Funny Friday-6/17/11-Geography lessons

I've decided to do a new blog theme called Funny Friday. It's basically stuff that I find funny and want to share my somewhat crazy humor with you.

I love these two videos from "Animaniacs." See for yourself and love them too! I may be good with states and capitals, but if I forget some, this first one helps every time!




If I ever needed to know where a certain country was, I would look to Yakko to show me the way:

I hope my kids will appreciate these videos when they get a little older. :)

Beam me up!

Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Froggie picked the topic: What is your super power? (Or what super power do you wish you had?)

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:

Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

I seriously don't know anyone who has an actual super power unless they are on TV or in movies. If I meet someone in real life who does, I'll be sure to find out their secret. The only thing I can do that's remotely magical is kiss away "ouchies" when the kids hurt themselves. It seems like with one kiss, they're all better and raring to go on with their play time.

In my fantasy life, I've always wanted to have the ability to teleport myself anywhere I wanted to go. I don't watch "Star Trek," but I did like "Scotty," the device that beamed people to other places. (I don't know if Scotty was the name of the device or the person pressing a button though. Sorry, "Star Trek" fans!)

I have family and friends living all over the place, some as far as other countries. It would be nice to be able to visit whomever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I could drop in for dinner with my family and then go to Disneyland with "Will." I would definitely want to visit the friends with whom I'm doing this blog project. Especially since one of them is my BFF (Froggie) and it would be nice to spend more than 5 minutes with her when I'm in town. I haven't even met Moma Rock, but I've known her husband since 1995. (I haven't seen him in over 10 years though.) It would be cool to meet her in person and see him again. I met Mom of Many last year and would love to see her again too, as she's really sweet. (She even took the time to knit a stuffed elephant for my baby.) I have lots of other friends with whom I am close and would love to spend more time with. Imagine if I could teleport to Chicago anytime I wanted a girl's day out with some of my girl friends living there. I'd also be able to spend more time with my sister.

Since I would love to go on vacations more often, teleporting would save on travel costs and time. I would be able to include my husband and kids in all these teleportations, as I would somehow give them the ability to teleport too. (It's my fantasy; I call the shots!) Say we want to take in a Broadway show...we all teleport to Manhattan for the day. The kids will get to spend time with their grandparents there and we'll be able to see whatever show we want. Say we want to go to Hawaii. We just snap our fingers and we're off. No long and arduous (not to mention, expensive) flight to endure. We can finally visit our friend and her daughter in Amsterdam too. And we can take as many trips to the Holy Land as we wish. Maybe we could spend a Shabbos there from time to time.

It would be great if teleporting were to someday be a reality, even if it were done through some mechanical device. I'm sure the device would cost as much as a house, but it would be so worth it in the long run! In the meantime, we try to visit people whenever we can and we hope more friends and family members will come to visit us, as well. We have a guest room, and we're not far from DC at all. Lots to see and do. (Hint, hint...)

Pop Secret

I received a new Daily Challenge over the weekend: Recall a smell or taste that has a happy personal memory for you.

This was a no-brainer for me. I immediately thought of the smell of popcorn when I read this question. I link that smell to the many Saturday nights I spent at the Mundelein Cinema, waiting in the lobby with my friends before we got let in to see "Rocky Horror." One of my friends would buy a big box of popcorn and graciously share it with the rest of us. He's much more generous than I am. I tend to enjoy keeping a whole bag of microwave popcorn to myself; so much that I'll make multiple bags so my husband can have his own. I know it's not the same as movie theater popcorn, but the flavor still is necessary for movie enjoyment at home. Oddly enough, I end up eating candy in the theater these days. But I digress...
The smell of popcorn also reminds me of Capen Cinema at Illinois State University. My friends and I would go there to see second run movies all the time. I couldn't resist getting a bag of popcorn at each visit. It was inside a lecture hall, and we would try to sit in the balcony section whenever possible.
Finally, it reminds me of seeing movies at the Buffalo Grove theater, a place where I also saw a lot of second run films, either on dates or with friends. The popcorn was as reasonably priced as the films (those were the days...) and I actually would buy some from time to time.
Mostly, the smell of popcorn always brings me back to when I was able to go to movies all the time. I go to movies semi-frequently these days. Either I see family friendly movies or I see the latest comedies, provided we have a sitter available. I do love taking my kids to the movies, as long as they can sit back and enjoy it with me. (Thankfully, my younger son is pretty good at staying in one place, provided he has enough food.) The last movie we all saw in the theater was "Tangled." Our cousins joined us for that one and one of them bought a huge box of popcorn, sharing it with all of us.
I hope my kids will continue to enjoy watching movies with me and that I can occasionally get over the cost of tickets and snacks to treat them to the latest movie and a bag of freshly popped popcorn. Until then, it's all about DVDs and Orville Redenbacher....

Funny Friday-6/10/11-Favorite Funny TV characters

I've decided to do a new blog theme called Funny Friday. It's basically stuff that I find funny and want to share my somewhat crazy humor with you.

There's a 30 Day TV Challenge post coming up for Facebook where I have to pick the funniest character. I can't pick just one! Here is my list of the top 10 funniest TV show characters, in my opinion. It's male dominated, for some reason. I do think there are some funny female characters out there, but the men definitely take the cake in this category.

1. Homer Simpson ("The Simpsons")

2. Chandler Bing ("Friends")

3. Cam ("Modern Family")

4. Barney Stinson ("How I Met Your Mother")

5. Jack Tripper ("Three's Company")

6. Michael Scott ("The Office")

7. Karen Walker ("Will and Grace")

8. Wakko Warner ("Animaniacs")

9. Sue Sylvester ("Glee")

10. Kramer ("Seinfeld")

Who will I choose for the post? Decisions, decisions... Tune in tomorrow night!

Fridays with Mollie

Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Mom of Many picked the topic: If you could have dinner with someone living or dead who would it be and what would you talk about?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:

Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

A while back, I blogged in some detail about my late maternal grandmother, Mama Mollie. When Mom of Many gave us this topic, she's the first person I thought of as my dinner companion. In this case though, she would be my dinner guest...at our Shabbat dinner, of course!

Mama Mollie passed away almost 7 years ago (on Independence Day, oddly enough). She had Alzheimer's and a stroke, and I was impressed that she held on for as long as she did. Up until the time she passed on, she wasn't herself for quite a few years. So I would invite Mama Mollie the way she was prior to getting Alzheimer's. The last time she was really "okay" was during my earlier college years. By the late 90's (time-wise, not her age), she was starting to forget things already.

I would first invite her to light the Shabbos candles with me. Then we'd spend time with my kids while we waited for my husband to get home from shul. The boys would put on shows for her while she cradled my daughter in her lap. She would delight in every performance and kvell over all three kids, giving them each their own special amount of attention.

When my husband got home, we would gather around the dining room table. I'd even take out the china I inherited from her, that she had been saving "for good." I figure that this would be as "good" an occasion as any, if not more. We'd do all the blessings and then she'd get to try my homemade challah and the chicken soup my husband made with my matzo balls (made the way she used to make them). We'd have a joyous time talking and I would catch her up on everything she missed from when she got Alzheimer's until the present day. (She didn't really miss me meeting my husband, as I feel she knew we had gotten married. She would smile at him when we came to visit her together.) I think she would be proud of how observant we had become. She'd also be thrilled that my older son was named after her.

After dinner, we would have dessert. I'd make a cake from scratch, just because she was going to be there to enjoy it. (Lately I've been keeping it simple or using mixes, but I can make an amazing chocolate cake when I have the time to invest in baking.) Then I'd have my sons show off their knowledge of Jewish holidays and other information. We have a game every Shabbos where we ask different questions and they get to ask us questions too. It's a lot of fun and a great way for them to learn new things (or rehash what they already know). No doubt, she would be proud of their knowledge.

Later, the boys would beg her to sleep over, the way my sister and I used to [beg her]. They'd say "sleeeeep over!" Of course, she'd give in, as we couldn't drive her anywhere on Shabbat anyway. After we put the kids to bed, we would stay up late talking with her and catching up some more. We'd show her pictures from previous years, including our wedding album. I'd also apologize to her for not being as good of a granddaughter as I could have been, especially when her memory started going by the wayside. I wasn't patient and got frustrated easily. When I visited her, the visits were very short and I wasn't that attentive. I would hope that she would forgive me, considering what I've given her in other ways.

Overall, it would be an amazing experience to have Mama Mollie back (the way I remembered her best) and be able to talk to her about anything and everything, as a result. Even if it were just for one day, it would be totally worth it. Since this is purely rooted in fantasy, all I know in reality is that I am living in a manner that would make her proud, by carrying on Jewish traditions and fulfilling my role as an observant Jewish wife and mother. It's a legacy she created that I don't want to see die anytime soon, and I hope my daughter can carry it on for me and pass it along to my grandchildren someday. (I'm sure my sons could pass it along too, if they have daughters.)

This was taken when I was about the same age as my daughter is now.

Funny Friday-6/3/11-"What's up, Doc?"

I've decided to do a new blog theme called Funny Friday. It's basically stuff that I find funny and want to share my somewhat crazy humor with you.

I talk about how much I love Moving Violations and these next two scenes are the reason why. Classic hilarious misunderstanding. And I'm not showing the third part of this hilarious situation so that you'll watch for yourself. It looks like the entire movie has been posted to YouTube in small sections, so you have no excuse now. Watch it and prepare to laugh so hard that you'll be unable to see straight!

Watch starting at 4:52

Watch starting at 4:03

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

Remember the blog project I did last year with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, I picked the topic: What TV show, movie or book is most similar to your life?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:

Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

I originally thought my “show” would be “Modern Family,” but after seeing Froggie’s post from last week, I think she wins that honor. However, I still believe that Claire and Phil were created based on the writers spying on my husband and me.

Then I did some more thinking and realized that the show most similar to my own life is “Desperate Housewives.” I’m not desperate and I’m only a housewife when on maternity leave, but the women on the show have not always been “housewives” either. I’m also not saying that my life is full of crazy drama. It’s more about how I can relate to each of the women on the show and have qualities similar to all of them. I will elaborate further.

I am like Susan (Teri Hatcher) in that I am clumsy and can’t cook anything complex (I can bake though). I also care a lot about my friends and will help them out in any way I can. I even try to help strangers and people I’m not as fond of from time to time. I love my kids and will do anything to ensure they have a good life.

I am like Bree (Marcia Cross) in that I love baking for my neighbors (challahs, in my case). I also love being a hostess and throwing parties and gatherings. I sometimes get uptight over things and strive for perfection. I love that Bree was entrepreneurial with her food business and I tend to be the same way with my book blog (even though I don’t make money from it).

I am like Lynette (Felicity Huffman) in that I’m the “bad cop” in the family. (Similar to Claire from “Modern Family,” oddly enough.) I like to be right about a lot of things and usually do most of the planning and scheduling in my home. I handle stress the same way she does, as well. I’m also very assertive like she is.

I am like Gabby (Eva Longoria) in that I’m very girly and a total shopaholic (thanks to the thrift store, in my case). I love buying clothes and making myself look pretty. I try to be an individual, even while raising kids. I also get along well with gay guys. :) I’m loyal to my friends, as well.

Finally, I am like Mary Alice (voice of Brenda Strong) in that I will do anything to protect my family and look after them. I wouldn’t take my own life, but the well being and safety of my family is very important to me. I also care about what is going on in my friends’ lives and focus on them more than myself, sometimes. Since Mary Alice is the narrator of the show (still an integral part after she killed herself in the first episode of season one), she is always concerned with everyone’s lives and coming up with philosophical thoughts for the way things are. I could almost see her being a blogger, if people could blog from beyond.

In the opening theme of the show, there is an image of all the women under a tree and they’re catching the apples that fall. I thought it made sense to my subject line, as the idiom “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” means there is a lot of similarity from one person to another, usually within a family. In my neighborhood, there’s a family-like atmosphere. We all look after one another, as well as each other’s kids. Everyone can be counted on for different things amongst my group of friends. I’m usually the one who hosts gatherings and makes challah for everyone at different times. My husband volunteers at our shul on the tech committee. There’s a great sense of community throughout, which is something that is also apparent on “Desperate Housewives.” No one is related within the community of Fairview (or on Wisteria Lane, to be more specific), but they all help each other out with babysitting, cooking, taking care of someone who is sick, consoling each other over a bad day, etc. They end up being like family to one another. That is truly the core (excuse the pun) of the show, regardless of the crazy situations from outsiders and other soap opera like scenarios that come up. And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in terms of similarities between the lead characters and myself, either.