Because I have nothing better to blog about...

To commemorate our 50th blog post, I thought I'd leave you all with this little gem:

http://melodymaker.posterous.com/the-reason-some-girls-stay-single-very-funny

NYC '09

Chad's bestie, Jacob, is a deal nerd. Sometimes he shares deals with us that we must take advantage of. So when he told us about an incredible deal through Expedia, we decided to take a quick Labor Day weekend vacay to New York City. It had been years since the last time I'd been, and Chad had never been before. The one thing we learned coming away from this trip was that we were born to be city-dwellers. Maybe some day. Here are the highlights from the trip:

Times Square at night. This place never sleeps.

We saw it and We. Loved. It.

Enjoying our delicious Crumbs cupcake in Central Park

Back stage at Wicked. We know someone who knows someone (the guy in the above picture) who dances in the show so we got treated to a behind-the-scenes tour. Here we are with Elphaba's $15,000 dress.

Dorothy's house

Elphaba's broom

Dinner and dessert at Junior's

The 9/11 Preview Site

St. Paul's Chapel, across the street from Ground Zero. A place of refuge for many.

Where the Twin Towers used to be

The beautiful church

New York Stock Exchange

Wall Street

Trinity Church

Brooklyn Bridge

Lady Liberty

Times Square in the daytime

TKTS - a theater development project that sells Broadway and off-Broadway tickets for 30%-80% off list price

Central Park

and again.

Dinner at Lombardi's which Zagat rated as "best pizza place on the planet"

We concur.

We had to keep ourselves occupied during the 1.5 hour wait (at 9 pm, mind you)

The largest Kitchen Aid mixer I have ever seen

Bekah in Times Square

Radio City Music Hall

We are at the top of the Rockefeller Center Observation Deck (Top of the Rock)

The big green space is Central Park.

Chad and the Empire State Building

A Swarovski crystal chandelier (Just playing around with my sweet lens)

The Rockefeller

Junior's Cheesecake

My mouth is watering just looking at this picture--delectable.

We're already planning our next trip back, considering we didn't even get halfway through everything we wanted to see/do. Thanks Scott and Elly for all the tips!!! Next time you should come with and be our official tour guides. =)

Jam

We made freezer jam. 5 batches (raspberry, strawbery, raspberry-strawberry, strawberry-peach, and raspberry-peach) and 41 half-pints later, we officially have jam to last us through winter...

P.S. - The wallpaper behind the sink in the first picture is classy.

Success!

I just found out this morning that I will be doing my second practicum placement at the St. Elizabeth Hospice: http://www.ste.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=182. I am thrilled! I met with my field instructor this morning and she is absolutely wonderful and is excited to have another student. I will be mostly shadowing for the next few weeks and learning the ropes, but she wants me to have a caseload by next semester. She hopes that I will be operating independently by January.

For those of you who aren't familiar with what a social worker does at a Hospice, here's the run-down. When a physician recommends Hospice to an individual, the social worker is the first person on the scene at their home. The social worker does a home visit and initial assessment of what the individual and family needs to live comfortably in their home. Then the social worker will visit the family once a week for four-six weeks, or as the family requests. Social workers also provide grief and bereavement counseling for the individual and/or family members. Social workers coordinate any other services that need to be provided for the individual and family member.

It's so exciting to think that by next semester I'll be able to work independently and have my own clients! It makes all the schooling worthwhile. =)

Also--most of you probably know this already, but Chad got an offer from Procter and Gamble to work full time after he finishes his degree. We're thrilled with the offer, and feel totally blessed to have one considering the economic situation of our country. We haven't committed yet and Chad still wants to explore a few other options, but we'll have a decision made by November. Way to go, Chad!