Back to Boston...and loving it!

I am freshly inspired. I just finished watching Julie and Julia (I'm sorry, but I have to pause to lavishly praise Meryl Streep - she delights me in this film!), which conveniently sat waiting for me on my bed when I got home last night. I am inspired to write, and I am inspired to cook! Being unable to do both, I will write. My responsible side tells me I should buckle down and wade through the dozens (nigh unto hundreds!) of emails in my inbox, and deal with the large pile of mail (from which I pulled the movie last night - one of the few things I actually have opened). But, instead, I will succomb to temptation, and write.

Do you love it when I accomplish another first? I do! It's so fun to have completed a project that celebrates doing anything for the first time - my life has become perpetually fresh and new! My most recent first: driving across the country in 2.5 days. That's something! AND I went through at least 5 states that I have never been to before. I took the I-70 path to avoid Chicago (HUGE snowstorm in the forecast), which dropped us down from Wyoming to Colorado, to Kansas, to Missouri, to Illinois, to Indiana, to Ohio, to West Virginia, to Pennsylvania, to New Jersey, to New York, to Connecticut, to Rhode Island, to good, ol' Massachusetts (and, yes, I have learned to spell it correctly). OK, so the last few were on I-95. Anyway, we (Cassidy Bull and I) were incredibly blessed - we missed the major snowstorms, and encountered very little that affected our driving - negatively, anyway. I did get a little distracted and take the wrong freeway in St. Louis. The arch was just so fun! And I am convinced that there is not a lovelier countryside than Pennsylvania, somewhere not far from West Virginia and Harrisburg, PA (according to road signs). Even in winter, trees stripped of leaves, and driving along the highway at 65 mph (or perhaps more, but I'll never tell), the land was breath-taking. Charming farm houses, rolling mountains/hills (depending on which part of the country you're from), and tunnels that take you through the mountain. If you should find yourself one day presented with the choice of driving through this area or not, definitely drive it!

We were likewise very blessed with no car problems, and with good company (well, speaking for her company anyway - I'm sure I wasn't always the most pleasant company. I can hardly stand myself, sometimes!). One of my favorite past times was making our way through Trivial Pursuit Cards. I've never done especially well at that game, but I held my own - especially on American History questions. We decided to try to stop in Philadelphia and see the Liberty Bell. We didn't know exactly where it was, so we plugged it in the the trusty GPS, which took us 30 miles north to Allentown, PA. We thought that was a little odd, but neither of us being geography buffs, we drove up and found the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum. As we suspected, it's NOT where the Liberty Bell currently resides, but it is a lovely little church nonetheless. It happens to be where the Liberty Bell was hidden during the Revolution so those darn Brits couldn't get a hold of it. Chalk that one up to a future Jeopardy question - who knows, it may win me big bucks one day!

We opted not to retrace our steps to Philly, but to instead have an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. Other than a splash of red marinara sauce on my clean new shirt, the sandwhiches were everything they should be, and our little (and only stop) was a success. For future reference, the Liberty Bell is near Independence Hall, according to Peter Steenblik. Of course - that would be the logical assumption. When have I ever been logical?

And, so I prepare myself to begin school again. I am looking forward to it, but also wiser to what I'm in for this time around. No more wicked Akkadian, but more writing, I'm sure. And probably more reading. But that's good. I need to write a paper that I can publish. This is a major thing I have never done before, and it does fill my heart with some angst. But my Heavenly Father has more than taken care of me so far, and I know He will help me with this too. He has reassurred me that I can succeed. And I will. Now, I must go exercise and get busy getting ready for school to begin again. Shalom!