Leaving (for) Las Vegas!!

Yep, folks, I'm leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow morning. It's so strange - I really never had any desire to go, but, here we are!

My youngest brother, Ricky, turned 21 this year (hooray!), and my other brother, Adam, wanted to take him on a trip to celebrate. After doing some research, they chose Las Vegas.

A few weeks ago, Adam was telling me about their plans to go. All of the sudden, he stops himself and says, "Wait - why aren't you and Lindsay joining us?!?!"

Lindsay and I checked our calendars and we realized that we could totally go - we could plan the first sibling vacation!!

So, now, all four of us are going to Las Vegas, and we are absolutely thrilled. We got tickets to see Penn & Teller (YAY!!!). We've gotten lots of good suggestions of places to go, things to see, and buffets to patronize.

Do you have any suggestions? Any memories of a trip to Vegas that stand out?

Wish us luck - we'll be back $1,000,000 richer!! :)

Flying home for winter break.... hooray!!

As many of you know by now, I am originally from Chicago, Illinois. I happen to be a very proud midwesterner, and there is something about the Chicago area that will always feel like my true home, no matter where my life takes me.

I was last home, where my whole family (other than my sister, Lindsay) lives, in August. It is really unfortunate that I can't travel home more than 3 or 4 times a year, but that is just the reality of the situation. My job as a rabbi is such that I work 6 days a week (Thursdays are my precious day off, unless I have a funeral or event), so I can rarely travel on the weekends.

Nonetheless, I have booked my next trip home for the end of December - hooray! My sister won't be able to join me, unfortunately, but both my brothers will also be at my parents' house, so a good time will be had by all who are around (and we will call Linds frequently!!).

And, all of my Chicago friends: let's get together!!! I miss you all so much :)

So, what about you? Where is your family in relation to where you are? Do you live near them? Did you stay where you grew up or did you move away?

Life's Simple Pleasures

Hello from beautiful Rindge, NH! I am currently at Franklin Pierce University, and it is glorious here. I was asked to be on faculty for a national Jewish adult learning retreat, thus I am surrounded by enthusiastic, intelligent adults who have an excitement for Jewish learning, exploring and studying.

But, between classes (I am teaching "Guided Jewish Meditation" and "Israeli Women Poets"), I have been enjoying the nature that is ever-present here.


The lake on campus was an incredible blue yesterday - can you believe how vivid it is??



One of my most favorite joys in life? Waiting on the road while a family of geese walks slowly by. I love being able to take my time, watching their slow meandering, appreciating the pace at which the geese must live.



Some of the woods near the townhouse I am staying in.... the parallel lines calm me....

Vacation comes to an end....

Alas, my glorious vacation is now coming to an end. After the trip to Arizona, my sister and I took a road trip to the Jersey Shore (Billy Joel's lyric keeps running through my head). Wow - it was absolutely perfect. It was 85 degrees out, blue skies, and warm end-of-summer ocean water. We stayed at a charming Bed and Breakfast and really just relaxed the whole time.

Here is my "bathing beauty" photo - despite much sunscreen, we still got great tans (awesome!!).

But then, of course, we have to come BACK TO THE REAL WORLD. Bleh!


I can't believe how quickly I got totally stressed out as soon as I returned to my otherwise lovely abode. I just had this long conversation with my mom, where I began to list every single thing that has been wearing on my mind. They are much too complicated to go into here, but, boy, let me tell you - my stomach hurts just thinking about everything.

Well, it sure was nice while it lasted.