Thursday, February 25, 2010
Now that "American Idol" is on 3 nights for the next few weeks....
....I get way more knitting done! Especially with it being 2 hours each night for the first two nights. It's definitely growing but I feel that it doesn't look like a scarf. Time will tell, I guess. My older son likes when I knit in his room while he's getting ready for bed. He practically begs me to knit at that time! It's very sweet though. :)
From McDonald's to Mikvah
This blog was inspired by Charmingly Random's blog about religion.
When I was growing up, my weekends involved going to temple on Friday nights and going to the mall, movies, birthday parties, fast food restaurants, or doing other fun things on Saturday morning and afternoon. I loved the ritual of going to temple. I’d even bring my Cabbage Patch Kid and pretend that I was the mommy taking them to temple. I wouldn’t leave the building without saying “Shabbat Shalom” to the Rabbi.
As I got older, I started going to Hebrew school and training for my Bat Mitzvah. I enjoyed learning Hebrew once I was able to pick up on it. I even taught myself the trope symbols necessary to chant my Haftarah. My Bat Mitzvah service was a very meaningful experience that I still think about occasionally.
After I became a Bat Mitzvah, I took confirmation classes. I didn’t enjoy those as much and didn’t really get a lot out of them as I had hoped. The summer before I started high school, I went to a Jewish overnight camp (Beber). It was a great experience. I loved how everyone came together for Shabbat. We all had services, a nice meal in the dining hall and Israeli dancing under the stars.
When I was a freshman in high school, I got involved with BBG and CFTY. At first I liked BBG, but later became more interested and involved with CFTY instead. I liked the meaningful and spiritual factors of CFTY. I also met some great friends through it, some of whom I am still in touch with today. Around this time, I also joined the speech team at my school and we went to tournaments every Saturday in the fall and winter.
Meanwhile, we had family friends who were Modern Orthodox and invited us to dine in their Sukkah every autumn. I loved and looked forward to that experience. Sometimes it was combined with Shabbos. It was such a beautiful experience overall. Around this time, I read a book called “What Happened to Heather Hopkowitz? It resonated with me at the time and I still think about it as an adult. I even used it for a discussion about books for Jewish adolescents in one of my classes in college.
While I was in college, I felt I slipped away from Judaism in the beginning. There were no temples within walking distance and I was the only Jewish person amongst my friends for a while. The Hillel on campus didn’t interest me much and it felt like it contained the things that I didn’t like about BBG. Then I met my first boyfriend during freshman year. He was Jewish and I think being with him helped spark a renewed interest in Judaism. We didn’t talk about it a lot and never went to temple together, but it was nice to share in Jewish holidays and be able to talk about family customs. I started going to temple just on the High Holidays, as well. Toward the end of my college days, my Jewish side came out more. When I lived off campus, I was able to light the menorah (no rules about candles, like in the dorms) and make matzo ball soup.
While I still let the world know I was Jewish after I graduated from college, I was pretty low key about my observance level. I’d still go out on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. Most of the time was spent in the city. I spent the High Holidays with my family, but even that was minimal time in temple and just eating food afterward. In the summer of 2001, one of my best friends left to study for a year in Israel. His departure motivated me to go on a Birthright trip in early 2002. While I was there, I promised to make some changes to my overall lifestyle if I could be given a good love relationship in return (I would have also taken the opportunity to be part of the Comedy Sportz troupe as another option). I put this promise in the Western Wall, sealing the deal. In the meantime, I decided that I wanted to start becoming more involved in the Jewish community. Being in Israel really inspired me to want more out of Judaism. By the end of the trip, the educational leader said that I was “shining.”
A few weeks after I returned from Israel, I met the love of my life. It was through one of his friends and involved being in the right place and saying the right thing at the right time. Complete besherte! I had asked if my (now) husband liked going to temple, as I wanted to start going again. It turned out that he went to temple every Saturday morning. I also found out later that his friend matched us up for a reason besides bowling…that we both liked to say “besherte.” We met later that week and eventually started going to temple together. It was a nice experience and I looked forward to it every week. A month later, he took me to an event called Makor. It’s a Shabbos dinner program that takes place around the Lakeview/Lincoln Park area of Chicago. People get grouped into different homes for a Shabbos meal and then they all convene at one location afterward for social time. The first meal I went to was really enjoyable and it brought back the feelings I had when I went to a Shabbos dinner in our family friends’ Sukkah. We continued to go throughout the year and got other friends involved. Eventually, we tried to start our own group in the suburbs but didn’t have enough funding for more than 2 dinners. It was a nice program to organize though.
Around this same time, we had gone to Cleveland a few times to visit my husband’s family and enjoy some Shabbos weekends together. I loved the Shabbos meals my (now) mother-in-law hosted when we came for a visit. The first time I was there was during Sukkot. I got to relive the Shabbos in the Sukkah feel once again. Spending Shabbos with my future family was definitely another inspiration for me to become more observant.
After we got engaged in 2003, we decided to start on a path of keeping Kosher together. We took all our plates, cookware, utensils, etc. to the mikvah (after dipping everything in boiling water first). To celebrate this new plan, we decided to first stop mixing meat and dairy and also wait three hours before having dairy after a meat meal. Over the next few years, we expanded our Kosher rules to ease our way into things. Nowadays, I no longer eat non-Kosher meat. That was the hugest thing for me to give up. It meant no more burgers at Wendys! However, by that time we were living in NJ and surrounded by Kosher restaurants.
Later in 2003, I decided that we should have a Shabbos meal every Friday night instead of going out on the town. We adopted that custom and met some friends around that time with whom we shared in a lot of Shabbos meals. Maybe that was another sign from Hashem that we were headed in the right direction in regards to observance.
When we got married in 2004, we had all Kosher food at our wedding. We also followed some customs that my brother-in-law introduced to us at his wedding (badeken ceremony, walking around in a circle 7 times, the yichud room, etc). However, there was mixed seating and dancing at our reception. I don’t think I could have had it any other way.
Meanwhile, we were looking for a shul (I started referring to temple as shul when I became more observant) at which we’d both feel comfortable attending Shabbos services. After we got married, we found one! We were one of the only young couples, but everyone was really nice and the Rabbi was wonderful. We met one of our close friends through that shul, as well. It was a Traditional congregation. They followed the format of an Orthodox service, but there was no mechitzah.
Upon becoming husband and wife, we chose to participate in the custom of Taharat Hamishpachot. It means family purity. To put it nicely, a husband can not so much as touch his wife, or vice versa (or even sleep in the same bed) during the two “unclean” weeks of her cycle, until she has immersed in a ritual bath called a mikvah (not the same as the one used to make utensils Kosher). The whole experience is very meaningful and it allows spouses to get to know each other outside of the physical realm and really talk to each other. And for those who think TWO weeks are hard, try SIX (or more) after giving birth! I took classes to learn more about the process and reasons behind it and became friends with my teacher. She even invited us over for Shabbos meals from time to time, as well as a meal during Sukkot.
When our first son was born, we decided on giving him only a Hebrew name (that would be used at home and shul). There’s a custom to not reveal the name until the bris (or naming ceremony for a girl). I didn’t like the custom the first time, but came to an agreement that we’d only reveal the name if people were dying to know and couldn’t wait until the bris. At the bris, it felt so special to share the name with people hearing it for the first time, that we decided to completely wait on sharing our second son’s name until the bris. When our first son turned 3, we had a hair cutting ceremony called an upsherin and he started wearing a kipah at that time, as well as tzitzis later on.
Before we moved to NJ in 2007, we started easing our way into becoming Shomer Shabbos (and Yom Tov). We started out with a few rules and expanded it after we got comfortable with that. It meant no more shopping, movies, watching TV, checking e-mail, etc. from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. When we moved to NJ, we became completely Shomer Shabbos and it felt natural because we were within walking distance of the shul and our friends in the community weren’t tempting us to go out with them on Saturday afternoon because they were in the same place we were.
I feel that we’re at a good place right now in terms of our observance level. We have a nice balance of spirituality and a connection with the secular world. We now live in a great community where most of our friends are in the same place as we are with their observance. I love participating in all the women rituals of challah, candles and mikvah. I love the shul where we daven. I love how interested my kids are in Judaism and how they sing Hebrew songs and talk about all the holidays. I love that my Friday night “dates” with my husband involve sitting at the dining room table with soft candle light in the background and warm challah on our plates. I really think I was meant to get to this place in my life.
My late maternal grandma was observant for a while and even kept Kosher when my mom was growing up. Later, she slipped out of it when my mom moved out and started her own rituals. I think my grandma would be very proud of how far I’ve come. A while ago, someone told me how when we light the Shabbos candles, we’re praying for the tradition to continue through future generations, just like our ancestors and past relatives have prayed for our generation to light Shabbos candles. Also, I am proud of my parents for regaining interest in Judaism through a shul they’ve become involved with. They made a promise to their Rabbi to light candles, say Kiddush over wine and eat challah every Friday night. They’re proud of themselves for it, as well. It’s so nice to see their renewed interest in Judaism and I think it has brought us even closer together as a family. I only hope we’re instilling strong values in our sons to keep up the traditions and start them in their own families in the future.
When I was growing up, my weekends involved going to temple on Friday nights and going to the mall, movies, birthday parties, fast food restaurants, or doing other fun things on Saturday morning and afternoon. I loved the ritual of going to temple. I’d even bring my Cabbage Patch Kid and pretend that I was the mommy taking them to temple. I wouldn’t leave the building without saying “Shabbat Shalom” to the Rabbi.
As I got older, I started going to Hebrew school and training for my Bat Mitzvah. I enjoyed learning Hebrew once I was able to pick up on it. I even taught myself the trope symbols necessary to chant my Haftarah. My Bat Mitzvah service was a very meaningful experience that I still think about occasionally.
After I became a Bat Mitzvah, I took confirmation classes. I didn’t enjoy those as much and didn’t really get a lot out of them as I had hoped. The summer before I started high school, I went to a Jewish overnight camp (Beber). It was a great experience. I loved how everyone came together for Shabbat. We all had services, a nice meal in the dining hall and Israeli dancing under the stars.
When I was a freshman in high school, I got involved with BBG and CFTY. At first I liked BBG, but later became more interested and involved with CFTY instead. I liked the meaningful and spiritual factors of CFTY. I also met some great friends through it, some of whom I am still in touch with today. Around this time, I also joined the speech team at my school and we went to tournaments every Saturday in the fall and winter.
Meanwhile, we had family friends who were Modern Orthodox and invited us to dine in their Sukkah every autumn. I loved and looked forward to that experience. Sometimes it was combined with Shabbos. It was such a beautiful experience overall. Around this time, I read a book called “What Happened to Heather Hopkowitz? It resonated with me at the time and I still think about it as an adult. I even used it for a discussion about books for Jewish adolescents in one of my classes in college.
While I was in college, I felt I slipped away from Judaism in the beginning. There were no temples within walking distance and I was the only Jewish person amongst my friends for a while. The Hillel on campus didn’t interest me much and it felt like it contained the things that I didn’t like about BBG. Then I met my first boyfriend during freshman year. He was Jewish and I think being with him helped spark a renewed interest in Judaism. We didn’t talk about it a lot and never went to temple together, but it was nice to share in Jewish holidays and be able to talk about family customs. I started going to temple just on the High Holidays, as well. Toward the end of my college days, my Jewish side came out more. When I lived off campus, I was able to light the menorah (no rules about candles, like in the dorms) and make matzo ball soup.
While I still let the world know I was Jewish after I graduated from college, I was pretty low key about my observance level. I’d still go out on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. Most of the time was spent in the city. I spent the High Holidays with my family, but even that was minimal time in temple and just eating food afterward. In the summer of 2001, one of my best friends left to study for a year in Israel. His departure motivated me to go on a Birthright trip in early 2002. While I was there, I promised to make some changes to my overall lifestyle if I could be given a good love relationship in return (I would have also taken the opportunity to be part of the Comedy Sportz troupe as another option). I put this promise in the Western Wall, sealing the deal. In the meantime, I decided that I wanted to start becoming more involved in the Jewish community. Being in Israel really inspired me to want more out of Judaism. By the end of the trip, the educational leader said that I was “shining.”
A few weeks after I returned from Israel, I met the love of my life. It was through one of his friends and involved being in the right place and saying the right thing at the right time. Complete besherte! I had asked if my (now) husband liked going to temple, as I wanted to start going again. It turned out that he went to temple every Saturday morning. I also found out later that his friend matched us up for a reason besides bowling…that we both liked to say “besherte.” We met later that week and eventually started going to temple together. It was a nice experience and I looked forward to it every week. A month later, he took me to an event called Makor. It’s a Shabbos dinner program that takes place around the Lakeview/Lincoln Park area of Chicago. People get grouped into different homes for a Shabbos meal and then they all convene at one location afterward for social time. The first meal I went to was really enjoyable and it brought back the feelings I had when I went to a Shabbos dinner in our family friends’ Sukkah. We continued to go throughout the year and got other friends involved. Eventually, we tried to start our own group in the suburbs but didn’t have enough funding for more than 2 dinners. It was a nice program to organize though.
Around this same time, we had gone to Cleveland a few times to visit my husband’s family and enjoy some Shabbos weekends together. I loved the Shabbos meals my (now) mother-in-law hosted when we came for a visit. The first time I was there was during Sukkot. I got to relive the Shabbos in the Sukkah feel once again. Spending Shabbos with my future family was definitely another inspiration for me to become more observant.
After we got engaged in 2003, we decided to start on a path of keeping Kosher together. We took all our plates, cookware, utensils, etc. to the mikvah (after dipping everything in boiling water first). To celebrate this new plan, we decided to first stop mixing meat and dairy and also wait three hours before having dairy after a meat meal. Over the next few years, we expanded our Kosher rules to ease our way into things. Nowadays, I no longer eat non-Kosher meat. That was the hugest thing for me to give up. It meant no more burgers at Wendys! However, by that time we were living in NJ and surrounded by Kosher restaurants.
Later in 2003, I decided that we should have a Shabbos meal every Friday night instead of going out on the town. We adopted that custom and met some friends around that time with whom we shared in a lot of Shabbos meals. Maybe that was another sign from Hashem that we were headed in the right direction in regards to observance.
When we got married in 2004, we had all Kosher food at our wedding. We also followed some customs that my brother-in-law introduced to us at his wedding (badeken ceremony, walking around in a circle 7 times, the yichud room, etc). However, there was mixed seating and dancing at our reception. I don’t think I could have had it any other way.
Meanwhile, we were looking for a shul (I started referring to temple as shul when I became more observant) at which we’d both feel comfortable attending Shabbos services. After we got married, we found one! We were one of the only young couples, but everyone was really nice and the Rabbi was wonderful. We met one of our close friends through that shul, as well. It was a Traditional congregation. They followed the format of an Orthodox service, but there was no mechitzah.
Upon becoming husband and wife, we chose to participate in the custom of Taharat Hamishpachot. It means family purity. To put it nicely, a husband can not so much as touch his wife, or vice versa (or even sleep in the same bed) during the two “unclean” weeks of her cycle, until she has immersed in a ritual bath called a mikvah (not the same as the one used to make utensils Kosher). The whole experience is very meaningful and it allows spouses to get to know each other outside of the physical realm and really talk to each other. And for those who think TWO weeks are hard, try SIX (or more) after giving birth! I took classes to learn more about the process and reasons behind it and became friends with my teacher. She even invited us over for Shabbos meals from time to time, as well as a meal during Sukkot.
When our first son was born, we decided on giving him only a Hebrew name (that would be used at home and shul). There’s a custom to not reveal the name until the bris (or naming ceremony for a girl). I didn’t like the custom the first time, but came to an agreement that we’d only reveal the name if people were dying to know and couldn’t wait until the bris. At the bris, it felt so special to share the name with people hearing it for the first time, that we decided to completely wait on sharing our second son’s name until the bris. When our first son turned 3, we had a hair cutting ceremony called an upsherin and he started wearing a kipah at that time, as well as tzitzis later on.
Before we moved to NJ in 2007, we started easing our way into becoming Shomer Shabbos (and Yom Tov). We started out with a few rules and expanded it after we got comfortable with that. It meant no more shopping, movies, watching TV, checking e-mail, etc. from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. When we moved to NJ, we became completely Shomer Shabbos and it felt natural because we were within walking distance of the shul and our friends in the community weren’t tempting us to go out with them on Saturday afternoon because they were in the same place we were.
I feel that we’re at a good place right now in terms of our observance level. We have a nice balance of spirituality and a connection with the secular world. We now live in a great community where most of our friends are in the same place as we are with their observance. I love participating in all the women rituals of challah, candles and mikvah. I love the shul where we daven. I love how interested my kids are in Judaism and how they sing Hebrew songs and talk about all the holidays. I love that my Friday night “dates” with my husband involve sitting at the dining room table with soft candle light in the background and warm challah on our plates. I really think I was meant to get to this place in my life.
My late maternal grandma was observant for a while and even kept Kosher when my mom was growing up. Later, she slipped out of it when my mom moved out and started her own rituals. I think my grandma would be very proud of how far I’ve come. A while ago, someone told me how when we light the Shabbos candles, we’re praying for the tradition to continue through future generations, just like our ancestors and past relatives have prayed for our generation to light Shabbos candles. Also, I am proud of my parents for regaining interest in Judaism through a shul they’ve become involved with. They made a promise to their Rabbi to light candles, say Kiddush over wine and eat challah every Friday night. They’re proud of themselves for it, as well. It’s so nice to see their renewed interest in Judaism and I think it has brought us even closer together as a family. I only hope we’re instilling strong values in our sons to keep up the traditions and start them in their own families in the future.
A note about a quote!
I have a few friends who knit and blog and we've decided to embark on a blog project that has nothing to do with knitting. We're going to take turns coming up with a topic every Thursday and we each have to blog about it by the end of that day and post links to each other's blogs so that people can see our different perspectives on the same topic.
Check out the backstory about how the project was conceived and how we all came together.
Here are the other blogs:
Froggie Knits Like Crazy
Charmingly Random
Desperate Madness
This week's topic comes from Desperate Madness: Your favorite quote and what it means to you
Here goes:
"Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor." Stephen Sondheim, "Into the Woods"
I chose this quote because I like the meaning behind it. I first heard it in "Into the Woods", as it was said by Cinderella. I can't remember the context behind the statement, but I've always liked the thought. I even directed a scene in my high school directing class where I used this quote as the motivating force behind the scene. I think it was regarding "Waiting for Godot," but I can't remember why I linked up the two. All I know is that it came together nicely.
I feel that the basic premise behind the quote is that once an opportunity comes along, you should seize it, as it is not going to last forever. I'm sure there are countless examples of this in my own life. Maybe it keeps me from procrastinating just a little bit. I definitely think it applies to my job hunts. I think that when a job is posted, it can be easily snatched up by someone well qualified, but I feel I should dig my heels in and send off my resume. I don't know that it will always be chosen, but I figure that if I don't, the opportunity will be gone. There are times when I'd save the link for a job posting and it would be gone by the time I got around to it. When I was about to interview for my current job, I managed to hit my eye on a shelf. I was worried that this was my way of self-sabotaging against a perfectly nice job. However, I called the interviewer and she was very understanding about rescheduling. I went in two days later and got the job afterward! I could have easily taken my eye injury as a sign not to go for such an opportunity (as my husband's car being towed on the day of his interview was a sign that he should not have taken his current job), but I'm glad I decided to reschedule and it has been well worth the wait (even if the wait was only two days between when I was supposed to interview and when I actually did).
There have been other times where I have decided to just seize the day and see what would come of it. I can't say I'm one for playing the lotto, but I don't like to leave a lot of "what ifs" just sitting out there. Even if it was just giving my phone number to a potential friend. Whether or not they called is a non-issue, but if I hadn't given them my contact information, I'd always wonder if I was losing out on a possible friendship.
Other instances of this quote coming into play:
*Recently telling someone close to me about an amazing career opportunity that they would be perfect for, but they were not ready to take the plunge at this time. I hope another similar opportunity comes up for them in the future.
*Giving my phone number to someone I barely knew so he could pass it along to his friend. At the time, I said "It might be besherte." If I hadn't given him my number at that time, I wouldn't be with the love of my life right now. (As I don't know that I would have ever encountered his friend again to do so.)
*Going to check out our house as soon as it went on the market, even though it meant making a lot of crazy last minute arrangements. We're living there now, as a result. The houses were getting snatched up so quickly in our neighborhood at that time of year, so I feel incredibly fortunate!
In any situation in life, there is going to be that window of opportunity. Once it closes, the opportunity has the potential to be gone for good.
This quote goes along with another quote I like, from "Rent." (I love musical theater, so it makes sense.) "There's only us. There's only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. No other road. No other way. No day but today." Okay, so it's part of a song, but it makes sense to why I like the quote I chose. I think the message behind this quote doesn't need much of an explanation.
Check out the backstory about how the project was conceived and how we all came together.
Here are the other blogs:
Froggie Knits Like Crazy
Charmingly Random
Desperate Madness
This week's topic comes from Desperate Madness: Your favorite quote and what it means to you
Here goes:
"Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor." Stephen Sondheim, "Into the Woods"
I chose this quote because I like the meaning behind it. I first heard it in "Into the Woods", as it was said by Cinderella. I can't remember the context behind the statement, but I've always liked the thought. I even directed a scene in my high school directing class where I used this quote as the motivating force behind the scene. I think it was regarding "Waiting for Godot," but I can't remember why I linked up the two. All I know is that it came together nicely.
I feel that the basic premise behind the quote is that once an opportunity comes along, you should seize it, as it is not going to last forever. I'm sure there are countless examples of this in my own life. Maybe it keeps me from procrastinating just a little bit. I definitely think it applies to my job hunts. I think that when a job is posted, it can be easily snatched up by someone well qualified, but I feel I should dig my heels in and send off my resume. I don't know that it will always be chosen, but I figure that if I don't, the opportunity will be gone. There are times when I'd save the link for a job posting and it would be gone by the time I got around to it. When I was about to interview for my current job, I managed to hit my eye on a shelf. I was worried that this was my way of self-sabotaging against a perfectly nice job. However, I called the interviewer and she was very understanding about rescheduling. I went in two days later and got the job afterward! I could have easily taken my eye injury as a sign not to go for such an opportunity (as my husband's car being towed on the day of his interview was a sign that he should not have taken his current job), but I'm glad I decided to reschedule and it has been well worth the wait (even if the wait was only two days between when I was supposed to interview and when I actually did).
There have been other times where I have decided to just seize the day and see what would come of it. I can't say I'm one for playing the lotto, but I don't like to leave a lot of "what ifs" just sitting out there. Even if it was just giving my phone number to a potential friend. Whether or not they called is a non-issue, but if I hadn't given them my contact information, I'd always wonder if I was losing out on a possible friendship.
Other instances of this quote coming into play:
*Recently telling someone close to me about an amazing career opportunity that they would be perfect for, but they were not ready to take the plunge at this time. I hope another similar opportunity comes up for them in the future.
*Giving my phone number to someone I barely knew so he could pass it along to his friend. At the time, I said "It might be besherte." If I hadn't given him my number at that time, I wouldn't be with the love of my life right now. (As I don't know that I would have ever encountered his friend again to do so.)
*Going to check out our house as soon as it went on the market, even though it meant making a lot of crazy last minute arrangements. We're living there now, as a result. The houses were getting snatched up so quickly in our neighborhood at that time of year, so I feel incredibly fortunate!
In any situation in life, there is going to be that window of opportunity. Once it closes, the opportunity has the potential to be gone for good.
This quote goes along with another quote I like, from "Rent." (I love musical theater, so it makes sense.) "There's only us. There's only this. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. No other road. No other way. No day but today." Okay, so it's part of a song, but it makes sense to why I like the quote I chose. I think the message behind this quote doesn't need much of an explanation.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Blog Project Backstory
Before I post my blog project entry for this week, I wanted to share briefly about how I know each of the women involved. I want to start by saying that I have a knack for bringing people together who normally might never have met. Some friends of mine are now best friends with each other because I connected them in some way. Most of the time, the connection is between my high school and college friends. This time, it is more random. I basically introduced them to each other because they all live in Illinois and like to knit. They got me motivated to knit, and have been very supportive of my efforts.
I'll start with Froggie:
We met at summer camp back in 1987. I had braces and she was getting them soon, so she struck up a conversation with me. We've been best friends ever since that fateful day and we owe it all to our parents shelling out money for our teeth to look pretty. :) We've gone through a lot together and had our share of ups and downs. These days, we're closer than ever, even despite the miles between us.
Next, there's Charmingly Random:
While I'm usually one of the people who is able to bring others together, CR was brought to me through a connection from a friend. A few years ago, my friend was dating a guy and then they broke up but managed to stay friends. He later started dating CR and brought her to my friends' parties. I thought she was really nice and when we'd all hang out together to play board games, she became part of our "group." When my younger son was a baby, she spent all her time at a gathering knitting socks for him. That was when I first found out that she liked to knit and connected her with Froggie. I don't think they started really talking until more recently.
And now we come to Desperate Madness: I was involved with an online parenting group for moms having babies in September (back when my older son was born). I noticed in her posts that she lived in Illinois, our sons had the same exact birthday, and our sons' names sounded similar. We started e-mailing more often and met up at the mall when our sons were almost 1 year old. When I moved out of state, we continued to e-mail. I eventually found out that she was a knitter and connected her to Froggie, as well. Later, I also connected her with CR since they didn't live far from one another.
This past December, I shared a post with all three friends about a yarn store a friend here was opening. That spurned the knitting discussion that got me to purchase my first set of needles and ball of yarn. :) (Technically, Froggie said something that was the deciding factor in my plans to knit.)
When I started blogging recently, CR commented on a blog I posted to Facebook, saying she needed to get back to blogging again. I came up with the idea for this project from that. I decided to share it with all three friends and we discussed the parameters and how everything would work.
Now that you have the history, I hope you'll enjoy reading our blog project entries every Thursday. They present new challenges to make us think about stuff we wouldn't have thought of before. After you read my entry each week, please check out their entries as well. Not all of them may be posted at the same time (depending on how our weeks are going), but come back over the weekend if you don't see something posted at one of the links. Enjoy!
I'll start with Froggie:
We met at summer camp back in 1987. I had braces and she was getting them soon, so she struck up a conversation with me. We've been best friends ever since that fateful day and we owe it all to our parents shelling out money for our teeth to look pretty. :) We've gone through a lot together and had our share of ups and downs. These days, we're closer than ever, even despite the miles between us.
Next, there's Charmingly Random:
While I'm usually one of the people who is able to bring others together, CR was brought to me through a connection from a friend. A few years ago, my friend was dating a guy and then they broke up but managed to stay friends. He later started dating CR and brought her to my friends' parties. I thought she was really nice and when we'd all hang out together to play board games, she became part of our "group." When my younger son was a baby, she spent all her time at a gathering knitting socks for him. That was when I first found out that she liked to knit and connected her with Froggie. I don't think they started really talking until more recently.
And now we come to Desperate Madness: I was involved with an online parenting group for moms having babies in September (back when my older son was born). I noticed in her posts that she lived in Illinois, our sons had the same exact birthday, and our sons' names sounded similar. We started e-mailing more often and met up at the mall when our sons were almost 1 year old. When I moved out of state, we continued to e-mail. I eventually found out that she was a knitter and connected her to Froggie, as well. Later, I also connected her with CR since they didn't live far from one another.
This past December, I shared a post with all three friends about a yarn store a friend here was opening. That spurned the knitting discussion that got me to purchase my first set of needles and ball of yarn. :) (Technically, Froggie said something that was the deciding factor in my plans to knit.)
When I started blogging recently, CR commented on a blog I posted to Facebook, saying she needed to get back to blogging again. I came up with the idea for this project from that. I decided to share it with all three friends and we discussed the parameters and how everything would work.
Now that you have the history, I hope you'll enjoy reading our blog project entries every Thursday. They present new challenges to make us think about stuff we wouldn't have thought of before. After you read my entry each week, please check out their entries as well. Not all of them may be posted at the same time (depending on how our weeks are going), but come back over the weekend if you don't see something posted at one of the links. Enjoy!
Taking Broadway to new "Heights"
If you know me, you know how I'm obsessed with "In the Heights." It's an interesting musical for a Jewish girl (originally) from the midwest to become obsessed with. However, this musical resonates with me more than most of the musicals I really like. I rank it above "Wicked" and very close to "Rent" in my list of favorite musicals of all time. The music moves me to sing and dance. Some of it even brings me to tears. I first became interested when I saw the performance of "96,000" on the Tony awards. Then I got the Original Broadway Cast (OBC) recording around October of 2008 and did what I usually do with musicals....learned the songs and the story just through what I was hearing. The first time I heard Vanessa (played by Karen Olivo) sing "It won't be Long Now", I got misty-eyed. In November of 2008, I found a magazine on a train with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the cover and a story all about how he conceived and put together the show. He is amazingly talented as a writer, director AND actor (he played Usnavi in the Original Broadway Cast). Of course, I developed a crush on him that could only be usurped by Adam Lambert the following year. :)
In March of 2009, my husband and I got to see "In the Heights" on Broadway for our anniversary. The show was even more amazing than I expected. I loved how the story came together between the songs and all the dancing. There was so much "life" on stage! We were especially excited that Shaun Taylor-Corbett, an actor from our sons' favorite show ("Hi-5"), was in it and that he got to play the Piragua guy. I got the same feeling I did when I first saw "Rent," that I was reuniting with old friends. By the end of the show, I had tears streaming down my face. Afterward, we got to meet and take pictures with the actors and actresses by the stage door. We, of course, had to wait till Shaun came out to tell him that our kids were huge fans of his. :) He was very nice about it and didn't get embarrassed at all. I'm happy for him that he gets to play Sonny in the touring cast. Another cool personality was Robin DeJesus. I had previously seen him in the movie "Camp" and shared that fact. He was very friendly and modest.
What I also love about "In the Heights" is that, similar to "Rent", it does not just focus on one main character. Each character in the story has dreams and goals of their own. Most of them get their own song to share about it. One that stands out in particular is "Paciencia y Fe," sung by Abuela Claudia. It's about her life growing up and her move to America and all her dreams since then. I love the concept of patience and faith coming together (which is why I was able to get the tickets to see the show in the first place). I really liked Daniela and the comic relief she added to the show. She had such snappy lines and a fun attitude. Her friend Carla was fun too.
Overall, I love the concept of families wanting to make good lives for each other. It’s so poignant and definitely a driving force behind why we are where we live today. I hope I can see “In the Heights” again sometime and I encourage all readers to do the same, whether it is playing in a town near you or you have to go to Broadway (which is an experience that even takes “In the Heights” to new heights).
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| With Mandy Gonzalez (Nina in the OBC) |
In March of 2009, my husband and I got to see "In the Heights" on Broadway for our anniversary. The show was even more amazing than I expected. I loved how the story came together between the songs and all the dancing. There was so much "life" on stage! We were especially excited that Shaun Taylor-Corbett, an actor from our sons' favorite show ("Hi-5"), was in it and that he got to play the Piragua guy. I got the same feeling I did when I first saw "Rent," that I was reuniting with old friends. By the end of the show, I had tears streaming down my face. Afterward, we got to meet and take pictures with the actors and actresses by the stage door. We, of course, had to wait till Shaun came out to tell him that our kids were huge fans of his. :) He was very nice about it and didn't get embarrassed at all. I'm happy for him that he gets to play Sonny in the touring cast. Another cool personality was Robin DeJesus. I had previously seen him in the movie "Camp" and shared that fact. He was very friendly and modest.
 |
| With Robin DeJesus (Sonny in the OBC) |
 |
| With Shaun Taylor-Corbett from Hi-5 |
What I also love about "In the Heights" is that, similar to "Rent", it does not just focus on one main character. Each character in the story has dreams and goals of their own. Most of them get their own song to share about it. One that stands out in particular is "Paciencia y Fe," sung by Abuela Claudia. It's about her life growing up and her move to America and all her dreams since then. I love the concept of patience and faith coming together (which is why I was able to get the tickets to see the show in the first place). I really liked Daniela and the comic relief she added to the show. She had such snappy lines and a fun attitude. Her friend Carla was fun too.
 |
| With Andrea Burns (Daniela in the OBC) |
Overall, I love the concept of families wanting to make good lives for each other. It’s so poignant and definitely a driving force behind why we are where we live today. I hope I can see “In the Heights” again sometime and I encourage all readers to do the same, whether it is playing in a town near you or you have to go to Broadway (which is an experience that even takes “In the Heights” to new heights).
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
"One of my favorite parts"
My BFF recently wrote a blog about how someone told her that she was “one of their favorite parts” about the place where they both work. Then she e-mailed me to tell me that our e-mails to each other were “one of her favorite parts” of her day. At the end of the blog, she encouraged readers to tell at least one person in their life that they are "one of their favorite parts."
I already let my BFF know that I totally agree about our e-mail communication and how I had a fun time chatting with her via Gmail the other night. I told her that if we chatted that way every night, I’d NEVER go to bed! :) We’ve done Skype before and need to get back to that when my husband doesn’t need to be attached to his computer all night.
Therefore, I wanted to talk about someone who is “one of my favorite parts” about living in Maryland. Keep in mind that I really like all my friends and neighbors in this community and around the area. However, this particular friend stands out and comes to mind when asked to pick a person to tell. She is a friend who is also a neighbor.
After a busy day and long drive to move to our new neighborhood, this neighbor was the first friendly face who presented herself at our front door as we pulled up to our house. She invited us over anytime we needed to get out of the house with the kids that week. We saw her at least once a day during the first few weeks after our move. Our kids became friends quickly and we connected easily, as well. She told us all the good places to shop in the area and even spent the time to write out directions to each store.
As the months flew by, our friendship strengthened as we got to know each other better. When I hurt my eye in November, she drove me to the eye doctor and waited nearby to pick me up. She also helped with getting my younger son to school the next day. (Some other friends and neighbors also helped with this immensely and I want them to receive credit for it, as well.)
When I got my job, she had no problem with watching my older son every morning and helping him catch his bus. She greets him with a smile no matter how tired she is and he enjoys being there with her and her kids. She’s also been available to help watch either kid whenever I needed her assistance. In the past six months, she has totally defined everything a good neighbor should be, and more. (Not saying any of my neighbors now or in the past have not been good because some have been wonderful, as well….but she takes it to a whole new level.) I also have a great time hanging out with her, as she has come over to play board games, watch TV, bake challah or just simply chat. Our families sometimes do potluck Shabbat meals together. She introduced me to my favorite thrift store and we braved the crowds together during the Martin Luther King Day sale. Her husband is very nice too and I also enjoy talking to him. He tapes “American Idol” for me whenever I need it (since our VCR is not hooked up to record shows yet). He’s also helped watch the kids from time to time.
I hope I have been a good neighbor to her in return. I know things get busy on my end, but I try to do what I can. I enjoy bringing over little gifts for her kids, letting her borrow stuff from us, picking up things for her at the store, inviting (her and) her family over for meals, etc. I don’t do it because I feel I have to. I do it because I love having her (and her family) as a neighbor, and more importantly as a friend.
With that said, I ask and encourage you to tell at least one person in your life that they are "one of your favorite parts." You will be amazed what a difference it can make!
I already let my BFF know that I totally agree about our e-mail communication and how I had a fun time chatting with her via Gmail the other night. I told her that if we chatted that way every night, I’d NEVER go to bed! :) We’ve done Skype before and need to get back to that when my husband doesn’t need to be attached to his computer all night.
Therefore, I wanted to talk about someone who is “one of my favorite parts” about living in Maryland. Keep in mind that I really like all my friends and neighbors in this community and around the area. However, this particular friend stands out and comes to mind when asked to pick a person to tell. She is a friend who is also a neighbor.
After a busy day and long drive to move to our new neighborhood, this neighbor was the first friendly face who presented herself at our front door as we pulled up to our house. She invited us over anytime we needed to get out of the house with the kids that week. We saw her at least once a day during the first few weeks after our move. Our kids became friends quickly and we connected easily, as well. She told us all the good places to shop in the area and even spent the time to write out directions to each store.
As the months flew by, our friendship strengthened as we got to know each other better. When I hurt my eye in November, she drove me to the eye doctor and waited nearby to pick me up. She also helped with getting my younger son to school the next day. (Some other friends and neighbors also helped with this immensely and I want them to receive credit for it, as well.)
When I got my job, she had no problem with watching my older son every morning and helping him catch his bus. She greets him with a smile no matter how tired she is and he enjoys being there with her and her kids. She’s also been available to help watch either kid whenever I needed her assistance. In the past six months, she has totally defined everything a good neighbor should be, and more. (Not saying any of my neighbors now or in the past have not been good because some have been wonderful, as well….but she takes it to a whole new level.) I also have a great time hanging out with her, as she has come over to play board games, watch TV, bake challah or just simply chat. Our families sometimes do potluck Shabbat meals together. She introduced me to my favorite thrift store and we braved the crowds together during the Martin Luther King Day sale. Her husband is very nice too and I also enjoy talking to him. He tapes “American Idol” for me whenever I need it (since our VCR is not hooked up to record shows yet). He’s also helped watch the kids from time to time.
I hope I have been a good neighbor to her in return. I know things get busy on my end, but I try to do what I can. I enjoy bringing over little gifts for her kids, letting her borrow stuff from us, picking up things for her at the store, inviting (her and) her family over for meals, etc. I don’t do it because I feel I have to. I do it because I love having her (and her family) as a neighbor, and more importantly as a friend.
With that said, I ask and encourage you to tell at least one person in your life that they are "one of your favorite parts." You will be amazed what a difference it can make!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Vacation, all I ever wanted....
I was looking at old photographs the other day and they brought up a lot of good memories. I'm going to use this blog to write about various memories from my youth, from time to time. This first memory entry is devoted to family vacations.
The first family vacation I personally remember is when we drove to Florida the summer I turned 5. Our babysitter came along so that my parents could have some time to go out by themselves at night. (And now I understand why that is so important!) The one thing I remember from that trip was going to Circus World and having my face painted to look like a clown. I went around the room talking to the ladies who were applying the make-up. I wasn't shy at all. :)
A couple of years later, we went to Florida again, this time with my maternal grandma. It was my first trip on an airplane. I enjoyed the experience. I know we went to Disney World and back to Circus World.
On one or both of those trips, we visited family friends who lived in Tampa at the time. They had an indoor pool connected to their house. I still remember us all sitting on their couch with our wet hair to take a picture together. Recently, I found them on Facebook and we reconnected that way. :)
When we were a little older, our parents got a timeshare in Pompano Beach and we'd spend part or all of our winter break there. (Some trips we spent part of the time in Orlando.) Some family friends (all with kids the same age as us) would also partake in this timeshare and we'd hang out together at the pool or beach and for meals in the evening. When my friends and I reached babysitting age, our parents would let us all stay in one condo with our younger siblings while they went out. At least once on each trip, we'd go to a flea market and my mom would get us neon socks, Cabbage Patch Kid shirts, and chotchkies for us to take to school. Some classic restaurants we had to go to each year were Po' Folks (great fried chicken and soda in Mason jars) and The Flaming Pit (where all the Jewish people went on Christmas). Sometimes we'd go to the movies together, if the weather wasn't cooperating. We'd all celebrate New Year's Eve together and found it cool that the ball dropped at the actual time (coming from the midwest, that was a huge deal when we were kids). We had some funny and crazy experiences with our friends that made for some interesting vacation stories. One involved ordering a lot of fast food so that all the kids could get the toys the restaurant was promoting.
Eventually, we stopped using the timeshare in Florida. One summer when I was in high school, my parents got one in Lake of the Ozarks, MO and we spent a 4th of July weekend there. We even found a Po' Folks along the way! My grandma came with us for that trip, which was nice. When we arrived, there was a sign that said "Welcome Seniors!" I think it was for college seniors, but my grandma thought it was for her. :) I also remember doing a scavenger hunt at an outlet mall that I would have found boring otherwise. We went on a pontoon boat at one point, as well.
There were a few summers when we went to Barefoot Bay in Elkhart Lake, WI for a weekend. I liked that resort. It was easy to walk around there independently and they had a lot of activities for different age groups. There was a beach attached to the resort and they offered a lot of fun water activities, such as tubing. There was a huge dining hall where everyone ate all three meals. They had the best biscuits at dinner. Someone at our table usually ended up spilling a drink. And there was inevitably a server who managed to break a few glasses, causing the entire dining hall to erupt in applause.
When my sister and I were in college, we went on cruises with our parents. Those were enjoyable, as well. We met some friends on each cruise and hung out with them while our parents did their own thing. We all went on excursions together and ate meals together. On the second cruise, we had such a big group we wanted to eat with that they stuck us in a separate room where we had more privacy to dine with our friends. I would make mention of my favorite cruise experience ever, but it didn't really involve my sister being there, even though it did involve two families coming together for a special reason. ;)
Overall, I have a lot of fond memories of family vacations and I hope to be able to take our kids on vacations like that in the future. I can't wait to help them make memories of fun family trips.
The first family vacation I personally remember is when we drove to Florida the summer I turned 5. Our babysitter came along so that my parents could have some time to go out by themselves at night. (And now I understand why that is so important!) The one thing I remember from that trip was going to Circus World and having my face painted to look like a clown. I went around the room talking to the ladies who were applying the make-up. I wasn't shy at all. :)
A couple of years later, we went to Florida again, this time with my maternal grandma. It was my first trip on an airplane. I enjoyed the experience. I know we went to Disney World and back to Circus World.
On one or both of those trips, we visited family friends who lived in Tampa at the time. They had an indoor pool connected to their house. I still remember us all sitting on their couch with our wet hair to take a picture together. Recently, I found them on Facebook and we reconnected that way. :)
When we were a little older, our parents got a timeshare in Pompano Beach and we'd spend part or all of our winter break there. (Some trips we spent part of the time in Orlando.) Some family friends (all with kids the same age as us) would also partake in this timeshare and we'd hang out together at the pool or beach and for meals in the evening. When my friends and I reached babysitting age, our parents would let us all stay in one condo with our younger siblings while they went out. At least once on each trip, we'd go to a flea market and my mom would get us neon socks, Cabbage Patch Kid shirts, and chotchkies for us to take to school. Some classic restaurants we had to go to each year were Po' Folks (great fried chicken and soda in Mason jars) and The Flaming Pit (where all the Jewish people went on Christmas). Sometimes we'd go to the movies together, if the weather wasn't cooperating. We'd all celebrate New Year's Eve together and found it cool that the ball dropped at the actual time (coming from the midwest, that was a huge deal when we were kids). We had some funny and crazy experiences with our friends that made for some interesting vacation stories. One involved ordering a lot of fast food so that all the kids could get the toys the restaurant was promoting.
Eventually, we stopped using the timeshare in Florida. One summer when I was in high school, my parents got one in Lake of the Ozarks, MO and we spent a 4th of July weekend there. We even found a Po' Folks along the way! My grandma came with us for that trip, which was nice. When we arrived, there was a sign that said "Welcome Seniors!" I think it was for college seniors, but my grandma thought it was for her. :) I also remember doing a scavenger hunt at an outlet mall that I would have found boring otherwise. We went on a pontoon boat at one point, as well.
There were a few summers when we went to Barefoot Bay in Elkhart Lake, WI for a weekend. I liked that resort. It was easy to walk around there independently and they had a lot of activities for different age groups. There was a beach attached to the resort and they offered a lot of fun water activities, such as tubing. There was a huge dining hall where everyone ate all three meals. They had the best biscuits at dinner. Someone at our table usually ended up spilling a drink. And there was inevitably a server who managed to break a few glasses, causing the entire dining hall to erupt in applause.
When my sister and I were in college, we went on cruises with our parents. Those were enjoyable, as well. We met some friends on each cruise and hung out with them while our parents did their own thing. We all went on excursions together and ate meals together. On the second cruise, we had such a big group we wanted to eat with that they stuck us in a separate room where we had more privacy to dine with our friends. I would make mention of my favorite cruise experience ever, but it didn't really involve my sister being there, even though it did involve two families coming together for a special reason. ;)
Overall, I have a lot of fond memories of family vacations and I hope to be able to take our kids on vacations like that in the future. I can't wait to help them make memories of fun family trips.
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