Clarification: My husband gently told me that my most recent post about writer's block may have sounded like I thought my life had no meaning. That's not true at all. I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend U of M and I know the monotony of winter weather will end soon. I just meant that I have no new, fun pictures to share or special events to post about. But that's ok. Maybe it's living the everyday life that's really the most important part.

I feel like I have writer's block. I have nothing interesting to say at the moment, which is probably a result of the fact that I have nothing interesting going on right now. I do the same thing every day: study, study, drive in the awful snow, study, fall into bed completely exhausted. Where's the fun in that?! I love reading about the cute personalities of friend's children, seeing their pictures, and reading the insightful, gifted postings of my dearest friend. My last post featured a hula dancer. Seriously. A hula dancer. Maybe something fabulous will happen soon that deserves a post. Stay tuned.

Great news: we are welcoming a HEAT WAVE!!! It's going to be above freezing today!

On this very special inauguration day...

I watched the capital activities with excitement today. There were TVs set up all over campus, and I sat in a crowded room between classes to view the live footage.

I "talk politics" with very few people (Papa, Adam, Alyn). I think this is probably partly because I am not really willing to disagree with many people- it's just not worth it; and partly because most of the time there is no clear cut political side for me. I feel privleged to have voted in this election. But it's confession time: this is the first presidential election I have voted in. Previous elections for which I was eligible (2000 and 2004) found me away at college, and I used this as my excuse not to partake in the amazing democratic process we have.

But not this year. Maybe it's the excitement of living in Michigan, somewhat of a swing state. Unlike Texas, Michigan can go either way, and the thought that my vote would actually matter in my new home state was exciting to me.

After the election, I was getting a bit frustrated with the talk of the "nation's first African*American president" because, while I recognize that this is monumental, I would like to have hope for a truely great presidency, not just a black president. But then I saw the faces in the crowd. Some of these people were victims of horrendous crimes of humanity here in our own country, and at one time were not even allowed to vote. What an amazing feeling of hope for them. I forget that that piece of history was so recent.

I was not able to watch much more than Obama's swearing in and speech due to my schedule. I loved seeing YoYo Ma's smile as he played that amazing John Williams arrangement for the occasion. I smiled with empathy when there were a few stumbles in the swearing in. (I was most nervous about being able to repeat my vows at my own wedding. I can't even imagine what he was going through.) And then being reminded that we live in the greatest country in the world. (When I was in Haiti, we were lamenting with our group that Haiti is so pure, while the US is materialistic, selfish, etc. And the leader of our journey to Haiti reminded us that despite the problems of the US, it is the greatest country in the world. We are blessed to be US citizens, and we have freedoms that most people only dream of. Our lives would be so different otherwise.) I felt hope for the future, and no matter your political affiliation, I hope you did too.

God bless the United States of America.

"Winter Blast Hits Midwest"

A couple of months ago Adam and I commented that "below 25 degrees, you can't really tell a difference between temperatures." In other words, cold is cold. However, we stand corrected. Negative 5 degrees is much, much colder than (positive) 20 degrees, particularly with a wind chill of negative 25 degrees.

I have now experienced the lovely feeling of walking outside, and then inside, and then realizing I have to wait for a minute to speak because my face is so cold I cannot physically form words. And then when my face has thawed enough to speak, realizing I have snot all over my face from my nose running and then freezing.

Or today, when I experienced the sensation of the inside of my nose freezing. Apparently, snot freezes around zero degrees. At least it wasn't on my face this time. Better to freeze inside than out, right?

Old man winter had better find a new home soon. I am no longer extending a welcome to him.

(Please note: I love the snow. It's beautiful. I enjoy winter sports. I like staying home and building a fire and watching the snow fall. But what I don't love is having to go on with life, like commuting 2 hours each way in the snow, walking across the ridiculously huge U*Mich campus in the snow, taking Jake out in the snow, etc. It's just no fun to have to "keep on living" in the winter.)

Looking back on 2008...
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Last year was quite a year for us! I didn't realize it until I really started thinking about posting.
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Here are the 2008 highlights...In January Adam traveled to Michigan to interview for a residency program. In February, he found out he was accepted to the Detroit Medical Center urological surgery residency program. In March we put our house on the market. In March-April, I applied to the University*of*Michigan PhD program in Epidemiology. In May, I was accepted to the U*Mich program. Adam graduated from medical school and was finally a DOCTOR and I graduated from the School of Public Health with a Master's degree in Epidemiology. This month we also traveled to Michigan to find a place to live, and in one weekend we looked at houses and made the purchase. We had a garage sale and sold our stuff, including my car. In June, it was moving day! We moved to Michigan the day Adam turned 27. After moving with lots of help from family and friends, we needed a vacation so we went to Niagara Falls. Adam started his internship/residency on July 1. In July, I attended a week of summer classes and we bought a new (well, used, but new to me) Toyota Corolla for me. In August, my two college roommates came to Michigan to visit and I went back to Texas for my cousin's wedding. In Septemeber, I started school, turned 26, and we finally closed on our house in Texas. In November, my great grandmother passed away and I went back to Texas. My mom came to visit. Adam worked Thanksgiving. December was full of school work and final exams for me, which lasted until the 21st and I thought I'd never finish everything. Adam worked Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day, but we had a lovely Christmas afternoon together, just the two of us, before his post-call nap. After Christmas, I was on vacation and preparing for the class I will lead in the upcoming semester and Adam worked until New Year's Eve. At this point, Adam hadn't had two days off since October. And then it was 2009...boy am I tired.