Its been awhile!

OK, OK, I know it has been FOREVER since I added any info to the blog! Sorry about that. I feel like we've been really busy trying to see and do everything there is to do here. I have to say that even though I loved my job in Asheville, this job at CHOP (CHildren's Hospital of Philadelphia) is amazing!!! I am working on the oncology unit so all of my patients are kids with cancer. I will admit that there are extremly sad moments, but I really do enjoy it. Dealing with these children and their families during what is most definitely and hopefully the hardest trial that they will go through can be a challenge as well as a rewarding experience. A patients dad asked me today why I love oncology and why I would choose to work with children with cancer knowing that many of them will die. I tried to describe it to him, but could not really find the words. The only thing I could really come up with is that it is where my heart is. I have realized that there is alot to learn from many of these children who may be dying. Many of them realize this, but either refuse to let it get them down or are determined to be positive. They simply want to live and to enjoy life however long it may be. The hospital is incredible and I am learning so much everyday. It really is a great place to be and it is going to be hard for the next place to measure up to it. I am glad that I have this opportunity to learn about different places and experience things that I would not see or do back home.

Here are a few pictures and some updates from what we have been doing.

We live really close to Fairmount Park which is the largest park system in America (I think). It has some really big claim to fame. Anyway: it is the "Central Park" of Philadelphia. The park is really pretty great. It has great walking trails by the river and lots of sculptures and statues, many of which have been there since the 1800s. Shane and I took Nike and Samson there on one of the "warmer" days we had last week. It was about 16 degrees without the wind chill added in. Other than that, it was a beautiful day for a walk. We found that if we walked really fast, we did not get as cold. It was definitly a speed walk. It was good to get the dogs out and let them get some exercise. The cold didnt really phase them at all. They had a wonderful time although they were worn out by the time we got back home, especially Samson. Our 4 miles was more like 40 for his short legs! You will notice in the pictures above that the river is completely frozen and the ducks are walking on water. Samson kept trying to, but I was afraid he would hit a weak spot and fall in. So we let him walk on a part of the sidewalk that was completely frozen with about 2 inches of ice. He didnt seem to be as excited about that though. I think he just wanted to chase the ducks. It was a nice day. We cant wait to do it again when it is much warmer!

One problem that we are having with the extreme cold and ice is that when we take Samson out, his feet freeze and hurt him so he tries to limp on a different foot with every step. As you can imagine, it doesnt work out too well for him. So, I got these dog booties at Target for him. He wasnt too excited about his metalic silver and blue shoes. He couldnt figure out ow to walk in them. It was incredibly funny. The pic above is when he finally gave up and just laid down. We also got both dogs new beds because they had chewed up the others. Nike's bed is big and fluffy and Samsons is very small, but is the perfect size for him. Nike was determined that they should both be hers though. You can see in the pic above that she tried to fit into samson's little bed. She would go back and forth between the two of them and would try her best to fit in the little one. When we woke up the next morning, she was lying on her big bed with her head in samson's little one. She definitely is the queen of our household.

The first pic above is a picture off a bridge over Interstate 76 (AKA Schukyhill expressway). This is the road that I take to get to work and home and traffic is usually terrible on this road. Traffic will be backed up for miles for no apparent reason. The day that the picture was taken looked like a good traffic day. It is usually worse than this. The next 2 pics are of us smooching and standng on the Rocky steps with Philly in the background. My friend Julie is a major Rocky fan so we went with her to film her running up the steps. You can see her topping the steps with her feet off the ground. She was so excited about it. However, the excitement started to wear off after the third trip of running up the steps. There are ALOT of steps! While we were there, a bus pulls up to the bottom of the steps, the doors open and tons of teenagers start running up the steps to the top. they ran to the top, had a picture, ran back down and got back on the bus. It was pretty funny. Apparently climbing up the Rocky steps is a philly must for all visitors. It was alot of fun. The last pic is of us in front of the statue.

I still have lots more to add, but that will come later. I promise it wont take me as long. So, until next time . . . . . .

Another week has gone by

Hey guys! Its hard to believe that almost another week has gone by! We are having such a good time! Friday night, Julie and I went to King of Prussia Mall (I cannot even begin to tell you how HUGE this mall is) and watched "Catch and Release" which was a FABULOUS movie! Jennifer Garner is great in it and it is such a good movie! I would highly recommend it!
Here are some pictures from the rest of the week.

Saturday night, we (Amy, Shane, and I) went to South Street to look around and see what there is to see there. It was a really cool street. It was very eclectic and had a ton of really neat stores and shops. The stores were decorated with beautiful murals and mosaic art. The first picture is a random window that is decorated with mosaic glass tiles. it really is beautiful. The next pic is of Amy and Shane beside a wall that is a mosaic mural made of glass and mirror pieces. It is incredible. The beautiful thing about the street is that you are just walking along and a beautiful mural ust pops out at you from all directions. I know its not a great pic, but the last pic on the first row is of a storefront that is decorated by murals. I know I keep going on about it, but the artwork on this street really is amazing.
The next picture is of Shane and me at the South Street bridge under a sculpture. If you look closely in the next picture, you will see a large sculpture of three people that is over the bridge. If you walk onto the bridge, you have to walk under this giant sculpture of three people holding hands. It is a really great concept dipicting walking in unity. I really liked it. Sorry that it is not a great pic. I will try to get a better one.
We ate at a great place called Jon's. This was the "birthplace" of Larry from the Three Stooges. Apparently, when he was a child, his dad was melting gold near his crib and Larry reached out and spilled it into his crib which severly burned his arm. As part of his physical therapy, he learned to play the violin, which then led to his role in the Three Stooges. The restaraunt is now in the house that he was born in. It was a really great place to eat and has a great atmosphere. we really had a good time.
After we left the restaraunt, we walked around the city and just looked at different things. Prince Charles and Camille were in the city for the weekend so there was alot of activity in Old City so we went to walk around and enjoy the excitement. The next pic is Amy and me hanging out with a sculpture. I am actually in the sculptures lap and was falling off his lap when the pic was being taken.

Sunday after going to the gym, we tried to go to Christ Church, which was the first church in the country and George Washington, Betsy Ross, and alot of other famous people went there. However, we missed the bus twice and it was then too late to go to that church. We decided to go to the Italian Market which is the market the Rocky runs through in his movie. Because it was a Sunday, the market was not its usual hustle-and-bustle (or so Ive heard). We definitely plan to go back because it looked like it would be really neat. We did see several stands of fresh produce and meat (including fresh fish heads) at the market. It was awesome because they had fresh pasta which was handmade and fresh cheese at different stores along the way. I cant wait to go back!!! For lunch, we ate at Ralphs which is the oldest family-owned and operated Italian resaraunt in America. It was incredible. I had the best lasagna I have ever had in my life! It was sooooo good!. It was a really neat place and we will definitely be going back. The first picture above is of Amy and I at a horse hitching post. The next pic is of the restaraunt and the sign explaining the restaraunts history. The last 2 pics are of a horse watering hole and a human watering hole. The human water fountain is on the back of the horse watering hole so you and your horse can drink at the same time. For some reason I thought this was hularious. Its an old fashioned gas station!




Wednesday night, we did a really cool "Philly" thing. This week was restaraunt week in Philadelphia. Most of the restaraunts in Philly participate and offer a minimum of three courses for $30. The cool thing is that most of these restaraunts are very high end and not places that we would probably ever go. We all decided to go to valannis which is a latin-mediterrainian restaraunt. It was so good!!! For an appetizer, I had lamb-stuffed grape leaves which were actually REALLY good. Shane had corn aspadas which kind of looked like little pizzas with different things on top. Amy and Ted also went with us. Ted had brie (really good and fancy cheese) and Amy had fiery potatoes. For entrees, Ted and I had red snapper, Shane had duck, and Amy had tuna steak. It was all incredibly good. Dessert was also great. Shane and I had apple caramel bread pudding, Ted had oreo burginetts (not sure if I spelled this right, they looked like donut holes and tasted like a funnel cake with oreos), and Amy had pumpkin creme brulee (which was FABULOUS!!!). I am really glad we participated in restaraunt week. It was alot of fun and gave us a chance to try foods that we normally would not have eaten. We really enjoyed it. The first pic above is of Shane and me at the restaraunt, then outside the restaraunt, then Amy and I. The next pic is of Amy being Amy (see why we get along so well??). You cant see it that well, but the next pic is of me, Amy, and Ted standing under the Valanni sign. The last one is of Amy standing beside the sign for Ted's restaraunt. We tried to get Ted to get his picture taken there, which was the whole point of taking a pic of the restaraunt, but he wimped out on us. So, Amy had hers made with the sign. (You probably had to be there!).


These are just some pics we took at our house that night. I had gotten my hair cut that day so Shane wanted to take a picture of just me with the new hair-do!
Stay tuned for more!!

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!!!