Where's the Good Weather? Not in Wyoming!

I have left the cold, rainy weather of Boston for...the cold, rainy weather of Wyoming. OK, to be completely truthful, I woke up this morning to blue skies and warmer weather. But previous to this anomoly, I have had only ONE day of sun! ONE DAY! And I brought almost exclusively warm weather clothes - flip flops, shorts, etc! What a pity! The worst of it came on Saturday night. It was our BBQ with friends and family to celebrate James' graduation (big congrats to him!) and my visit home. I prayed and prayed for good weather so we could enjoy it (the forecast was rain - shocker!), and my prayer was, for the most part, answered in the affirmative. But, it was rather cold, and we huddled in blankets and told embarrassing stories from the life of Amber (I can entertain for hours). About the time we were heading back home, the rain began in earnest. By the time we hit Ogden Canyon, it was snowing, also in earnest. And by that I mean it was a white-out. Seriously! By the time we got to Wyoming, the snow began to stick, and it was 30-40 mph the rest of the way. Took us quite a long time to get home, and a lot of white knuckles! I stepped out of the car into the 3 inches of wet snow, in my flip flops, and swore I would never live in Wyoming!

But my visit home has been nice. When I first arrived, my time was dedicated to finishing my last paper, which I did finish and turn in. But not before I looked up my grades from my other classes: an A and 2 A+'s (I must point out that I don't usually think people read my blog, so I don't worry so much about what I write - but I was recently informed that people do actually read it, so now I'm self-conscious about writing my grades. But, I will just go ahead and write them and hope no one thinks I'm a big, fat braggart - my dad does the proud, bragging thing well enough all by himself). So, the pressure was on to write a fantastic term paper for the last class that would complete the pattern. (May I just say, also, that I didn't realize that they gave A+'s in college - but I learned that they, in fact, do, and my friend in law school got a 4.3 because of it. Who knew? Certainly not me!) Well, to end the suspense, I did NOT get an A from the final class. My paper must not have been quite as good as I hoped. Got an A-. But not too bad, and I'm not complaining. I just hope it's good enough to get into a PhD program this next year. I'll keep you posted on that front.

Since so much of my life has been dedicated to mental exercise, I must take just a moment to confess how out of shape physically I have become. It is a terrible realization. I went running with Cisco the other night - we did sprints on the football field. My hamstrings have spent the last week recuperating, and yes, I did say WEEK. (Sigh.) Then yesterday I played Ultimate Frisbee with my extended family for our yearly Memorial Day gathering, and could do little more than jog along, because my thighs were still tight. I took one flying leap for a low throw, and possible goal (but it wasn't even worth it, because I didn't come down with it), and my hamstring became very angry. I think it was a muscle cramp, because it doesn't hurt too much today (but my quads do from my squats yesterday - sigh again), but it sure made me feel like I've passed my prime! Did I ever even have a prime?

And, from those painful moments, we move on to this week's festivities. I have 2 weddings and a bridal shower to attend (and I already went to one wedding - it was lovely!), and then I had back to Boston. I'll have a short stint of blissful frolicking (by which I mean, kyaking, late-night playing with friends, and bike-riding), before I head up to Vermont to speak Hebrew 24-7. I have a lovely summer ahead of me! Did I tell you that I got $6500 of my summer program funded? What a blessing. So, haverim (friends), until next time, Shalom!

May...rain, flowers, and finals

You know the song on Bambi (I think) that goes "Drip, drip drop, little April showers..."? It doesn't really mean much in Utah. And in Massachusetts April was more significant for the final melting of the snow, and random additional snow storms, than for rain. So, I'm thinking, Bambi did not live in the West, nor on the East Coast. That's my conclusion.

But May. May is the rainy time. Interspersed with some warm(er) weather - and LOADED with flowers! Truly! I cannot describe to you the beauty of my street with trees full of fluffy, white flowers. And the magnolia trees! What can I say? I'm enthralled!

I visited Vermont with my friend Ruth a few weeks ago (I know, just before finals!), and it was still mostly covered in snow. But surely that won't last forever. I'm living there this summer, and told it is a lovely summer spot. I'm looking forward to it - and riding the rolling hills with my new bike. Yep, that's right, I'm buying a (used) bike tomorrow! Can't wait!

But back to present reality. Sitting next to my left arm, on the desk here, is a pile about 2 inches thick of articles that I have to read in the next couple of days. Articles I should have read weeks ago. Articles for a paper that was due today, but for which I got an extension until next Friday. That means I'll be working on it a little bit at home - which I'm not super crazy about, but it's better than not turning it in! I'm struggling getting through all of them because, well, I'm tired! That's all there is to it! I just turned in a paper on Monday, took a final (and wrote a paper for the final) on Wednesday, and have just about spent all my mental energy. I'm digging deep here. But I've been so incredibly blessed. I don't know why. I don't deserve it. I know we all have the insider view of our own weaknesses, but let me assure you, I double don't deserve it. But I'm grateful. And humbled. I got an A from my big paper last week (a 36-pager! Never wrote so much in my life!), and my professor, head of the department, said it was "terrific". I feel really lucky.

That one was on immigration in Israel. The paper I wrote for my History of Israel final was discussing whether Israel can truly be a Jewish state, and a democracy. And today's project: the politics of archaeology in Israel - which is the most interesting to me. I'm going to make it my Master's thesis next year. It should be interesting. That's assuming, of course, I actually read the material and get to the writing part...

One of the blessings bestowed upon me recently is a patient, dedicated friend who goes running with me in the mornings - every other day. Her name is Ashlee. She and I also went on Sunday to see the lilacs at the Arboretum (just learned how to spell that word), and it was magnificent. So, as I conclude, I'd like to share with you with some lovely pictures of lilacs, and other beauty, to brighten your day, as they have mine. Lilacs, you should know, were my grandma Fuller's favorite flower, and, consequently, a favorite of my mother. I thought of them both as I wandered through lilac heaven Sunday (Mother's Day). Enjoy.