he came up to us asking for money! I guess the Rocky singing hasnt worked out very well for him!

These are pictures of the Mummers Parade. This is a parade that is held annually every New Years Day and is an all day event. THis year it was postponed until the next weekend because of the rain. These people go all out for this thing. It starts at about 8 in the morning and runs until about 9-10 at night. Everybody lines the streets and whoops and hollars at all of the people performing. the people performing are referred to as Mummers. What exactly is a Mummer? I have no idea!!! From what i have gathered from the 15 different definitions i have heard. It is people from different service clubs in the city who primarily exist for this parade. They practice all year for this parade and spend over 10,000 dollars in each costume. The costumes really are beautiful and very elaborate. THere are 4 different categories and each group puts on a "skit" at each of the judging stands. THe winning club from each category wins 250,000 dollars. These people go all out. it was pretty cool and impressive to see. It is really a big deal to most Philadelphians even though most of them can not explain what exactly a Mummer is. There is even a Mummer museum in the city with past parade things in it. The parade is a tradition that has lasted over 120 years.



I thought this window was funny advertising the chocolate laxative. Not quite what you expect to bepainted in a window of a clothing store! Buffalo billards is a place downtown that we went to hang out and play pool. we really had a good time and for the record, i beat Shane 2 times out of 3 games!

Here is a pic of me beating Shane and Shane trying to beat me (which did not work out so well for him!). The last pic is of Amy. She went with us and everyone else was at work while we had fun!

This was a candy store we found called Shane's candies! Couldnt pass the opportunity to take a pic of my Shane under the sign!! The next pic is of our first cabride in the city!! THe driver was very nice, although he could not understand us very well and we could not understand him! Shane and Amy were worried to death that I would try to take a picture of him, which I did not! But, I did get a pic of the car when we go out at our apartment!

For those of you who do not know, the Philadelphia Eagles played the NY Giants on Sunday in the playoffs. Let me just say that you have never watched a football game until you have watched it in Philadelphia, two blocks from the stadium with Eagles fans!! If nothing else, we will all know how to spell E-A-G-L-E-S by the time we leave and know the chant by heart! If they win again on saturday, we may even know the fight song! In case you are wondering, the Eagles kicked a field-goal with 2 seconds left to win the game. It was very dramatic! People went crazy!! We just sat there and laughed at people. Many were flying around the restaraunt flapping their arms like eagles. It was a sight to see!!! The first pic is the place where we watched it. The second is of Amy and Ted (the really smart research guy). The last pic is of me, Merideth (another traveler), and Amy. We had aloot of fun and gained a whole new appreciation for football fans!

There you go, there is more of our week!!! Keep watching, there will be more fun to come. And for those of you who have askedm there are no pictures of the ghetto that we wandered into on Sunday looking for the church! I was tooo afraid to take out my camera and take pictures. People were staring at us because we obviously DID NOT belong there! If i get lost again, I will try to take some pictures if possible. HOwever, that was not the day or the place to do it!!!:) I was just praying we would get out of there!