I have been thinking about my late paternal grandpa a lot with his birthday coming up in a couple of weeks. This is the first year I can't call him or send him a card. I do plan to call my grandma that day because I know how hard it will be for her. In any case, I was in my car on the way home from work and was thinking about him and wondering if he was okay up in Heaven. I asked him to send me a sign and figured it would be in the form of a Sinatra song. Then I thought that maybe "American Idol" could have a Sinatra theme, but dismissed the idea because they did rat pack music last year. Tonight, I was watching the results show and they announced that next week's theme (featuring Harry Connick Jr. as the guest mentor) is none other than....SINATRA! I actually got emotional when I heard this exciting piece of news.
Papa Morrie....think of this as an early birthday gift.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I'm not even supposed to BE here today!
This past week was somewhat low-key until the later half. I enjoyed the Madonna episode of “Glee” and got on a Madonna kick for the rest of the week, playing her CDs in my car and blogging about her. I got a cool package in the mail after winning a contest on Jane Porter’s blog. It was “Italian For Beginners” by Kristin Harmel, a signed copy of “Easy on the Eyes”, a Starbucks gift card, a chocolate bar and some promotional items for “She’s Gone Country,” which is coming out this summer.
Thursday night, I got to see “An Evening with Kevin Smith.” He came to 6th and I Synagogue in DC to speak and answer questions from the audience. I got to ask him a question, but his answer was so naughty that I’m not going to put it up here. Let’s just say that a lot of the stuff he talked about was not fit for a synagogue. ;) He also signed a book of his screenplays that I had bought in 1997. I’ve wanted to be in the same room with him for almost 15 years and that finally came true. He can really talk though…he’s nothing like Silent Bob. He went on from 8:00 until 11:30 just going off on tangents and telling stories about his life, spurned by questions like mine. Some of his answers were funny and others were serious and thoughtful. He waited till the end to sign my book, but his signature was worth the wait. :) One of my friends also was there, as was her brother, who is a die-hard fan. Kevin even knows him by name! He had his tickets prior to the show and got them autographed by Kevin. He exchanged one of them for my unsigned ticket, which I thought was really nice. My friend was telling me how her brother goes to all sorts of Kevin Smith related events and meets a lot of different fans (he even met his fiancée through a fan group). He was really nice about giving me tips for how to get Kevin to sign my book and ideas of what kinds of questions he wouldn’t make fun of. Thankfully, my question didn’t get made fun of at all.
Saturday afternoon, we had friends over for snacks and board games. It was a nice time and I got to know one of them better. My husband got to teach some friends how to play Hex Hex, which is this game I have very little interest in playing. They all seemed to like it, so he’s happy about that. After Shabbos, one of the couples came back over and we watched “Happy Gilmore.” I still love that movie. (Adam Sandler is another actor I’d like to meet and whom I’ve liked for the same amount of time I’ve liked Kevin Smith.)
Sunday was a busy day involving a friend’s son’s birthday party (during which both my sons were being super crabby) and a bowling event from a group for families who have kids with hearing loss. I bowled pretty well, better than I have in a long time. I’m sure the bumpers helped, but I kept the ball going pretty straight otherwise. My older son scored two strikes at the end. I was so excited for him! It would be cool to sign him up for lessons or a kid’s league someday, if he maintains an interest in the sport. Like father (and mother, in this case), like son! While it was a fun event, there wasn’t much opportunity to socialize. We met one other family with whom I exchanged contact information. That was it though. Afterward, we went out for ice cream.
Sunday night, my older son wasn’t feeling well and I ended up keeping him home from school as a result on Monday. We ended up watching “Enchanted” Monday afternoon. He really enjoyed it and asked to watch it again later that day. He kept describing it as a movie about a princess who falls through a waterfall and turns into a person. He also mentioned something about there being a lot of magic involved. I forgot how much I liked that movie. The last time I saw it was after my younger son was born. This time around, I kept getting emotional. I could see a bit of myself in Giselle. She has an optimistic outlook on life and love. While reality sometimes proves to be the opposite, she stays strong in her faith. I had a friend recently tell me something about myself that was similar to how Giselle sees the world. At first I felt like it was an insult but now I see things differently. It’s nice to be optimistic. I don’t think I’m as extreme as Giselle, but she also lived in a fairy tale land. However, it’s nice to think that there’s a “happily ever after” for everyone, even if it does make me sound like I exist in some sort of Glinda-like bubble. In the meantime, I end up singing the songs from the movie for days after I’ve seen it. In line with being happy, I got my older son a book called “1,401 Things to be Happy About.” Some are suggestions and others are things he can fill in himself. I’m going to raise optimistic kids; it’s in my nature to do so!
That’s all for now…
Thursday night, I got to see “An Evening with Kevin Smith.” He came to 6th and I Synagogue in DC to speak and answer questions from the audience. I got to ask him a question, but his answer was so naughty that I’m not going to put it up here. Let’s just say that a lot of the stuff he talked about was not fit for a synagogue. ;) He also signed a book of his screenplays that I had bought in 1997. I’ve wanted to be in the same room with him for almost 15 years and that finally came true. He can really talk though…he’s nothing like Silent Bob. He went on from 8:00 until 11:30 just going off on tangents and telling stories about his life, spurned by questions like mine. Some of his answers were funny and others were serious and thoughtful. He waited till the end to sign my book, but his signature was worth the wait. :) One of my friends also was there, as was her brother, who is a die-hard fan. Kevin even knows him by name! He had his tickets prior to the show and got them autographed by Kevin. He exchanged one of them for my unsigned ticket, which I thought was really nice. My friend was telling me how her brother goes to all sorts of Kevin Smith related events and meets a lot of different fans (he even met his fiancée through a fan group). He was really nice about giving me tips for how to get Kevin to sign my book and ideas of what kinds of questions he wouldn’t make fun of. Thankfully, my question didn’t get made fun of at all.
Saturday afternoon, we had friends over for snacks and board games. It was a nice time and I got to know one of them better. My husband got to teach some friends how to play Hex Hex, which is this game I have very little interest in playing. They all seemed to like it, so he’s happy about that. After Shabbos, one of the couples came back over and we watched “Happy Gilmore.” I still love that movie. (Adam Sandler is another actor I’d like to meet and whom I’ve liked for the same amount of time I’ve liked Kevin Smith.)
Sunday was a busy day involving a friend’s son’s birthday party (during which both my sons were being super crabby) and a bowling event from a group for families who have kids with hearing loss. I bowled pretty well, better than I have in a long time. I’m sure the bumpers helped, but I kept the ball going pretty straight otherwise. My older son scored two strikes at the end. I was so excited for him! It would be cool to sign him up for lessons or a kid’s league someday, if he maintains an interest in the sport. Like father (and mother, in this case), like son! While it was a fun event, there wasn’t much opportunity to socialize. We met one other family with whom I exchanged contact information. That was it though. Afterward, we went out for ice cream.
Sunday night, my older son wasn’t feeling well and I ended up keeping him home from school as a result on Monday. We ended up watching “Enchanted” Monday afternoon. He really enjoyed it and asked to watch it again later that day. He kept describing it as a movie about a princess who falls through a waterfall and turns into a person. He also mentioned something about there being a lot of magic involved. I forgot how much I liked that movie. The last time I saw it was after my younger son was born. This time around, I kept getting emotional. I could see a bit of myself in Giselle. She has an optimistic outlook on life and love. While reality sometimes proves to be the opposite, she stays strong in her faith. I had a friend recently tell me something about myself that was similar to how Giselle sees the world. At first I felt like it was an insult but now I see things differently. It’s nice to be optimistic. I don’t think I’m as extreme as Giselle, but she also lived in a fairy tale land. However, it’s nice to think that there’s a “happily ever after” for everyone, even if it does make me sound like I exist in some sort of Glinda-like bubble. In the meantime, I end up singing the songs from the movie for days after I’ve seen it. In line with being happy, I got my older son a book called “1,401 Things to be Happy About.” Some are suggestions and others are things he can fill in himself. I’m going to raise optimistic kids; it’s in my nature to do so!
That’s all for now…
A wrinkle in time...warp
This is a random post from livejournal that I found interesting.
January 4th, 2006
11:47 am - Oh, what a day!
this morning was so sucky. there was some miscommunication between me and my husband that caused neither of us to put eitan's formula in the fridge overnight (we're supposed to do this for day care). so then i had to re-make the formula because it went bad from sitting out all night. i went to the garage to get more nursery water and somehow i got locked out of the house. thankfully, my neighbor was around so i called my husband from her house. eitan was sleeping the whole time. i just felt so bad and it was one thing i did not want to deal with today. the upside of the day is that i get a free copy of "wedding crashers" on dvd. i got tickets for this promo from a local radio station, but they were for monday and they didn't arrive till yesterday. so i wrote to them to tell them what happened and to tell them that they should send out stuff like that a week in advance. they are sending me the dvd to make up for it.
i still am so behind on writing in here and catching up with e-mail and other stuff. i'm also behind on reading other people's journals and i apologize for that. i'll get my act together soon enough. one of my new year's resolutions is to be better at keeping in touch with people. my other two big resolutions are:
1. to keep shabbat better. i'm not becoming shomer shabbos, but i'm willing to give up tv, computer time, shopping, and going to movies on shabbos. we were doing that for a while and then slacked off when daylight savings came around for the summer. that is not going to happen again.
2. to keep the house clean and organized.
i will update this soon. i don't even remember the last time i wrote anything significant in here. :P
Follow up: After the lock-out incident, I had my husband pick up a "thank you" gift for our neighbor. I'm still in touch with this neighbor through facebook, but haven't seen her in a couple of years. She lives close to my parents, but our schedules clash when I'm in town. She's really nice and is one of the few memorable neighbors from my past. I know I could count on certain other neighbors to be there in a similar situation though, Hashem forbid that should ever happen again.
Since the occurrence of this incident, I am always carrying my keys with me whenever I leave the house, even just to throw out trash. I'm so paranoid about something like that happening again.
As for the part about resolving to keep Shabbos better, I've come a long way in over 4 years. I remember taking those little steps and then doing it all the way (as much as I am comfortable with, but enough that my brother-in-law and his family will spend a Shabbos weekend in our home). I can't even imagine going to movies or shopping on a Saturday afternoon these days. I just wish more fun events were held on Sundays instead of Friday night or Saturday afternoon. I just found out about Maryland Day and it's only on a Saturday. There are also concerts and other things I have to miss as a result (i.e. Idina Menzel coming to a nearby concert park but it would be before Shabbos ends on a Saturday and also during the 9 days before Tisha B'Av.) I even had to pass up the opportunity to see "Les Miserables" (after winning tickets) because it fell on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. All I can say is that if Adam Lambert's publicists are reading this and he comes to D.C., it better be on a weeknight or Sunday or there better be multiple concerts!
In any case, I am proud of my own level of restraint, no matter how much it drives my parents and sister crazy sometimes. :)
As for the part about being clean and organized...if the cleaning lady weren't coming today, the motivation to straighten up just wouldn't be there this month! I need to get back to my FlyLady goals. I did put aside a lot for Freecycle recently though!
January 4th, 2006
11:47 am - Oh, what a day!
this morning was so sucky. there was some miscommunication between me and my husband that caused neither of us to put eitan's formula in the fridge overnight (we're supposed to do this for day care). so then i had to re-make the formula because it went bad from sitting out all night. i went to the garage to get more nursery water and somehow i got locked out of the house. thankfully, my neighbor was around so i called my husband from her house. eitan was sleeping the whole time. i just felt so bad and it was one thing i did not want to deal with today. the upside of the day is that i get a free copy of "wedding crashers" on dvd. i got tickets for this promo from a local radio station, but they were for monday and they didn't arrive till yesterday. so i wrote to them to tell them what happened and to tell them that they should send out stuff like that a week in advance. they are sending me the dvd to make up for it.
i still am so behind on writing in here and catching up with e-mail and other stuff. i'm also behind on reading other people's journals and i apologize for that. i'll get my act together soon enough. one of my new year's resolutions is to be better at keeping in touch with people. my other two big resolutions are:
1. to keep shabbat better. i'm not becoming shomer shabbos, but i'm willing to give up tv, computer time, shopping, and going to movies on shabbos. we were doing that for a while and then slacked off when daylight savings came around for the summer. that is not going to happen again.
2. to keep the house clean and organized.
i will update this soon. i don't even remember the last time i wrote anything significant in here. :P
Follow up: After the lock-out incident, I had my husband pick up a "thank you" gift for our neighbor. I'm still in touch with this neighbor through facebook, but haven't seen her in a couple of years. She lives close to my parents, but our schedules clash when I'm in town. She's really nice and is one of the few memorable neighbors from my past. I know I could count on certain other neighbors to be there in a similar situation though, Hashem forbid that should ever happen again.
Since the occurrence of this incident, I am always carrying my keys with me whenever I leave the house, even just to throw out trash. I'm so paranoid about something like that happening again.
As for the part about resolving to keep Shabbos better, I've come a long way in over 4 years. I remember taking those little steps and then doing it all the way (as much as I am comfortable with, but enough that my brother-in-law and his family will spend a Shabbos weekend in our home). I can't even imagine going to movies or shopping on a Saturday afternoon these days. I just wish more fun events were held on Sundays instead of Friday night or Saturday afternoon. I just found out about Maryland Day and it's only on a Saturday. There are also concerts and other things I have to miss as a result (i.e. Idina Menzel coming to a nearby concert park but it would be before Shabbos ends on a Saturday and also during the 9 days before Tisha B'Av.) I even had to pass up the opportunity to see "Les Miserables" (after winning tickets) because it fell on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. All I can say is that if Adam Lambert's publicists are reading this and he comes to D.C., it better be on a weeknight or Sunday or there better be multiple concerts!
In any case, I am proud of my own level of restraint, no matter how much it drives my parents and sister crazy sometimes. :)
As for the part about being clean and organized...if the cleaning lady weren't coming today, the motivation to straighten up just wouldn't be there this month! I need to get back to my FlyLady goals. I did put aside a lot for Freecycle recently though!
Friday, April 23, 2010
We'll always have "Moving Violations"
As promised, I’m going to talk about my guy friends from time to time. So I’ve decided to shake things up again for this week's Friendship Friday post by talking about one such friend. Oddly enough, they have the same initials as my friend from last week: S.S.
I met S.S. through some family friends, as they set us up for potential mate selection: In other words, they wanted us to date. I had just come out of a long relationship from college and wanted to explore all the world had to offer, so I took them up on this set-up. He was a nice, Jewish guy, after all! S.S. and I started e-mailing and then eventually talked on the phone for several hours at a time. Then we finally met in person in late June of 2000. We again spent hours talking (I can’t even remember what we talked about) until Barnes and Noble closed. (I know this sounds familiar because I also met my husband the first time at a B&N almost 2 years later.) We had forgotten to go out for dinner! We continued to talk, e-mail and get together after that. A few weeks later, he took me to the Taste of Chicago (my first time there) and we spent the whole day hanging out in the city. Then we played a random game on the train ride back where we had to name movies. I think that evening is what started the dating portion of our relationship.
We hung out often in that first month and went out for movie and dinner dates. I think we went bowling occasionally, as well. For my birthday, he got me a VHS of “Moving Violations,” which is a movie we both liked a lot. It was one of those extremely hard to get movies, so I was very touched and surprised by his efforts in obtaining it. (That fall, I got him Star Wars Monopoly for his birthday because he was a big “Star Wars” fan.)
During the rest of the summer, I thought I would be able to say the three words to him but he didn’t let me. I think at that point I realized I was rebounding and I think that opened some lines of communication for us. In the long run, I was actually glad that he stopped me from saying those words. It made it easier to just go on dates and enjoy each others’ company. We continued to go to dinner and movies and sometimes just hung out at my condo and played board games. Other times we walked around the mall. Eventually, we reached a place where we didn’t have much to talk about, so seeing a lot of movies worked well for us. He also got me involved in a bowling league (which was a catalyst for things to come). By that November, we both realized that we were better off as friends and that we still wanted to bowl together.
After we cleared that up, we talked more than we did while we were dating. We’d hang out together comfortably and our friendship was nice and easy. When we dated, he never wanted to go to Hooter’s together, but when we were friends, he was fine with it. So on one of our first times out as friends, that’s where we went for dinner. Throughout 2001, we’d get together from time to time and we’d e-mail often. He’d tell me about girls he liked and it didn’t faze me at all. I’d even give him dating advice. I asked for his advice while I was trying to meet guys. When he got into a serious relationship toward the end of that year, I was actually excited to meet his girlfriend.
After I met my husband, I introduced him to S.S. and they ended up bowling together for a while. We’d all get together for dinner, also including other friends. He’d come to our parties too. He was even at our wedding. Eventually, he broke up with the girlfriend from 2001 and started dating someone else. They were a perfect match and got married almost 2 years ago. (I went to his wedding when I was in town for a week.) I’m really happy for him. I don’t keep up with him as much as I used to, but we still enjoy catching up on each other’s lives via e-mail and possibly getting together when my family and I are in Illinois. He’s met my older son and I hope he’ll get to meet my younger son too.
Had it not been for us meeting and him getting me into bowling, I wouldn’t be where I am today. (After he got me started, I joined another league with some friends the following fall and that’s the group I was pre-bowling for the night I told my husband’s friend about how I had to bowl the next morning. It’s a chain of events!) I’m glad we’ve been friends these past 10 years and I look forward to catching up with him soon. In the meantime, I know we’ll always have “Moving Violations.”
I met S.S. through some family friends, as they set us up for potential mate selection: In other words, they wanted us to date. I had just come out of a long relationship from college and wanted to explore all the world had to offer, so I took them up on this set-up. He was a nice, Jewish guy, after all! S.S. and I started e-mailing and then eventually talked on the phone for several hours at a time. Then we finally met in person in late June of 2000. We again spent hours talking (I can’t even remember what we talked about) until Barnes and Noble closed. (I know this sounds familiar because I also met my husband the first time at a B&N almost 2 years later.) We had forgotten to go out for dinner! We continued to talk, e-mail and get together after that. A few weeks later, he took me to the Taste of Chicago (my first time there) and we spent the whole day hanging out in the city. Then we played a random game on the train ride back where we had to name movies. I think that evening is what started the dating portion of our relationship.
We hung out often in that first month and went out for movie and dinner dates. I think we went bowling occasionally, as well. For my birthday, he got me a VHS of “Moving Violations,” which is a movie we both liked a lot. It was one of those extremely hard to get movies, so I was very touched and surprised by his efforts in obtaining it. (That fall, I got him Star Wars Monopoly for his birthday because he was a big “Star Wars” fan.)
During the rest of the summer, I thought I would be able to say the three words to him but he didn’t let me. I think at that point I realized I was rebounding and I think that opened some lines of communication for us. In the long run, I was actually glad that he stopped me from saying those words. It made it easier to just go on dates and enjoy each others’ company. We continued to go to dinner and movies and sometimes just hung out at my condo and played board games. Other times we walked around the mall. Eventually, we reached a place where we didn’t have much to talk about, so seeing a lot of movies worked well for us. He also got me involved in a bowling league (which was a catalyst for things to come). By that November, we both realized that we were better off as friends and that we still wanted to bowl together.
After we cleared that up, we talked more than we did while we were dating. We’d hang out together comfortably and our friendship was nice and easy. When we dated, he never wanted to go to Hooter’s together, but when we were friends, he was fine with it. So on one of our first times out as friends, that’s where we went for dinner. Throughout 2001, we’d get together from time to time and we’d e-mail often. He’d tell me about girls he liked and it didn’t faze me at all. I’d even give him dating advice. I asked for his advice while I was trying to meet guys. When he got into a serious relationship toward the end of that year, I was actually excited to meet his girlfriend.
After I met my husband, I introduced him to S.S. and they ended up bowling together for a while. We’d all get together for dinner, also including other friends. He’d come to our parties too. He was even at our wedding. Eventually, he broke up with the girlfriend from 2001 and started dating someone else. They were a perfect match and got married almost 2 years ago. (I went to his wedding when I was in town for a week.) I’m really happy for him. I don’t keep up with him as much as I used to, but we still enjoy catching up on each other’s lives via e-mail and possibly getting together when my family and I are in Illinois. He’s met my older son and I hope he’ll get to meet my younger son too.
Had it not been for us meeting and him getting me into bowling, I wouldn’t be where I am today. (After he got me started, I joined another league with some friends the following fall and that’s the group I was pre-bowling for the night I told my husband’s friend about how I had to bowl the next morning. It’s a chain of events!) I’m glad we’ve been friends these past 10 years and I look forward to catching up with him soon. In the meantime, I know we’ll always have “Moving Violations.”
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Going environMENTAL
I thought of this topic a while ago and then never got around to writing about it. However, with today being Earth Day, it is perfect for me to talk about it now.
Growing up, I was never really an environmental advocate. The topic of the environment didn’t even cross my mind until 8th grade. And then I was turned off from it after cutting my finger while trying to cut an apple in physics class (in order to see how an apple is like Earth on the inside.) I never even recycled outside of work (and that was just paper). As an adult, I fell asleep during that Al Gore documentary (I can’t even think of the name right now.) When I lived in New Jersey, I had friends who made me more aware of environmental issues. They sold a “green” all-purpose cleaner and I bought one to support their cause. One of these environmental activists was a close friend who became our next door neighbor over time. And for some reason, I still couldn’t bring myself to recycle, even knowing that she saw what we put out for garbage.
That all changed when we moved to Maryland. I don’t know when the flip switched, but one day I just became obsessed with buying “green” bags at grocery stores and recycling everything that had a little triangle. I even took stuff home from my sister-in-law to recycle, as they didn’t have a recycling program in their neighborhood. I still use “green” all-purpose cleaner too. There was an episode of “Desperate Housewives” where Angie was getting mad at a neighbor for not separating their recyclables. It made me laugh because I could see myself doing the same thing these days. I have to confess that I’ve taken recyclables out of trash cans at work and put them in their proper place. I’m even starting to teach the kids about recycling.
I can attribute part of my environmental interest to a friend in the community who has a program for helping shuls to become more “green.” It’s called Canfei Nesharim. I helped her with a mailing for a Sukkot project last year and it was so nice to see how committed she is to the environment. The mailing was about water conservation and she was so passionate about the topic. For my time, she gave me a poster for our Sukkah about not wasting water and a cling-on (for bathroom mirrors) that said “Don’t let Precious Water Run.” I love how she put the word “precious” in there, so that we should think about cherishing water. Also, in relation to “green” shuls, one of my best friends wrote this article. I encourage you to check it out.I’m not discrediting my friends in NJ because they are also very committed. I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to share their passion at the time. I think it’s also because I’m in a place I love and find to be so beautiful that it makes me want to go “green” even more. I look out my window and see beautiful flowers and bright, leafy trees. There’s also a garden and nature center right in our neighborhood that I would love to be able to enjoy on beautiful days like this.
Growing up, I was never really an environmental advocate. The topic of the environment didn’t even cross my mind until 8th grade. And then I was turned off from it after cutting my finger while trying to cut an apple in physics class (in order to see how an apple is like Earth on the inside.) I never even recycled outside of work (and that was just paper). As an adult, I fell asleep during that Al Gore documentary (I can’t even think of the name right now.) When I lived in New Jersey, I had friends who made me more aware of environmental issues. They sold a “green” all-purpose cleaner and I bought one to support their cause. One of these environmental activists was a close friend who became our next door neighbor over time. And for some reason, I still couldn’t bring myself to recycle, even knowing that she saw what we put out for garbage.
That all changed when we moved to Maryland. I don’t know when the flip switched, but one day I just became obsessed with buying “green” bags at grocery stores and recycling everything that had a little triangle. I even took stuff home from my sister-in-law to recycle, as they didn’t have a recycling program in their neighborhood. I still use “green” all-purpose cleaner too. There was an episode of “Desperate Housewives” where Angie was getting mad at a neighbor for not separating their recyclables. It made me laugh because I could see myself doing the same thing these days. I have to confess that I’ve taken recyclables out of trash cans at work and put them in their proper place. I’m even starting to teach the kids about recycling.
I can attribute part of my environmental interest to a friend in the community who has a program for helping shuls to become more “green.” It’s called Canfei Nesharim. I helped her with a mailing for a Sukkot project last year and it was so nice to see how committed she is to the environment. The mailing was about water conservation and she was so passionate about the topic. For my time, she gave me a poster for our Sukkah about not wasting water and a cling-on (for bathroom mirrors) that said “Don’t let Precious Water Run.” I love how she put the word “precious” in there, so that we should think about cherishing water. Also, in relation to “green” shuls, one of my best friends wrote this article. I encourage you to check it out.I’m not discrediting my friends in NJ because they are also very committed. I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to share their passion at the time. I think it’s also because I’m in a place I love and find to be so beautiful that it makes me want to go “green” even more. I look out my window and see beautiful flowers and bright, leafy trees. There’s also a garden and nature center right in our neighborhood that I would love to be able to enjoy on beautiful days like this.
With a dreamy, far-off look and her nose stuck in a book....
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 others' 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: What's your absolute favorite book?
This is such a hard question for me to answer. I've always been a bookaholic. My subject line comes from the song "Belle" from "Beauty and the Beast," said at a point where she's walking through the town while reading at the same time. I also can walk while reading, as I do it on my treadmill all the time. I have a lot of favorite books and authors. Too many to even name! Asking me to pick just one is like asking me which of my children is my favorite. Impossible! However, I do want to talk about a book that has resonated and stuck with me for the past 12 years: "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb.
I don't know what it is about this book, but I think about it all the time and still remember parts of it like I just read it yesterday. I love that Wally Lamb can write a woman (Dolores Price) so convincingly that I forget he's a man. It's one of those books that I couldn't put down and have since recommended to everyone I know (and even loaned out recently). It even inspired me to get an apartment for my last year of college. Despite how dark some parts of the book were, I couldn't stay away. It's definitely not a light and fluffy chick lit romance novel. It's a coming of age story that is both sad and uplifting. I always hoped for a sequel, but Dolores does get a cameo in one of his other books and you get to find out what she's been up to since this story.
No matter how many books I loved in the past and will love in the future, "She's Come Undone" will always be there to set the bar for excellent writing and storytelling.
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: What's your absolute favorite book?
This is such a hard question for me to answer. I've always been a bookaholic. My subject line comes from the song "Belle" from "Beauty and the Beast," said at a point where she's walking through the town while reading at the same time. I also can walk while reading, as I do it on my treadmill all the time. I have a lot of favorite books and authors. Too many to even name! Asking me to pick just one is like asking me which of my children is my favorite. Impossible! However, I do want to talk about a book that has resonated and stuck with me for the past 12 years: "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb.
I don't know what it is about this book, but I think about it all the time and still remember parts of it like I just read it yesterday. I love that Wally Lamb can write a woman (Dolores Price) so convincingly that I forget he's a man. It's one of those books that I couldn't put down and have since recommended to everyone I know (and even loaned out recently). It even inspired me to get an apartment for my last year of college. Despite how dark some parts of the book were, I couldn't stay away. It's definitely not a light and fluffy chick lit romance novel. It's a coming of age story that is both sad and uplifting. I always hoped for a sequel, but Dolores does get a cameo in one of his other books and you get to find out what she's been up to since this story.
No matter how many books I loved in the past and will love in the future, "She's Come Undone" will always be there to set the bar for excellent writing and storytelling.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Living in a Material World
Last night, there was an entire episode of "Glee" devoted to Madonna. It was about her music and about her personality. Sue was talking about her obsession with Madonna and it reminded me of how obsessed I was as a kid growing up in the 1980's. I wouldn't say I was as obsessed as Sue, but I was a huge fan.
I don't even remember how my obsession got started. I know one day I was given the "Like a Virgin" cassette and before I knew it, I was listening to it all the time. I think this was around 3rd grade. Maybe it had to do with seeing all her music videos on MTV. She just seemed so cool and had such a great voice. At the time, I didn’t even know how big of an icon she’d become. I had a friend in my class who also liked Madonna. One time we had to do a project and we made up a song about it by changing the lyrics to “Material Girl.” I had other friends with whom I’d also make up songs about Madonna. I recall one being about how we weren’t happy over her marriage to Sean Penn. Don’t ask...
Then there was this one time...at day camp...when I dressed up like Madonna for costume day. No one else seemed to get it though. I had blonde curly hair and a freckle above my lip. I thought that would add a natural appeal to the look I was attempting. In 5th grade art class, we all had to make these people out of construction paper. I made a replica of Madonna, of course. I got teased about it, but I still was obsessed with her. While it was around the time her “True Blue” album came out, I went with a “Dress You Up” look for the project.
I watched “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “Who’s That Girl?” even though I didn’t understand much of the story when I was a kid. I didn’t want to see “Shanghai Surprise” though. I also saw movies she made later on down the road. I still love her in “Evita.” She was perfect for the role and I loved singing along with her when I played the soundtrack.
I think I lost some interest in Madonna when I got to junior high. I’d still play her music, but Tiffany and Debbie Gibson had grabbed my interest by then, later to be replaced by New Kids on the Block. Still, she was always around, becoming more and more controversial over time. I remember hearing a lecture about “Justify My Love” when I was at a Jewish youth group retreat during freshman year of high school. During junior year, I got to sing “More” from “I’m Breathless” (Madonna’s musical contribution to “Dick Tracy”) with the women’s choir I was in at the time. I didn’t really think about Madonna much in college though. Towards the end is when “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” came out and along with that was “Beautiful Stranger.” I still love that song and recently put it on a mix CD to play for road trips. After I graduated from college and started going to gay clubs with “Will,” I would hear more of her music being played along with her latest videos. When “Music” came out, I got the CD. I also got “The Immaculate Collection” and “GHV2” around that time. I also dressed like her for Halloween in 2001.
I still listen to her music nowadays. I think “Glee” definitely got me interested again, but I would occasionally come across one of my old Madonna cassettes and have the urge to play it. I was even playing “The Immaculate Collection” on my way to work today. It made me nostalgic and I also realized how her voice has changed so much without me even noticing it. It has flowed naturally with her age and I never gave it much thought. She sounds just as great now as she did when I was a kid. I’m impressed that such a great pop star from my youth is around for my children to hear (when they’re ready) and still seems young no matter how many years have passed.
Some of my favorite Madonna songs are: "Material Girl," "Like a Prayer," "Crazy for You," "Live to Tell," "Don't Tell Me," and "Beautiful Stranger." What are yours?
I don't even remember how my obsession got started. I know one day I was given the "Like a Virgin" cassette and before I knew it, I was listening to it all the time. I think this was around 3rd grade. Maybe it had to do with seeing all her music videos on MTV. She just seemed so cool and had such a great voice. At the time, I didn’t even know how big of an icon she’d become. I had a friend in my class who also liked Madonna. One time we had to do a project and we made up a song about it by changing the lyrics to “Material Girl.” I had other friends with whom I’d also make up songs about Madonna. I recall one being about how we weren’t happy over her marriage to Sean Penn. Don’t ask...
Then there was this one time...at day camp...when I dressed up like Madonna for costume day. No one else seemed to get it though. I had blonde curly hair and a freckle above my lip. I thought that would add a natural appeal to the look I was attempting. In 5th grade art class, we all had to make these people out of construction paper. I made a replica of Madonna, of course. I got teased about it, but I still was obsessed with her. While it was around the time her “True Blue” album came out, I went with a “Dress You Up” look for the project.
I watched “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “Who’s That Girl?” even though I didn’t understand much of the story when I was a kid. I didn’t want to see “Shanghai Surprise” though. I also saw movies she made later on down the road. I still love her in “Evita.” She was perfect for the role and I loved singing along with her when I played the soundtrack.
I think I lost some interest in Madonna when I got to junior high. I’d still play her music, but Tiffany and Debbie Gibson had grabbed my interest by then, later to be replaced by New Kids on the Block. Still, she was always around, becoming more and more controversial over time. I remember hearing a lecture about “Justify My Love” when I was at a Jewish youth group retreat during freshman year of high school. During junior year, I got to sing “More” from “I’m Breathless” (Madonna’s musical contribution to “Dick Tracy”) with the women’s choir I was in at the time. I didn’t really think about Madonna much in college though. Towards the end is when “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” came out and along with that was “Beautiful Stranger.” I still love that song and recently put it on a mix CD to play for road trips. After I graduated from college and started going to gay clubs with “Will,” I would hear more of her music being played along with her latest videos. When “Music” came out, I got the CD. I also got “The Immaculate Collection” and “GHV2” around that time. I also dressed like her for Halloween in 2001.
I still listen to her music nowadays. I think “Glee” definitely got me interested again, but I would occasionally come across one of my old Madonna cassettes and have the urge to play it. I was even playing “The Immaculate Collection” on my way to work today. It made me nostalgic and I also realized how her voice has changed so much without me even noticing it. It has flowed naturally with her age and I never gave it much thought. She sounds just as great now as she did when I was a kid. I’m impressed that such a great pop star from my youth is around for my children to hear (when they’re ready) and still seems young no matter how many years have passed.
Some of my favorite Madonna songs are: "Material Girl," "Like a Prayer," "Crazy for You," "Live to Tell," "Don't Tell Me," and "Beautiful Stranger." What are yours?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
