Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week, Moma Rock chose the topic: Some airlines allow it. Others don't. What's your take on airlines allowing cell phone usage while in-flight? Are you for it, or against it?
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
On a recent episode of The Mindy Project, Mindy had her phone on and was texting while they were flying to L.A.. When Danny saw that her phone was still on, he got all freaked out. (I think he has some airplane anxieties anyway.) Apparently, the airline they used allowed cell phone usage while in flight.
To answer Moma Rock's question, I am iffy on the idea. I personally think that cell phones should just be used for emergencies while in-flight. Otherwise, I don't see why you can't tell people that you're getting on a plane and will be unreachable by phone for a few hours. If you have an important conference call, schedule it around the time of your flight. Or schedule your flight to be at a different time from your call, if you know well enough in advance. If something comes up that's out of your control, how are you going to handle it while flying anyway? It's not like you can make the plane speed up to get to your destination earlier.
If airlines allow cell phone usage while in-flight, I feel like any chance of relaxing is not going to be possible. When I travel, I like to read. It would be really hard to concentrate if everyone and their mother is talking on the phone at the same time, just because they're allowed to. Maybe there should be a phone-free zone if that's going to be the case. Like there will be a section for first class separated by a curtain. Then a section for people who want to talk on their phone separated by another curtain. That way, those of us who don't want to deal with being connected 24/7 can read, sleep, watch the in-flight movie, or have our beverage and tiny bag of peanuts or pretzels without being disturbed.
That's all I really have to say on this topic.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
The Birthday Singer
I made a goal to write one piece of fiction every month, just for fun and to keep my mind in a creative mode. I have a bunch of ideas in mind, but this one was inspired last night, when I was out with my family at a restaurant. There was a guy who had a really deep singing voice and it seemed like everyone had birthdays all of a sudden, just to get him to sing more. This story isn't about him, but while he was singing, I got to wondering what it's like for people who absolutely do NOT want someone singing to them at a restaurant for their birthday. I'm also reading a book about a woman who has to write about NYC romance in the style of Nora Ephron (and flunks out big time), so that inspired me to try my hand at it. I turned this all into a little chick lit story, and there you have it!
The Birthday Singer
“Clear your calendar for tonight because I’m taking you out.”
Dave, my boyfriend of two years, always cuts to the chase
before I even get a chance to say “hello” whenever I pick up the phone.
“Um, okay… Where are we going?” Please don’t let it be Friday’s, I pray silently to myself. For that matter, don’t let it be Applebee’s
or Olive Garden either.
“How does Cleo’s sound?”
“Cleo’s, the Italian place that’s impossible to get into
without a reservation?”
“The hostess owes me a favor.”
“Oh, really?!?”
“I helped her refinance her mortgage last week. What were you thinking?”
“Ah ha. Got it. So, what time?”
“I’ll be downstairs at seven. See you then, sweetie.”
“Okay, hon.” I glance at my clock, now showing 6:23. “I
better get showered then.”
I had a feeling Dave would take me out for my birthday. I
don’t clue people in to it being my birthday and won’t even list it on
Facebook. Ever since the Farrell’s incident on my fifth birthday, I’ve had an
aversion to birthday singers. I don’t even want to take the chance that we’ll
end up at a restaurant where they make a big deal out of everyone’s birthday. I’ll
take the free dessert, mind you, but just leave the singing out of it and we’re
golden.
To say I was traumatized on my fifth birthday is an
understatement. I was almost killed. At least that’s how I see it! They came by
with this big drum and there was an ice cream sundae with a sparkler in it. The
banging on the drum startled me so much that I knocked the sundae over, but
managed to catch the sparkler on my hair, which instantly got singed. So yeah,
I don’t like birthday singers. I’m pretty sure that was a condition for going
out with Dave in the first place. Last year, we stayed in for my birthday and
it was perfect. He even brought me a dozen cupcakes from Magnolia.
As I’m fastening my favorite diamond earrings into place,
the buzzer sounds to indicate that Dave is here.
“I hope you’re hungry. Cleo’s has the best Italian food on
the Upper West Side.”
“Starved. I was so busy today that I worked through lunch. I
think I had a few carrot sticks this afternoon, but I can’t even remember if I
actually ate them.”
“Be prepared for a feast then.” Dave opened the cab door and
I slid in, the stench of cigarette smoke and body odor wafting around me. I
opened the window, even though it was only 20 degrees outside.
Thankfully, it was a short ride to Cleo’s. Lindsay, the
hostess, greeted us warmly, air kissing Dave. I tried not to look too jealous. “You
must be Summer! So nice to meet you! I was telling my husband how Dave is a
genius. He totally got us a good percentage rate on our condo. He’s definitely
a keeper.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep him.”
Lindsay laughed nervously. “Follow me right this way. I got
you a table in the back, where it’s a little quieter.”
After browsing the menu for a good 10 minutes, I still wasn’t
sure what to order. “How about you surprise me, since you seem to know what
their best dishes are.”
“Sounds good. In fact, I will go talk to our waiter right
now so you’ll be completely surprised by what we’re having.”
“That won’t be necessary. You can just tell him in front of
me.”
“Sweetie, if you’re worried about what I think you’re
worried about, I promise you they don’t
do that here.”
“You’ve never been here before, so how would you know?”
“I asked Lindsay when I made the reservation and she assured
me it wouldn’t happen.”
“That’s a relief then.” I jokingly brushed my hand against
my forehead to wipe off imaginary sweat. “In that case, I’ll go to the bathroom
since I have nothing to worry about while I’m gone,” I say pointedly.
When I return from the bathroom, there’s a basket of warm
bread with a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar next to it, along with a
bottle of my favorite Merlot and two glasses.
“Aww, thanks hon. You didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s your special day. Besides, I think you need to relax.”
Dave pours us each a glass. “To your 28th birthday. Hope we can
celebrate many more together.”
I blush as I take my first sip. Dave is as perfect as they
get. I still don’t know what I did to deserve him. I don’t even believe that
just being in the right place at the right time was all it took. There was just
that instant chemistry the first time we met, when our orders got mixed up at
Wu’s and we had to bring them in to exchange them in person. Somehow the timing
was just right. I still think Mr. Wu did it on purpose in an attempt to play
matchmaker. Dave thinks it was just a random coincidence.
Our food arrives and we dig in. The
truffle lasagna and chicken Picatta practically melt in my mouth. I haven’t had
Italian food this good since…well, never!
“Have you thought about dessert
yet?” The waiter interrupts our conversation about last night’s episode of The Big Bang Theory. “Oh, that Sheldon,
he cracks me up!”
“Yeah. He’s great. Anyway, I think
we’ll split the tiramisu. I’m full but I was told we just had to try it. Lindsay is a good salesperson. I hope you’re giving
her commission on this meal.” Dave grins and winks at the waiter.
“One tiramisu, two forks, coming
right up.”
I reach across the table to hold
Dave’s hand. “This has to be the best meal I’ve ever had. Thanks so much!”
“The best is yet to come, sweetie.”
“Well, you know I can never resist
good tiramisu!”
Suddenly, the room seems like it
went silent as a few waiters, along with Lindsay, stand over our table. There’s
a candle in the tiramisu and I hear the strains of a violin about to be played.
“I heard it’s someone’s special
day and everyone at Cleo’s wants to help you celebrate. One, two, one, two,
three…Happy Birth--”
I spring up from the table,
knocking over the bottle of Merlot and spilling the rest of the contents. I don’t
care, as I can barely see from the tears clouding my eyes and my heart is
racing at full speed.
I grab my coat as I hear someone
yell “Wait!” but don’t bother to look back.
“Eighty-sixth and Amsterdam” I
say, as I slam the cab door and slide in. This cab doesn’t reek like the last
one did, but I roll down the window anyway to get some fresh air anyway. In a
matter of minutes, I’m back at the door of my building and I race upstairs and
lock the door behind me, still shaking from embarrassment and anger.
I turn on my iPhone and open my
Twitter account. It’s taking forever to load up and when I’m finally able to
tweet “Worst birthday EVER!,” I’m interrupted by the buzzer.
“Go home, Dave! You lied to me!”
“Please let me in. I want to
explain.”
“You lied! I feel like such an
idiot!”
“Sweetie. Why would I want to
throw away two years? Do you think I’m that
stupid?”
“I don’t have an answer for you.
But you have one minute to explain yourself.”
“Can you let me in? It’s freezing.”
“One minute. If I don’t like what
I hear, you might as well get another cab home.”
“I warned Lindsay that you don’t
like birthday singers and she assured me that they never do that at Cleo’s.
Maybe she lied? I don’t know. All I
know is that I love you and if I had any idea they would embarrass you like
that, I would have just taken you to McDonald’s for dinner.”
I start laughing a little. “McDonald’s?
Really?!? You expect me to think that you could substitute the best Italian
food in New York City with McDonalds?”
I hit the buzzer to let him in.
He’s at my door practically five
seconds later with a box from Cleo’s. “I thought we could still have the
tiramisu. I couldn’t bear to leave it behind.”
“Well, you know me and my level of
resistance to tiramisu.”
“You can have the first bite. It’s
your birthday, after all.”
I take a bit off the top. As soon
as I put the fork to my lips, I’m transported to another dimension of food
heaven. Dave and I take turns eating it, as well as feeding each other bites
from time to time. Suddenly, my fork hits something hard. “Great. There’s
something wrong with it. You’re going to have to bring this last part back.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Dave grabs the plate and suddenly gets down on one knee. “Summer, we’ve been
together for two years and I know you’re my one true love. I can’t imagine my
life without you in it. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Dave
wipes off the tiramisu from the hard item, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring
that goes perfectly with the earrings he got me for our first dating
anniversary.
“I’ll have to think about it. I
mean, you did break my first condition of dating.” Dave looked shocked and
almost crestfallen. “Just kidding! Of course I will!” I kneel down to him and
kiss him on his tiramisu flavored lips.
“Would you mind just giving me a moment?”
I grab my iPhone and see the tweet I never sent, given that I was so pleasantly
interrupted. I change the tweet to “BEST birthday ever!” Then I resume kissing
Dave, letting the taste of tiramisu linger, along with the feeling of this
amazing moment.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
The truth is out there
Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week, Darwin Shrugged chose the topic: Is it ever better to not know the truth? If so, give an example.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
When I first heard the word "truth," I thought of the tag line from The X-Files and decided to use that for my subject line. It really has nothing to do with what I'm about to say. First off, I need to say that the timing of this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother focused on Barney getting so drunk that he could only tell the truth. Robin and Ted kept asking him questions that they figured he would only answer during this small window of time. However, the more significant truths came from an argument between Marshall and Lily.
I wasn't sure what I'd write about on this topic, but then I saw a Facebook post from one of my friends:
Is it just because I have a kid now, or am I seeing more horrible things happening to children? I can't tell, but it makes me want to duct tape him to my body.... might get awkward on his first date.
This friend is the mother of a toddler who is around the age my older son was when I read about a baby who was shaken by his caregiver and ended up with multiple disabilities. (Unfortunately, I found out that the boy died a few years later.) That same week, a friend in my community lost her baby late in her pregnancy. Hearing about both situations turned me into a giant mess and I wanted to just hide my son in a protective cocoon. I feel like once I became a mother, I started hearing about every bad thing that could possibly happen to children. Even before my first son was born, I was faced with things that scared me in preparation for childbirth. Like when we visited a family whose son was severely disabled after being born with his cord wrapped around his neck. (So yeah, finding out he had hearing loss a few months later was really small potatoes in hindsight.)
In mid-December, 2012, a man walked into an elementary school and killed a lot of children. Exactly one year later, a boy (the same age as my older son) passed away after a long battle with leukemia. In case you're wondering which situation affected me more, it was the latter. Yes, it's awful that a lot of kids died at the hands of an extremely unhinged individual. In that case, they weren't prepared for it and their parents didn't get to say goodbye. There was an article about them in People magazine a few months later and it was very hard to read. In the latter situation, I had been introduced to the boy's mother's blog in November, finding out that she had to tell him that he didn't have long to live. (I read this a few days after having a horrible nightmare that my daughter had died.) Then she wrote about his response and it was equally heartbreaking. While knowing what the outcome was going to be, I prayed every night that this boy would get to live as long as possible. However, it was only a month later that I heard about his passing on Shabbat. His parents are both Rabbis, which makes the whole situation even harder to grasp, both as a mother and a Jew. I recently heard a song by Luke Bryan called "Drink a Beer" and one part summed up my thoughts perfectly:
"Funny how the good ones go
Too soon, but the good Lord knows
The reasons why it gets
Sometimes the greater plan is kinda hard to understand
Right now it don't make sense
I can't make it all make sense"
Anyway, there are two things related to the question that Darwin Shrugged posed to us. The first is whether we should turn a blind eye to what is happening in the world. I tend to flock to articles involving stuff happening to kids. It's definitely out of morbid curiosity. Most of the cases involve child abuse though. I feel so distanced from that because I would never do that to my children. However, when it comes to reading a blog written by a Jewish mother around my age with a child around my son's age, it's hard to just completely push it aside. Truth be told, I met this mother a long time ago, when we were freshmen in high school. I stake no claim to fame here, but knowing her has bridged the distance I could normally forge between myself and the situation at hand. Like if she were a complete stranger, it might have been easier to glaze over the article and file it away as just something sad that is happening. I can only read about so much tragic stuff happening to other kids before I completely lose my mind. However, it is different in this case. I still read the mother's blog and her pain is so real and so accessible. It makes me wish I still knew her in person so I could give her a hug.
I'm guessing it was easier for my parents to raise us because they didn't have the Internet with all these sad and horrible stories right at their fingertips. The most we heard about as kids were about other kids being kidnapped and we were always cautious. Until an acquaintance died freshman year of high school, I thought kids were immune to death. Nowadays, it's hard for the topic to not come up. I don't think my kids are going to come across such articles, but I'm still overprotective of them and I tend to become a hypochondriac on their behalves.
The other thing that came to mind when this question came up was also related to the situation of the boy dying from leukemia. It had more to do with his mother having to tell him he didn't have long to live. I brought it up to a friend a few days later, asking why the mother would have to tell her son such horrible news. My friend said that when kids are sick, they grow up really fast and you can't always hide this information from them. It made me wonder if I would want to know such a truth if I were the one facing death's door, Hashem forbid. What would I do with such information? Would I want to live out my days as completely as possible, attending to every item on my bucket list? Or would I just throw in the towel, saying "What's the point?!?"
On the same token, would I want to impart such news to my kids if, Hashem forbid, they were in this situation? My oldest son worries about everything as it is, so he'd be the hardest person to whom I'd have to impart such news. However, I think he'd be onto me if I were secretive. Would I want his last days to be clouded with such despair? Or would I owe it to him to know the truth so he could prepare by saying his goodbyes and getting a last wish? It's such a gray area and I hope I am never in such a situation that I have to make this decision. It's another reason I think that the boy's mother is one of the bravest people I know. That is, aside from another brave mother I know who lost her daughter in a similar way a while back and somehow manages to stay optimistic about life. I wish I could connect these two mothers because I feel like the one who had been through it years before would be able to understand what this mother who just lost her son is going through in a way that many other parents never will, B"H. She'd be able to offer her guidance and strength that others, even with all their words of support, might not be able to. (She also had to make a difficult life-or-death decision about her daughter and feels what she did was best.)
I apologize for the heaviness of this post, but this has been weighing on my mind ever since November. I attended a wedding the day after the boy died and the contrast of the joy of that day to the sorrow emanating from Facebook posts about the boy was just so raw and intense. There's nothing like seeing a mother beaming with pride under the chuppah at her son's wedding while thinking of a mother who will never get to even see her son become a Bar Mitzvah. I didn't share these thoughts with people at the wedding because I wasn't going to bring them down too. I wanted to get it all out here. I still pray for the family of the boy who died so that they will have strength to get through each day. That's all I can offer for now. However, I plan to donate to St. Baldrick's, as the mother is participating and it's to fund research for a cure so that no other family has to go through this ever again. If you'd like to donate to this cause, visit the 36 Rabbis Shave for the Brave page. Thank you.
This week, Darwin Shrugged chose the topic: Is it ever better to not know the truth? If so, give an example.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
When I first heard the word "truth," I thought of the tag line from The X-Files and decided to use that for my subject line. It really has nothing to do with what I'm about to say. First off, I need to say that the timing of this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother focused on Barney getting so drunk that he could only tell the truth. Robin and Ted kept asking him questions that they figured he would only answer during this small window of time. However, the more significant truths came from an argument between Marshall and Lily.
I wasn't sure what I'd write about on this topic, but then I saw a Facebook post from one of my friends:
Is it just because I have a kid now, or am I seeing more horrible things happening to children? I can't tell, but it makes me want to duct tape him to my body.... might get awkward on his first date.
This friend is the mother of a toddler who is around the age my older son was when I read about a baby who was shaken by his caregiver and ended up with multiple disabilities. (Unfortunately, I found out that the boy died a few years later.) That same week, a friend in my community lost her baby late in her pregnancy. Hearing about both situations turned me into a giant mess and I wanted to just hide my son in a protective cocoon. I feel like once I became a mother, I started hearing about every bad thing that could possibly happen to children. Even before my first son was born, I was faced with things that scared me in preparation for childbirth. Like when we visited a family whose son was severely disabled after being born with his cord wrapped around his neck. (So yeah, finding out he had hearing loss a few months later was really small potatoes in hindsight.)
In mid-December, 2012, a man walked into an elementary school and killed a lot of children. Exactly one year later, a boy (the same age as my older son) passed away after a long battle with leukemia. In case you're wondering which situation affected me more, it was the latter. Yes, it's awful that a lot of kids died at the hands of an extremely unhinged individual. In that case, they weren't prepared for it and their parents didn't get to say goodbye. There was an article about them in People magazine a few months later and it was very hard to read. In the latter situation, I had been introduced to the boy's mother's blog in November, finding out that she had to tell him that he didn't have long to live. (I read this a few days after having a horrible nightmare that my daughter had died.) Then she wrote about his response and it was equally heartbreaking. While knowing what the outcome was going to be, I prayed every night that this boy would get to live as long as possible. However, it was only a month later that I heard about his passing on Shabbat. His parents are both Rabbis, which makes the whole situation even harder to grasp, both as a mother and a Jew. I recently heard a song by Luke Bryan called "Drink a Beer" and one part summed up my thoughts perfectly:
"Funny how the good ones go
Too soon, but the good Lord knows
The reasons why it gets
Sometimes the greater plan is kinda hard to understand
Right now it don't make sense
I can't make it all make sense"
Anyway, there are two things related to the question that Darwin Shrugged posed to us. The first is whether we should turn a blind eye to what is happening in the world. I tend to flock to articles involving stuff happening to kids. It's definitely out of morbid curiosity. Most of the cases involve child abuse though. I feel so distanced from that because I would never do that to my children. However, when it comes to reading a blog written by a Jewish mother around my age with a child around my son's age, it's hard to just completely push it aside. Truth be told, I met this mother a long time ago, when we were freshmen in high school. I stake no claim to fame here, but knowing her has bridged the distance I could normally forge between myself and the situation at hand. Like if she were a complete stranger, it might have been easier to glaze over the article and file it away as just something sad that is happening. I can only read about so much tragic stuff happening to other kids before I completely lose my mind. However, it is different in this case. I still read the mother's blog and her pain is so real and so accessible. It makes me wish I still knew her in person so I could give her a hug.
I'm guessing it was easier for my parents to raise us because they didn't have the Internet with all these sad and horrible stories right at their fingertips. The most we heard about as kids were about other kids being kidnapped and we were always cautious. Until an acquaintance died freshman year of high school, I thought kids were immune to death. Nowadays, it's hard for the topic to not come up. I don't think my kids are going to come across such articles, but I'm still overprotective of them and I tend to become a hypochondriac on their behalves.
The other thing that came to mind when this question came up was also related to the situation of the boy dying from leukemia. It had more to do with his mother having to tell him he didn't have long to live. I brought it up to a friend a few days later, asking why the mother would have to tell her son such horrible news. My friend said that when kids are sick, they grow up really fast and you can't always hide this information from them. It made me wonder if I would want to know such a truth if I were the one facing death's door, Hashem forbid. What would I do with such information? Would I want to live out my days as completely as possible, attending to every item on my bucket list? Or would I just throw in the towel, saying "What's the point?!?"
On the same token, would I want to impart such news to my kids if, Hashem forbid, they were in this situation? My oldest son worries about everything as it is, so he'd be the hardest person to whom I'd have to impart such news. However, I think he'd be onto me if I were secretive. Would I want his last days to be clouded with such despair? Or would I owe it to him to know the truth so he could prepare by saying his goodbyes and getting a last wish? It's such a gray area and I hope I am never in such a situation that I have to make this decision. It's another reason I think that the boy's mother is one of the bravest people I know. That is, aside from another brave mother I know who lost her daughter in a similar way a while back and somehow manages to stay optimistic about life. I wish I could connect these two mothers because I feel like the one who had been through it years before would be able to understand what this mother who just lost her son is going through in a way that many other parents never will, B"H. She'd be able to offer her guidance and strength that others, even with all their words of support, might not be able to. (She also had to make a difficult life-or-death decision about her daughter and feels what she did was best.)
I apologize for the heaviness of this post, but this has been weighing on my mind ever since November. I attended a wedding the day after the boy died and the contrast of the joy of that day to the sorrow emanating from Facebook posts about the boy was just so raw and intense. There's nothing like seeing a mother beaming with pride under the chuppah at her son's wedding while thinking of a mother who will never get to even see her son become a Bar Mitzvah. I didn't share these thoughts with people at the wedding because I wasn't going to bring them down too. I wanted to get it all out here. I still pray for the family of the boy who died so that they will have strength to get through each day. That's all I can offer for now. However, I plan to donate to St. Baldrick's, as the mother is participating and it's to fund research for a cure so that no other family has to go through this ever again. If you'd like to donate to this cause, visit the 36 Rabbis Shave for the Brave page. Thank you.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Un-Frozen
I'm not sure if it's because our heater was broken last week and most of our house was really cold (like toe-numbing), or because I heard news about a new possibility for a Broadway musical, but I've had Frozen on the brain lately. However, it's not for the good reasons that most people attribute to this movie. I think I'm one of the few people in this world, aside from my five year-old son, who came out of the movie with a "meh" feeling about it.
After I first saw it in the theater, I read a review on my friend's blog that validated my feelings somewhat. Also, my husband agreed with me that Olaf is the Jar Jar Binks of Disney. We both found him annoying and unnecessary to the plot. (I know most of you are like "but he's so cute and lovable!" ) It's very rare that a sidekick annoys me as much as Olaf did. Even Lefou (Gaston's sidekick in Beauty and the Beast) was less annoying. I was just glad that they deleted the scene that they originally used as a preview to the film. It just involved Olaf in a fight with some animal over his carrot nose. I was relieved to not have to see that again.
It could also be that the villains are weak. The story does have villains, but they were too easily defeated. They didn't leave me shaking in my boots in the slightest. Some Disney movies have ruthless villains and you're just rooting for them to get exactly what they deserve. (Again, I'll use Gaston as an example.) Sure, there was something wrong about what the villains in Frozen were doing, but they were just so accepting of their punishment and there wasn't much of a fight to begin with.
I also found it strange that Anna was kept away from the world, even though she didn't have a destructive power. It was bad enough that Elsa wasn't able to build snowmen with her anymore, but to keep her locked inside and bored like Rapunzel made no sense either. Why couldn't she just roam around outside and meet people her age? Maybe I missed some integral plot line, but something just seemed "off" to me. Also, the fact that Elsa couldn't just tell Anna the truth that whole time. I don't see how that was protecting Anna in any way. Couldn't she just tell Anna to stay away because she's dangerous? Or have Elsa be sent away someplace else where she couldn't be a danger to others? I understand when Anna was little that it wouldn't help her much to know the truth, but I think this knowledge was owed to her when she was older. In any case, it contributed to a weakness in the plot that just didn't work for me.
What worked for me, however, was the music. It's been a while since there was a Disney song that I could just belt out to my heart's content. "Let it Go" is definitely the reason this show has Broadway potential. It's Idina Menzel's best musical performance since "Defying Gravity," in my opinion. I also enjoyed "For the First Time in Forever" and "Love is an Open Door." I could have done without the reindeer song and definitely without Olaf's song. "Fixer Upper" was cute and reminded me of "A Guy Like You" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Maybe because the rock trolls reminded me of the gargoyles?) The art design was cool too. I think the best part was Elsa designing a new gown for herself during "Let it Go." I can't say the same for how the characters looked. There was something that just put me off about them, in comparison to other Disney animated films.
So yeah, Frozen was not a favorite of mine, either for Disney or for all of last year. It's not the first to give me that "meh" feeling though. (I like The Princess and the Frog even less. Tarzan is on this list too.) It just didn't leave me feeling emotionally connected. And it's not because I've outgrown Disney. (That could never happen!)
After I first saw it in the theater, I read a review on my friend's blog that validated my feelings somewhat. Also, my husband agreed with me that Olaf is the Jar Jar Binks of Disney. We both found him annoying and unnecessary to the plot. (I know most of you are like "but he's so cute and lovable!" ) It's very rare that a sidekick annoys me as much as Olaf did. Even Lefou (Gaston's sidekick in Beauty and the Beast) was less annoying. I was just glad that they deleted the scene that they originally used as a preview to the film. It just involved Olaf in a fight with some animal over his carrot nose. I was relieved to not have to see that again.
It could also be that the villains are weak. The story does have villains, but they were too easily defeated. They didn't leave me shaking in my boots in the slightest. Some Disney movies have ruthless villains and you're just rooting for them to get exactly what they deserve. (Again, I'll use Gaston as an example.) Sure, there was something wrong about what the villains in Frozen were doing, but they were just so accepting of their punishment and there wasn't much of a fight to begin with.
I also found it strange that Anna was kept away from the world, even though she didn't have a destructive power. It was bad enough that Elsa wasn't able to build snowmen with her anymore, but to keep her locked inside and bored like Rapunzel made no sense either. Why couldn't she just roam around outside and meet people her age? Maybe I missed some integral plot line, but something just seemed "off" to me. Also, the fact that Elsa couldn't just tell Anna the truth that whole time. I don't see how that was protecting Anna in any way. Couldn't she just tell Anna to stay away because she's dangerous? Or have Elsa be sent away someplace else where she couldn't be a danger to others? I understand when Anna was little that it wouldn't help her much to know the truth, but I think this knowledge was owed to her when she was older. In any case, it contributed to a weakness in the plot that just didn't work for me.
What worked for me, however, was the music. It's been a while since there was a Disney song that I could just belt out to my heart's content. "Let it Go" is definitely the reason this show has Broadway potential. It's Idina Menzel's best musical performance since "Defying Gravity," in my opinion. I also enjoyed "For the First Time in Forever" and "Love is an Open Door." I could have done without the reindeer song and definitely without Olaf's song. "Fixer Upper" was cute and reminded me of "A Guy Like You" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Maybe because the rock trolls reminded me of the gargoyles?) The art design was cool too. I think the best part was Elsa designing a new gown for herself during "Let it Go." I can't say the same for how the characters looked. There was something that just put me off about them, in comparison to other Disney animated films.
So yeah, Frozen was not a favorite of mine, either for Disney or for all of last year. It's not the first to give me that "meh" feeling though. (I like The Princess and the Frog even less. Tarzan is on this list too.) It just didn't leave me feeling emotionally connected. And it's not because I've outgrown Disney. (That could never happen!)
Friday, January 17, 2014
My history with V.C. Andrews
I had been hearing about a remake of the movie Flowers in the Attic long before it came into fruition. At first, I didn't know if I'd want this to happen. Not that the original movie version was all that good, but why bother trying again to bring such a fantastic and intriguing book to life? Then I heard that it would stay true to the book and my curiosity was piqued. Of course, having been a V.C. Andrews fan from junior high through college (and a bit beyond), I know I'll have to check this movie out sometime soon.
Going along with the upcoming movie was an article that was recently published about women from my generation who grew up as V.C. Andrews fans. It seemed like psychoanalysis more than a fun, nostalgic article looking back on her books. I decided that I should write my own post about how I became a fan and why I kept reading her books for so long, even knowing they weren't written by her.
When I was in seventh grade, I saw that all the popular kids were reading V.C. Andrews' books. I didn't have even the slightest chance of becoming popular, but I thought I'd give them a whirl to at least try to fit in. The next time I went to the library, I looked for her books and all I could find was a copy of Heaven, the first book of her second series. It looked interesting, so I decided to check it out. My mom thought it was going to be a horror novel and warned me to put it down if I got scared. Thing was, I couldn't put it down. At all! It was so incredibly good from start to finish. Then I started checking out the other books from that series (Casteel), as well as the books from the Dollanganger series, where Flowers in the Attic is from. There was also My Sweet Audrina, which stood on its own and was such an interesting and haunting story.
During the summer between seventh and eighth grade, when I wasn't practicing for my Bat Mitzvah, I was devouring V.C. Andrews' books. I had a friend who also was interested in them. Instead of talking or doing activities when we got together, we'd lay on one of our beds and read. She'd whisper the words as she was reading, which drove me crazy until I was able to tune her out because I was so absorbed in the story. I also got my maternal grandmother to read them. And later, my sister caught the V.C. Andrews fever, as well. Toward the end of my high school years, my friends and I would mark the pages that had "steamy" scenes on them, even though they seemed pretty tame compared to the stuff I've read as an adult. Still, we thought we were being so daring...
Anytime I saw a new book of hers at the store, it would feel like Hanukkah and my birthday all rolled into one. I'd practically run through the bookstore to purchase it! When I started high school, the Cutler series (starting with Dawn) had just come out. I knew that a ghostwriter was writing these books, but they were still so good that I didn't care. The Landry series (starting with Ruby) came out a little before I started college. I also read the Logan series (starting with Melody) and the first set of mini books (The Orphans: Butterfly, Crystal, Brooke, and Raven) during that time. Two other mini-series came out, as well as a full series (Hudson, starting with Rain), after I graduated college and I read those, as well. Then I stopped at Willow. I don't know if I had outgrown V.C. Andrews or that the story lines had just gotten stale, but I could only get through a few chapters and that was it. I completely lost interest in her books, but I'm glad because it seems like her ghostwriter didn't stick with her formula after that time. I don't even know why her name is attached to these books anymore. Around the time I lost interest was also when I started getting into chick lit. Coincidence?
During my sophomore year of college, I learned HTML from my first boyfriend and he helped me put together a V.C. Andrews website. I then started a fan club through it. It was a lot of fun and I met so many interesting people. We'd discuss V.C. Andrews novels, as well as general things in life. One girl I met through the club told me about Katherine Stone, who became another favorite author of mine. There were some people I met whom I had a great friendship with at the time and then it either fizzled out or went completely downhill. There's one friend I'd still love to find, but she doesn't have an online presence yet. (If anyone knows Shannon Sawicki from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, please put us in touch! She's probably in her early to mid-30s now.) I'm still friends with a few women from the club, as either we've stayed in touch throughout the years or we've reconnected through Facebook. So you can see that before I started a chick lit blog and group, I was connecting people through their love of V.C. Andrews' books!
As I said earlier, there's no scientific explanation for why I loved reading V.C. Andrews' books. They were a saving grace during junior high and then just too good to stop reading. Almost like a guilty pleasure, in some ways! I don't know if my daughter will ever take interest in these books when she's older, but I guess time will tell....
Going along with the upcoming movie was an article that was recently published about women from my generation who grew up as V.C. Andrews fans. It seemed like psychoanalysis more than a fun, nostalgic article looking back on her books. I decided that I should write my own post about how I became a fan and why I kept reading her books for so long, even knowing they weren't written by her.
When I was in seventh grade, I saw that all the popular kids were reading V.C. Andrews' books. I didn't have even the slightest chance of becoming popular, but I thought I'd give them a whirl to at least try to fit in. The next time I went to the library, I looked for her books and all I could find was a copy of Heaven, the first book of her second series. It looked interesting, so I decided to check it out. My mom thought it was going to be a horror novel and warned me to put it down if I got scared. Thing was, I couldn't put it down. At all! It was so incredibly good from start to finish. Then I started checking out the other books from that series (Casteel), as well as the books from the Dollanganger series, where Flowers in the Attic is from. There was also My Sweet Audrina, which stood on its own and was such an interesting and haunting story.
During the summer between seventh and eighth grade, when I wasn't practicing for my Bat Mitzvah, I was devouring V.C. Andrews' books. I had a friend who also was interested in them. Instead of talking or doing activities when we got together, we'd lay on one of our beds and read. She'd whisper the words as she was reading, which drove me crazy until I was able to tune her out because I was so absorbed in the story. I also got my maternal grandmother to read them. And later, my sister caught the V.C. Andrews fever, as well. Toward the end of my high school years, my friends and I would mark the pages that had "steamy" scenes on them, even though they seemed pretty tame compared to the stuff I've read as an adult. Still, we thought we were being so daring...
Anytime I saw a new book of hers at the store, it would feel like Hanukkah and my birthday all rolled into one. I'd practically run through the bookstore to purchase it! When I started high school, the Cutler series (starting with Dawn) had just come out. I knew that a ghostwriter was writing these books, but they were still so good that I didn't care. The Landry series (starting with Ruby) came out a little before I started college. I also read the Logan series (starting with Melody) and the first set of mini books (The Orphans: Butterfly, Crystal, Brooke, and Raven) during that time. Two other mini-series came out, as well as a full series (Hudson, starting with Rain), after I graduated college and I read those, as well. Then I stopped at Willow. I don't know if I had outgrown V.C. Andrews or that the story lines had just gotten stale, but I could only get through a few chapters and that was it. I completely lost interest in her books, but I'm glad because it seems like her ghostwriter didn't stick with her formula after that time. I don't even know why her name is attached to these books anymore. Around the time I lost interest was also when I started getting into chick lit. Coincidence?
During my sophomore year of college, I learned HTML from my first boyfriend and he helped me put together a V.C. Andrews website. I then started a fan club through it. It was a lot of fun and I met so many interesting people. We'd discuss V.C. Andrews novels, as well as general things in life. One girl I met through the club told me about Katherine Stone, who became another favorite author of mine. There were some people I met whom I had a great friendship with at the time and then it either fizzled out or went completely downhill. There's one friend I'd still love to find, but she doesn't have an online presence yet. (If anyone knows Shannon Sawicki from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, please put us in touch! She's probably in her early to mid-30s now.) I'm still friends with a few women from the club, as either we've stayed in touch throughout the years or we've reconnected through Facebook. So you can see that before I started a chick lit blog and group, I was connecting people through their love of V.C. Andrews' books!
As I said earlier, there's no scientific explanation for why I loved reading V.C. Andrews' books. They were a saving grace during junior high and then just too good to stop reading. Almost like a guilty pleasure, in some ways! I don't know if my daughter will ever take interest in these books when she's older, but I guess time will tell....
Thursday, January 16, 2014
I've got the power (or not...)
Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week, Froggie chose the topic: It's all a matter of perspective. Think of a story that on the surface seemed to be seen a negative situation. Tell us that story. Then, tell us that same story but tell it from a positive point of view.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
This past weekend, our heater stopped working. It happened on Shabbat, so we couldn't even do anything about it. We spent some time out of the house, between going to shul and hanging out with friends. Afterward, we turned on space heaters and started up the fireplace. We spent most of Sunday out of the house, as well, and also did the space heaters and fireplace combo otherwise. A tech from the heating company came on Monday and said that it's more than just a small fix. They came back on Tuesday and learned that the thermostat and blowers are not communicating. They're supposed to come back today with the right parts to fix everything, provided the parts came in on time, so I'm hoping I'll come back to a warm house after work. My in-laws are supposed to visit this weekend, so planning around a broken heater has put all plans up in the air.
I'm just thankful that it wasn't during the coldest weekend of the year, thus far. And that we have friends who have offered their homes and/or extra space heaters. That's definitely a perk of living in a close-knit Modern Orthodox community. Neighbors really look after each other.
We are powerless:
In any case, this situation is small potatoes compared to the great power outage of 2012. It happened during Shabbat at the end of June. Our cousins were in town from Chicago and had Shabbat dinner with us. Then, they left to go back to their hotel. They stopped back in momentarily to use the bathroom. After they left the second time, a huge storm started up and a few minutes later, the power went out. Our cousins were out driving in this mess and had to navigate around fallen trees without much light to go by. It was very hot out and the storm was incredibly freaky...loud, tons of lightning, etc. I thought the end of the world had decided to come early.
The next day, we still were powerless. The problem was that we were having guests over for Shabbat lunch. We weren't supposed to open our refrigerators or freezers to retain the cold air as long as possible inside. However, that's where all our food was kept. I was hoping that everyone would decide not to come over after all, but then realized that they didn't prepare food at all, thinking they were going to lunch on a regular Shabbat afternoon. So everyone came over and we quickly got all the food out, minus the cholent that had gone bad. It was hot inside the house, the food was cold, and the beverages were warm. Not a very comforting combination. After our guests went home, the rest of the day dragged by, as it was summer and Shabbat didn't end until very late in the evening. Not like we could do anything after Shabbat, given TV and Internet weren't an option. The kids ended up sleeping in the guest room, since it was cooler downstairs. We slept in the basement, which was very dark without any windows.
It was still hot the next day, so we decided to get a hotel room. We stayed there until Tuesday morning, when we had to get back to work, even though schedules were off because there wasn't power at the camp facility and things had to be moved around. We hung out around the area, going to the mall and out for dinner. Since there was still no power when we got home, we packed up again to go to a different hotel.
Meanwhile, we had to get rid of all our food from the refrigerators and freezers. That meant food that hadn't even been opened yet. I was traumatized by this experience and the idea of losing a lot of food again still freaks me out to no end. It wasn't just a few items. It was over $1000 worth of food and our insurance company found some loophole so that they wouldn't have to cover it.
When Hurricane Sandy came around, you can bet we were prepared for a power outage...
Power to the people:
The night of the big storm that took out our power was spent entertaining our cousins who came in to visit from Chicago. It was so nice to see them and they were great with our kids. They enjoyed our cooking and loved our new kitchen. I felt bad that they had to drive to their hotel in a storm, but thankfully they were safe and they had stories for later. Also, our house wasn't damaged by the effects of the storm, which was a relief.
The next day, our guests came over for Shabbos lunch. We had food available to serve them, even though it was cold. It actually tasted good that way. I had made a lemon cake for dessert, thinking that the ice cream pie wouldn't be enough for everyone. Good thinking on my part, since we now had a dessert to serve to our guests. Aside from the heat, we all had fun sitting around the family room (which was on a lower floor, so it was cooler) and chatting with our guests while the kids played together. Later, we played games with our kids to keep them busy. Thankfully, the downstairs was cool enough for all of us to sleep.
On Sunday, we decided to get a hotel room and went to a somewhat nearby town. There was a big outlet mall nearby and a Wal-Mart next to it. I stopped at Wal-Mart to get swimming items and some extra summer clothes, as well as toiletries. (I was in a rush to pack and forgot some items.) Then we went to lunch by the hotel and went swimming for the rest of the afternoon. The kids had a blast and it felt nice to cool off in the pool. Later, we all went out for dinner. It felt like we were having a staycation. Due to the power outage, work and camp were closed on Monday, so we stayed at the hotel for another day. Oddly enough, the hotel lost power for a while. We spent most of the day at the outlet mall and I got some good deals on clothes and shoes, as well as some items for the kids. Then we went back to the hotel for more swimming before going out for dinner and then frozen yogurt.
We had to get back to reality on Tuesday, but I had to take off for the afternoon to pick one of my kids up from camp early. Then we went to the library for a while where he got to play computer while I got some other stuff done with their somewhat spotty Internet coverage. After we got my older son, we went to the mall play area for a while and my husband and daughter met us there. Then we went out for dinner again and came home to pack for another hotel stay. Since it was July third, we didn't have work or camp the next day, either. The hotel we stayed at this time was top of the line. We had a gorgeous room with these really comfortable beds. In the morning, we went swimming again, before heading to our cousins' house to spend Independence Day with them. We also got a call that morning that power was back in our neighborhood. That night came home to a fully air-conditioned house.
The best part about all of this was that insurance covered our hotel stays and all our meals out during the time of the power outage.
This week, Froggie chose the topic: It's all a matter of perspective. Think of a story that on the surface seemed to be seen a negative situation. Tell us that story. Then, tell us that same story but tell it from a positive point of view.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
I'm just thankful that it wasn't during the coldest weekend of the year, thus far. And that we have friends who have offered their homes and/or extra space heaters. That's definitely a perk of living in a close-knit Modern Orthodox community. Neighbors really look after each other.
We are powerless:
In any case, this situation is small potatoes compared to the great power outage of 2012. It happened during Shabbat at the end of June. Our cousins were in town from Chicago and had Shabbat dinner with us. Then, they left to go back to their hotel. They stopped back in momentarily to use the bathroom. After they left the second time, a huge storm started up and a few minutes later, the power went out. Our cousins were out driving in this mess and had to navigate around fallen trees without much light to go by. It was very hot out and the storm was incredibly freaky...loud, tons of lightning, etc. I thought the end of the world had decided to come early.
The next day, we still were powerless. The problem was that we were having guests over for Shabbat lunch. We weren't supposed to open our refrigerators or freezers to retain the cold air as long as possible inside. However, that's where all our food was kept. I was hoping that everyone would decide not to come over after all, but then realized that they didn't prepare food at all, thinking they were going to lunch on a regular Shabbat afternoon. So everyone came over and we quickly got all the food out, minus the cholent that had gone bad. It was hot inside the house, the food was cold, and the beverages were warm. Not a very comforting combination. After our guests went home, the rest of the day dragged by, as it was summer and Shabbat didn't end until very late in the evening. Not like we could do anything after Shabbat, given TV and Internet weren't an option. The kids ended up sleeping in the guest room, since it was cooler downstairs. We slept in the basement, which was very dark without any windows.
It was still hot the next day, so we decided to get a hotel room. We stayed there until Tuesday morning, when we had to get back to work, even though schedules were off because there wasn't power at the camp facility and things had to be moved around. We hung out around the area, going to the mall and out for dinner. Since there was still no power when we got home, we packed up again to go to a different hotel.
Meanwhile, we had to get rid of all our food from the refrigerators and freezers. That meant food that hadn't even been opened yet. I was traumatized by this experience and the idea of losing a lot of food again still freaks me out to no end. It wasn't just a few items. It was over $1000 worth of food and our insurance company found some loophole so that they wouldn't have to cover it.
When Hurricane Sandy came around, you can bet we were prepared for a power outage...
Power to the people:
The night of the big storm that took out our power was spent entertaining our cousins who came in to visit from Chicago. It was so nice to see them and they were great with our kids. They enjoyed our cooking and loved our new kitchen. I felt bad that they had to drive to their hotel in a storm, but thankfully they were safe and they had stories for later. Also, our house wasn't damaged by the effects of the storm, which was a relief.
The next day, our guests came over for Shabbos lunch. We had food available to serve them, even though it was cold. It actually tasted good that way. I had made a lemon cake for dessert, thinking that the ice cream pie wouldn't be enough for everyone. Good thinking on my part, since we now had a dessert to serve to our guests. Aside from the heat, we all had fun sitting around the family room (which was on a lower floor, so it was cooler) and chatting with our guests while the kids played together. Later, we played games with our kids to keep them busy. Thankfully, the downstairs was cool enough for all of us to sleep.
On Sunday, we decided to get a hotel room and went to a somewhat nearby town. There was a big outlet mall nearby and a Wal-Mart next to it. I stopped at Wal-Mart to get swimming items and some extra summer clothes, as well as toiletries. (I was in a rush to pack and forgot some items.) Then we went to lunch by the hotel and went swimming for the rest of the afternoon. The kids had a blast and it felt nice to cool off in the pool. Later, we all went out for dinner. It felt like we were having a staycation. Due to the power outage, work and camp were closed on Monday, so we stayed at the hotel for another day. Oddly enough, the hotel lost power for a while. We spent most of the day at the outlet mall and I got some good deals on clothes and shoes, as well as some items for the kids. Then we went back to the hotel for more swimming before going out for dinner and then frozen yogurt.
We had to get back to reality on Tuesday, but I had to take off for the afternoon to pick one of my kids up from camp early. Then we went to the library for a while where he got to play computer while I got some other stuff done with their somewhat spotty Internet coverage. After we got my older son, we went to the mall play area for a while and my husband and daughter met us there. Then we went out for dinner again and came home to pack for another hotel stay. Since it was July third, we didn't have work or camp the next day, either. The hotel we stayed at this time was top of the line. We had a gorgeous room with these really comfortable beds. In the morning, we went swimming again, before heading to our cousins' house to spend Independence Day with them. We also got a call that morning that power was back in our neighborhood. That night came home to a fully air-conditioned house.
The best part about all of this was that insurance covered our hotel stays and all our meals out during the time of the power outage.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Book Review: Fangirl
Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .
But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.
Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?
Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
Technically, Fangirl is a young adult novel. It's about a girl almost 20 years my junior. Yet, I was drawn to the story even more than some of the chick lit novels I've read. (But shh...don't tell!) Rainbow Rowell writes Cath to be so genuine and believable that you forget that she's a work of fiction. I could easily have seen myself becoming friends with her in college. She reminded me of one of the girls I became close friends with shortly after I started my freshman year. The way Cath was obsessed with Simon Snow reminded me of my obsession with The Rocky Horror Picture Show and how I made it part of my identity throughout college. (I also loved V.C. Andrews' books and even created an online fan club for them.) Her innocence and apprehension when it came to guys and relationships was similar to my own, as well. I also could relate to her twin sister, Wren, in some ways. Like when I got to college, I wanted to shed my high school persona and get out more socially.
I also loved that there was a story within a story, in that Rainbow gave us a glimpse of Cath's fan fiction, as well as bits and pieces of the actual Simon Snow stories. Simon Snow is similar to Harry Potter, but it also seems darker in some ways. Cath's fan fiction twists made Simon Snow even more compelling. It was just incredible how Rainbow created two worlds within one novel.
I'm really glad I read Fangirl and have been recommending it to all my friends. The dialogue and visualizations were realistic and made me feel like I was hanging out on campus with Cath. It has inspired me to try my hand at writing fan fiction, so be on the lookout for that in the near future. I was sad that it had to end at all. However, seeing that I had it in e-book format, it took me twice as long to read because I don't get to spend as much time with my Kindle for PC. I look forward to reading Eleanor and Park soon and can't wait for Rainbow to produce her next novel, Landline, which sounds like will be more along the lines of chick lit. After reading and loving Attachments, I know Rainbow is already great at writing in this genre.
I had a hard time finding the right cast for a movie version, but I could see Aubrey Plaza as both Cath and Wren (like how Hayley Mills played twins in The Parent Trap), especially after seeing The To Do List.
You might also enjoy:
Disclosure of Material Connection:
Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Clutter, here I come!
Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week, I chose the topic: Find an article in a magazine or online for something you'd like to do, self-enhancement-wise and follow at least one of the suggestions. Then write about your experience doing that.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
My self-enhancement goal right now is managing my clutter and getting organized. I used to do these FlyLady tasks to get organized and would blog about them. Having a third child and running a book blog have curtailed those tasks. There are other times I try to get on top of my clutter, but it keeps building up. If I can get control over the mess in the basement, I will call myself "Queen of the Castle." Still, that's another monster in itself! In the meantime, I thought I'd start small both in the physical and digital realms...
Source: 30 Organization Tips, Tricks and Ideas That Will Make You Go Ah-ha! from Beautifully Bella Faith
Task: "Use a picnic silverware basket to hold your hair styling products! Ahh, so neat!"
I did this with a clear plastic silverware basket and put my hair products in one section and then used the other three for cosmetics and other items I need on a daily or nightly basis. My bathroom counter looks less cluttered, as I used to have all these random cosmetic bags there before and my hair stuff was all over the place. I didn't take a "before" picture, but here's the "after" shot:
Source: 2014 Is Going To Be My Year Now That I Know These 89 Genius Solutions To Simple Problems from ViralNova
Task: To stop receiving marketing e-mail, filter by the word "unsubscribe."
My inbox is easier to go through in the morning, as I'm not deleting a zillion ads. And if I want to find out about any good deals, I'll click over to my "Ads" folder and see if anything important is there. Then I can just delete whatever is left and it will fill up again with new ads the next day. It's just nice to have control over all the ads and deals I get on a daily basis! I realized that other important stuff flows into that folder, based on the criteria. I'll have to figure out a way to fix that, but I'm not really concerned for now, as I check that folder daily anyway.
Source: January issues of Good Housekeeping and Family Circle
Task: Cleaning up nightstand by discarding or giving away jewelry I no longer want and displaying the rest in an attractive way.
I went through the jewelry on my dresser, as well as in one of my drawers. I cleaned everything out and condensed what was left into a few boxes or pretty holders. I think the pictures speak for themselves!
Next organizational project to tackle is my closet. Again.... My bookshelves could probably use some re-organizing and prioritizing, as well. I tend to hoard the most in those two places. Wish me luck!
This week, I chose the topic: Find an article in a magazine or online for something you'd like to do, self-enhancement-wise and follow at least one of the suggestions. Then write about your experience doing that.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
My self-enhancement goal right now is managing my clutter and getting organized. I used to do these FlyLady tasks to get organized and would blog about them. Having a third child and running a book blog have curtailed those tasks. There are other times I try to get on top of my clutter, but it keeps building up. If I can get control over the mess in the basement, I will call myself "Queen of the Castle." Still, that's another monster in itself! In the meantime, I thought I'd start small both in the physical and digital realms...
Source: 30 Organization Tips, Tricks and Ideas That Will Make You Go Ah-ha! from Beautifully Bella Faith
Task: "Use a picnic silverware basket to hold your hair styling products! Ahh, so neat!"
I did this with a clear plastic silverware basket and put my hair products in one section and then used the other three for cosmetics and other items I need on a daily or nightly basis. My bathroom counter looks less cluttered, as I used to have all these random cosmetic bags there before and my hair stuff was all over the place. I didn't take a "before" picture, but here's the "after" shot:
Source: 2014 Is Going To Be My Year Now That I Know These 89 Genius Solutions To Simple Problems from ViralNova
Task: To stop receiving marketing e-mail, filter by the word "unsubscribe."
My inbox is easier to go through in the morning, as I'm not deleting a zillion ads. And if I want to find out about any good deals, I'll click over to my "Ads" folder and see if anything important is there. Then I can just delete whatever is left and it will fill up again with new ads the next day. It's just nice to have control over all the ads and deals I get on a daily basis! I realized that other important stuff flows into that folder, based on the criteria. I'll have to figure out a way to fix that, but I'm not really concerned for now, as I check that folder daily anyway.
Source: January issues of Good Housekeeping and Family Circle
Task: Cleaning up nightstand by discarding or giving away jewelry I no longer want and displaying the rest in an attractive way.
I went through the jewelry on my dresser, as well as in one of my drawers. I cleaned everything out and condensed what was left into a few boxes or pretty holders. I think the pictures speak for themselves!
 |
| Before |
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| After |
Next organizational project to tackle is my closet. Again.... My bookshelves could probably use some re-organizing and prioritizing, as well. I tend to hoard the most in those two places. Wish me luck!
Friday, January 3, 2014
So they don't make the same mistake again....
After hearing how Carrie Underwood should not have been cast in the live version of The Sound of Music (which I agree about without wasting three hours), and knowing how disappointed I was by some of the casting for the movie of Les Miserables last year, I was thinking of the ideal casts for if other musicals were performed live for a TV audience.
Guys and Dolls:
Sarah: Katharine McPhee
Adelaide: Megan Hilty
Sky: Jeremy Jordan
Nathan: Neil Patrick Harris
I know I mostly chose actors from Smash, but they fit so perfectly into those roles! And NPH, with his singing talent and comedic style is perfect as Nathan Detroit!
Oklahoma:
Curly: Luke Bryan
Laurey: Laura Osnes
Ado Annie: Miranda Lambert
Will: Matthew Morrison
I thought it might be fun to cast with some country singers. (Who would be better fit for these roles than certain country singers playing British nannies.) Who doesn't go weak at the knees when Luke Bryan sings? If he can make thousands of screaming girls get in his truck, surely he can get one girl into his "surrey with the fringe on top." Laura Osnes has the All-American look and demeanor to play Laurey. She has a great voice too! Miranda Lambert is such a force on the country scene and would be super cute as the girl who "cain't say no." Annie's boyfriend, Will, seems like the needy, pushover type and Matthew Morrison could play it well.
Evita:
Eva: Lea Michele and Idina Menzel
Che: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lea Michele could start out strong with this role, singing "Buenos Aires" and "Goodnight and Thank You." Idina could take over by the time they get to "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and carry it the rest of the way through. They look alike enough to play mother and daughter on Glee, so why not?
Che (the role played by Antonio Banderas in the movie) was harder to cast, but then I thought of Lin-Manuel and got so excited at the idea!
West Side Story:
Maria: Selena Gomez or Miranda Cosgrove
Tony: Grant Gustin
Anita: Naya Rivera
I think either actress/singer could work for Maria. They both have that teen charm to them. As for Grant, I normally see him in bad guy roles, but I also could see him playing Tony in a genuine and sincere way. And since Naya played Anita so well on Glee, she's a shoo-in! (Or Schue-in, in the case of Glee.)
My Fair Lady:
Eliza: Emmy Rossum
Henry: Hugh Jackman
I think Emmy has the voice and look for Eliza. The other possibility is Marion Cotillard. And who wouldn't want Hugh to play the man who reforms her and then falls for her?
I know there's a movie being made of Into the Woods, but I'm really not keen on the casting choices. I'm glad they replaced the girl playing Red Riding Hood, but still....
Here are my choices (some are re-used from before, but they're just that good):
Witch: Idina Menzel (she played a witch to perfection before, and is great in dramatic roles. I'd love to hear her sing "Last Midnight.")
Cinderella: Katharine McPhee
Jack: Chris Colfer (I've always seen him in this role. He still has the baby face to pull it off.)
Red Riding Hood: Ariel Winter (Given that she plays Sofia the First, we know she can sing. She also has the sassiness to play this role to perfection.)
Baker: Christian Borle (He kind of reminds me of the original guy who played the Baker in the PBS production. Something about his voice and the way he carries himself.)
Baker's Wife: Anne Hathaway (She's meant for the stage. Especially after she blew me away as Fantine in Les Miz.) I think she'd do a great job in the role.
Jack's Mother: Helena Bonham Carter (although Tracey Ullman is a good choice too)
Rapunzel: Mandy Moore (She can sing, she's already familiar with the role of Rapunzel because of Tangled, etc.)
Cinderella's Prince: Armie Hammer
Rapunzel's Prince: Adam Pally
I don't know if either of these guys can sing, but I just see them in the roles. I'd love to hear them sing "Agony" together.
I'd love to hear your choices for any of these musicals. If you have other suggestions for musicals to cast, please let me know. I love casting musicals as much as (if not more than) books! I didn't feel ready to cast Little Shop of Horrors or Grease yet. I will NEVER re-cast Rent or Wicked though!
Guys and Dolls:
Sarah: Katharine McPhee
Adelaide: Megan Hilty
Sky: Jeremy Jordan
Nathan: Neil Patrick Harris
I know I mostly chose actors from Smash, but they fit so perfectly into those roles! And NPH, with his singing talent and comedic style is perfect as Nathan Detroit!
Oklahoma:
Curly: Luke Bryan
Laurey: Laura Osnes
Ado Annie: Miranda Lambert
Will: Matthew Morrison
I thought it might be fun to cast with some country singers. (Who would be better fit for these roles than certain country singers playing British nannies.) Who doesn't go weak at the knees when Luke Bryan sings? If he can make thousands of screaming girls get in his truck, surely he can get one girl into his "surrey with the fringe on top." Laura Osnes has the All-American look and demeanor to play Laurey. She has a great voice too! Miranda Lambert is such a force on the country scene and would be super cute as the girl who "cain't say no." Annie's boyfriend, Will, seems like the needy, pushover type and Matthew Morrison could play it well.
Evita:
Eva: Lea Michele and Idina Menzel
Che: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lea Michele could start out strong with this role, singing "Buenos Aires" and "Goodnight and Thank You." Idina could take over by the time they get to "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and carry it the rest of the way through. They look alike enough to play mother and daughter on Glee, so why not?
Che (the role played by Antonio Banderas in the movie) was harder to cast, but then I thought of Lin-Manuel and got so excited at the idea!
West Side Story:
Maria: Selena Gomez or Miranda Cosgrove
Tony: Grant Gustin
Anita: Naya Rivera
I think either actress/singer could work for Maria. They both have that teen charm to them. As for Grant, I normally see him in bad guy roles, but I also could see him playing Tony in a genuine and sincere way. And since Naya played Anita so well on Glee, she's a shoo-in! (Or Schue-in, in the case of Glee.)
My Fair Lady:
Eliza: Emmy Rossum
Henry: Hugh Jackman
I think Emmy has the voice and look for Eliza. The other possibility is Marion Cotillard. And who wouldn't want Hugh to play the man who reforms her and then falls for her?
I know there's a movie being made of Into the Woods, but I'm really not keen on the casting choices. I'm glad they replaced the girl playing Red Riding Hood, but still....
Here are my choices (some are re-used from before, but they're just that good):
Witch: Idina Menzel (she played a witch to perfection before, and is great in dramatic roles. I'd love to hear her sing "Last Midnight.")
Cinderella: Katharine McPhee
Jack: Chris Colfer (I've always seen him in this role. He still has the baby face to pull it off.)
Red Riding Hood: Ariel Winter (Given that she plays Sofia the First, we know she can sing. She also has the sassiness to play this role to perfection.)
Baker: Christian Borle (He kind of reminds me of the original guy who played the Baker in the PBS production. Something about his voice and the way he carries himself.)
Baker's Wife: Anne Hathaway (She's meant for the stage. Especially after she blew me away as Fantine in Les Miz.) I think she'd do a great job in the role.
Jack's Mother: Helena Bonham Carter (although Tracey Ullman is a good choice too)
Rapunzel: Mandy Moore (She can sing, she's already familiar with the role of Rapunzel because of Tangled, etc.)
Cinderella's Prince: Armie Hammer
Rapunzel's Prince: Adam Pally
I don't know if either of these guys can sing, but I just see them in the roles. I'd love to hear them sing "Agony" together.
I'd love to hear your choices for any of these musicals. If you have other suggestions for musicals to cast, please let me know. I love casting musicals as much as (if not more than) books! I didn't feel ready to cast Little Shop of Horrors or Grease yet. I will NEVER re-cast Rent or Wicked though!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
First post of 2014!
Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.
This week, Moma Rock chose the topic: Since it's the day after the 1st, let's reflect on past resolutions. Which ones did you say you'd do and actually did, which ones did you say you'd do, but never did? If you aren't big into resolutions, tell us why you aren't.
First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
This week, Moma Rock chose the topic: Since it's the day after the 1st, let's reflect on past resolutions. Which ones did you say you'd do and actually did, which ones did you say you'd do, but never did? If you aren't big into resolutions, tell us why you aren't.
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock
A couple of years ago, Moma Rock had us write about new years resolutions. However, those were looking ahead instead of reflecting. After that, I didn't make any resolutions the following year (as in last year). Although I did have one goal for my blog and that was 52 Stories. I got all 52 of them and am proud of that fact. It was a fun experience, but I don't know that I'd repeat it, as it was stressful trying to get all the stories sometimes and took some work to put together. I'm hoping to do something similar for my book blog, but only one person is interested so far. I am hoping she can maybe get the ball rolling or I can try contacting readers individually.
Anyway, I decided to reflect upon the last time I made resolutions, back in 2012. Some of them actually make sense to ones I'd make now, and I'd like to see how much I've done with them in the past two years. I never assessed them at the end of 2012, so no time like the present!
1. Bake more from scratch. I use mixes a lot and there are tons of good recipes to try without relying on a mix at all.
I would say I'm half and half with this. When I do bake from scratch, I tend to go with the same recipe over and over again. I love this one blueberry cake recipe. It always comes out so delicious! I recently made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I still bake challah at least once a month, and that is definitely from scratch! Back in 2012, my BFF taught me how to bake pie from scratch. I was terrible at getting the crust right and it looked like a giant mess, compared to her flawless crust. However, it tasted divine! The apple pie I made when she was here ended up being used for Shemini Atzeret dinner. Then I baked another one for when my brother-in-law and his family came for Shabbat a few months later. My BIL thought I had purchased it from a bakery. When I make pumpkin pie, the crust is store-bought and the filling is from a can. However, I mix it with other ingredients and bake it to just the right consistency. That's good enough for me.
2. Connect better with friends. Check at least one friend's page on Facebook a day and see what they're up to. Comment on one of their recent posts. I realize that I've been way out of tune with what has been going on with friends I don't speak with on a daily basis. I missed one friend's daughter's birth by about 5 MONTHS!!! I felt awful about that.
I think I've been pretty good about staying in contact with friends. I touch base with friends I don't hear from as much and have also reconnected with even more friends since I last made these resolutions. I've also made new friends in the past couple of years. More recently was a woman I met from this one meetup group back in 2011. She was the only one who seemed genuinely friendly. I wasn't able to make it to any other events from the group and somehow got kicked out. Then I just saw the woman on Facebook and we'd comment on each other's posts. When I was out to lunch with a co-worker this past summer, I ran into her at the restaurant and we started getting together for lunch once a month after that. I'm thankful for the timing that allowed us to reconnect.
3. Really get back to losing those last 10 pounds of baby weight and fit back into my regular clothes again. I know weight loss is a cliché goal, but it's necessary for me!
Trying not to laugh too hard here. My BFF and I have been sending each other our weight every week and she's doing WAY better than I am. I can't even say having three kids is an excuse anymore because it's been almost THREE years since I last gave birth. It doesn't help that I'm a chocoholic. I eat light lunches and work out almost every day. We just got a treadmill, so I don't have a reason to walk outside anymore. (Not that I have in a while, as the novelty of it wore off for me earlier in the year.) I even did workout videos with the kids, but haven't been motivated to get them up when my workout is one of the few times I get to read during the day. I know they want to work out with me, so I should try to make a goal of at least doing it with them once a week for now. We had fun when we worked out together before.
4. Learn how to drive the van. We've only had it for a year and I have yet to get behind the wheel.
Now I'm really laughing. I have yet to sit in the driver's seat of the van. It still terrifies me. I would like to trade in my 11 year old car for something a little bigger, but not as overwhelming. I just feel like there's not enough space to put all three kids in the back and when I do, they're all crowded in.
5. Go on a real vacation with my husband and kids, even if it's only a weekend getaway.
Finally, I can make a huge check mark on this goal. Going to Disney World again was amazing, even though I lost my voice for most of the trip. The kids had fun and we have so many memories from it. As soon as we got back home, I was ready to go again. (I know they were too.)
I am not planning to make any more resolutions that I probably won't stick with all the way in two more years. I'll try to improve on the ones above, but that's all I can promise. The one thing I would like to do more in 2014 is write fiction. I had fun with the fiction exercise I did in mid-December and was thinking I could write a short story once a month at this blog. I hope someone can push me to stick with it though. I always have story ideas in my head, but then they fade away if I don't get them written down in time.
Here's to a great year!
A couple of years ago, Moma Rock had us write about new years resolutions. However, those were looking ahead instead of reflecting. After that, I didn't make any resolutions the following year (as in last year). Although I did have one goal for my blog and that was 52 Stories. I got all 52 of them and am proud of that fact. It was a fun experience, but I don't know that I'd repeat it, as it was stressful trying to get all the stories sometimes and took some work to put together. I'm hoping to do something similar for my book blog, but only one person is interested so far. I am hoping she can maybe get the ball rolling or I can try contacting readers individually.
Anyway, I decided to reflect upon the last time I made resolutions, back in 2012. Some of them actually make sense to ones I'd make now, and I'd like to see how much I've done with them in the past two years. I never assessed them at the end of 2012, so no time like the present!
1. Bake more from scratch. I use mixes a lot and there are tons of good recipes to try without relying on a mix at all.
I would say I'm half and half with this. When I do bake from scratch, I tend to go with the same recipe over and over again. I love this one blueberry cake recipe. It always comes out so delicious! I recently made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I still bake challah at least once a month, and that is definitely from scratch! Back in 2012, my BFF taught me how to bake pie from scratch. I was terrible at getting the crust right and it looked like a giant mess, compared to her flawless crust. However, it tasted divine! The apple pie I made when she was here ended up being used for Shemini Atzeret dinner. Then I baked another one for when my brother-in-law and his family came for Shabbat a few months later. My BIL thought I had purchased it from a bakery. When I make pumpkin pie, the crust is store-bought and the filling is from a can. However, I mix it with other ingredients and bake it to just the right consistency. That's good enough for me.
2. Connect better with friends. Check at least one friend's page on Facebook a day and see what they're up to. Comment on one of their recent posts. I realize that I've been way out of tune with what has been going on with friends I don't speak with on a daily basis. I missed one friend's daughter's birth by about 5 MONTHS!!! I felt awful about that.
I think I've been pretty good about staying in contact with friends. I touch base with friends I don't hear from as much and have also reconnected with even more friends since I last made these resolutions. I've also made new friends in the past couple of years. More recently was a woman I met from this one meetup group back in 2011. She was the only one who seemed genuinely friendly. I wasn't able to make it to any other events from the group and somehow got kicked out. Then I just saw the woman on Facebook and we'd comment on each other's posts. When I was out to lunch with a co-worker this past summer, I ran into her at the restaurant and we started getting together for lunch once a month after that. I'm thankful for the timing that allowed us to reconnect.
3. Really get back to losing those last 10 pounds of baby weight and fit back into my regular clothes again. I know weight loss is a cliché goal, but it's necessary for me!
Trying not to laugh too hard here. My BFF and I have been sending each other our weight every week and she's doing WAY better than I am. I can't even say having three kids is an excuse anymore because it's been almost THREE years since I last gave birth. It doesn't help that I'm a chocoholic. I eat light lunches and work out almost every day. We just got a treadmill, so I don't have a reason to walk outside anymore. (Not that I have in a while, as the novelty of it wore off for me earlier in the year.) I even did workout videos with the kids, but haven't been motivated to get them up when my workout is one of the few times I get to read during the day. I know they want to work out with me, so I should try to make a goal of at least doing it with them once a week for now. We had fun when we worked out together before.
4. Learn how to drive the van. We've only had it for a year and I have yet to get behind the wheel.
Now I'm really laughing. I have yet to sit in the driver's seat of the van. It still terrifies me. I would like to trade in my 11 year old car for something a little bigger, but not as overwhelming. I just feel like there's not enough space to put all three kids in the back and when I do, they're all crowded in.
5. Go on a real vacation with my husband and kids, even if it's only a weekend getaway.
Finally, I can make a huge check mark on this goal. Going to Disney World again was amazing, even though I lost my voice for most of the trip. The kids had fun and we have so many memories from it. As soon as we got back home, I was ready to go again. (I know they were too.)
I am not planning to make any more resolutions that I probably won't stick with all the way in two more years. I'll try to improve on the ones above, but that's all I can promise. The one thing I would like to do more in 2014 is write fiction. I had fun with the fiction exercise I did in mid-December and was thinking I could write a short story once a month at this blog. I hope someone can push me to stick with it though. I always have story ideas in my head, but then they fade away if I don't get them written down in time.
Here's to a great year!
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