Peach-y!: Thoughts on Season 2 of Ginny & Georgia (with Spoilers)

Courtesy of Netflix

Unless you've actually watched season two of Ginny & Georgia, do NOT read this post. Go to Netflix, do not collect $200 (unless you're embezzling it from the mayor), and start binge-watching. Then you can come back to see what my thoughts are because it's all spoilers from here on out...

I was reading my thoughts on season one and realizing how much some things have changed and some have stayed the same. 

1. I am still #TeamMarcus. Even though he broke up with Ginny. :( I get why he had to though and I'm glad they can still be friends. Hunter does look better without the man bun though. I'll give him that. I also like how he called a truce with both Ginny and Marcus.

2. I was actually shipping Joe with Cynthia this season. She mellowed out a lot from last season, even though she still has a mean girl side to her. Even so, I feel bad for her situation with her husband and I liked the connection she and Joe were forming. 

3. Nikki Roumel is still good as "teen" Georgia, but she could be annoying this season. Maybe it's because adult Georgia was also annoying this season?

4. Georgia is no longer my favorite on this series and I actually ended up liking Ginny better. At the beginning, I was mad at Ginny for shutting Georgia out so much and I kept thinking of how ungrateful Ginny was for how much Georgia sacrificed to keep her safe. However, I also saw the situation from Ginny's point of view and how much of a burden she had to carry by knowing Georgia's secret. 

5. Max was a lot more annoying than Ginny was this season in terms of being self-absorbed. I like that Ginny called Max out on it. However, Max did mellow out later in the season and I like how she was there for Ginny and helped Marcus when he was getting drunk all the time. 

6. Wellington was such a fun musical. I love how they were able to get so creative with it. The costumes were amazing. (Way to go, Silver!) Here's one of the songs.

More thoughts:

Top five favorite characters this season:

1. Ginny: She really came into her own this season and became so much more likable. And her curls are even better this season. I love how she put together the wedding at the end. 

2. Joe: He's always great and not just because he was Sav on Degrassi. His corny jokes were the best. (See Raymond Ablack next on Workin' Moms--if you're in Canada, you already can.)

3. Silver: Not only is she an amazing costume designer, but she's also a cute love interest for Max.

4. Padma: I like how down-to-earth she is. She's also a really good singer. (Side note: The actress who plays her is the sister of the actor who plays Joe. She even made a meta comment in regard to that.)

5. Marcus: because he's still super hot

Honorable mentions go to Bracia and Bryon. So great as the leads in the musical and I love how they were interested in each other but didn't know how to say anything. Zion was also really good, but he lost points for not telling Georgia about Ginny's self-harming and then expecting Georgia to always be transparent with him.

Top five worst characters this season:

1. Jessie/Gabriel: He makes me so angry!!! If you're a PI, you don't go involving your investigatee's (is that even a word) child in the whole situation and then try to guilt trip them. 

2. Gil: He was just such a jerk. I'm glad Cynthia blacklisted him and that Paul put him in his place. I feel like he's still going to cause more trouble though.

3. Press: He just creeps me out and I was annoyed that Abby even considered sleeping with him.

4. Paul's dad: Entitled, judgmental jerk. Funny enough, he's played by the actor who played Mr. Hollingsworth on Degrassi. It would have been funnier (in a meta way) if he had played Max's father though. 

5. Paul's mom: Not any better than Paul's dad. Also snooty and judgmental. 

Runner up goes to Samantha. She's just so rude and annoying.

So....the whole situation with Georgia this season has been weighing on me. Like I feel bad for her one moment and then feel like she's gaslighting everyone the next. You need to dig deep in order to get why she has done certain things. Like once you know what Gil is really like, you know why she had to frame him. I guess telling the cops that he was an abusive a-hole wasn't going to do anything. (Sadly, that is usually the case.) And while it's good that Gabriel can't really get what he's after in regard to her past, she went and did something really stupid and pointless. Even though she was trying to do her "friend" some sort of effed up favor, she really should have stayed out of it. That was not her place at all. Plus, Austin saw what happened and now he has the burden of keeping a horrible secret to protect her. Also, seeing his own mom kill someone has to be traumatic. 

Having said that, I don't know how they're going to find any proof that Georgia killed Tom. I don't think there would have been an autopsy if he clearly was really sick and almost dead anyway. She was at the house because she was picking up her son and could easily hear the monitor making noises. So unless Austin gets put on the witness stand, it's really Gabriel's word against hers. 

Overall, I'm glad that Georgia didn't make everyone leave town. I like the people of Wellsbury and since it's clearly set up for a third season, I want to see where things will go with all the characters. I would have been really sad if Georgia ran off with Ginny and Austin again. 

A "few" more things:

I loved it when Austin hugged Zach. That was such a sweet moment and I got all teary-eyed.

I just found out that the actor who played Detective Art Bell on Orphan Black played Zion's father. :O

The country song Georgia played for their dance party was so cute. 

I loved when Abby and Ginny became close again. It was nice to see them bonding. 

The conversation Max had with her dad about being a comedic character was great and I like how Max brought that to the stage.

I was annoyed that Sophie tried to get back into Max's head after Max had already moved on.

I love how everyone in class stood up for Ginny, even though she dropped the class. The teacher had no right to put it on her to teach the class about Black literature. 

It was fun to see flashbacks from Joe's life and how he was just as vindictive as Georgia. 

I actually did wonder why Georgia didn't stick around to let Zion's family help, but then I remembered that they wanted to take Ginny away from her. It would have been helpful to bring back that flashback scene from season one. Especially since they replayed other flashback scenes.

Why don't I remember Joe owning a horse?!?

I think Bracia should have given Bryon the tickets, but I'm glad he still asked her out anyway. 

It was so awkward when Georgia was giving Ginny (oral) sex advice. 

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Best of 2021

Courtesy of Sammiches and Psych Meds

2021 was almost a repeat of 2020, which explains the abundance of TV shows on this list...

New (to me) TV shows that I enjoyed in 2021 (in no particular order):

1. One Day at a Time

2. Being Erica

3. Workin' Moms

4. Cruel Summer: Such an interesting and well-done teen mystery thriller. I loved the 90s throwbacks and the Cold Case feel.

Courtesy of Deadline

5. Schmigadoon

6. Shtisel: I really hope they'll bring it back for a fourth season. There's still so much they could do with this series and I definitely miss the characters. 

7. Ted Lasso: My latest obsession!!!

8. Ordinary Joe: There's still more to go with this first season, but it's really creative and I love seeing what will happen next. 

Courtesy of TV Insider

9. Maid

10. Only Murders in the Building

11. Hacks: Really funny and well done. A Devil Wears Prada for the comedy circuit. I can see why Jean Smart got the Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

12. Little Voice: I'm sad that this only got one season. It's a great show created by Sara Bareilles. I love all the Broadway references, courtesy of Louie. It was nice to see one of the actors in the Dear Evan Hansen movie though.

Courtesy of Deadline

Shows I watched that didn't make it to the list (but I'll still watch anyway):

The Morning Show: It's such a train wreck, but has a fabulous cast. Just too much yelling, fighting, and really long conversations.

Kevin Can F--k Himself: I mainly watch this for Annie Murphy as Kevin is a real life Peter Griffin and I can see why he made her snap!

Courtesy of CNET

Ginny and Georgia

And Just Like That: It leans toward the cringey side, but that could change next year...

Saved by the Bell reboot: It's funny in regards to nostalgia from the original series (and some great meta stuff) but some aspects tend to be annoying.

Courtesy of Vox

Top 5 favorite movies from 2021:

1. In the Heights

2. Free Guy: So funny, creative, interesting, suspenseful, and entertaining. Highly recommended!

Courtesy of TechRadar

3. Tick Tick Boom

4. Cruella: Really well done. More Disney villain movies need to be done this way. Ursula needs to be next!

5. The Hating Game: Just watched this recently. Great adaptation of Sally Thorne's romcom novel. I actually like it better than the book!

Courtesy of Decider

Books:

See my top five picks at Chick Lit Central, as well! I read so many amazing books this year (go to my Goodreads page and see all the five-star books) and am sad to have to narrow it down at all. Links are to reviews (or Bookstagram posts)

1. The People We Keep by Allison Larkin (leaned more toward YA and New Adult, but was definitely one of the best books I read this year)

2. The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom

3. With Love from London by Sarah Jio (This was going to go on my list at CLC, but it publishes in 2022)

4. 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons

5. Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

6. The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

7. The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

8. Half Life by Jillian Cantor

9. The Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz

10. The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

Musical treat this year:

Being able to watch Come From Away on Apple +. It was a really good musical and I can't listen to the songs without getting teary-eyed. 

Famous people I want to meet:

*Brett Goldstein. He plays Roy Kent on Ted Lasso and he's everything! Of course, I would be happy to meet anyone from this wonderful show.

Courtesy of TV Insider

The rest is mostly the same from last year, but bears repeating:

*Dan Levy because, like, obviously! ;) (I also wouldn't mind meeting the cast of Schitt's Creek though!)

*Michael Judson Berry: He's so funny with his Schitt's Creek impressions and videos and he seems like he's so down-to-earth and friendly too. 

*Randy Rainbow: When have I NOT wanted to meet Randy Rainbow?!? He's saved my sanity since 2016. 

Highlights from 2021:

*My family getting the Covid vaccine. We are all now fully vaccinated and my husband and I are boosted. Our oldest will be boosted soon.

*My sister got married and we got to attend her wedding in Chicago and finally meet my new brother-in-law in person. They are perfectly matched and I'm really happy for them both!

*Getting to see my best friend and her husband when we were in Chicago. (My family and I didn't have time to make plans with a lot of people, but we couldn't be in the same city and NOT meet up!)

*Getting to see "Will" again after five long years. He officiated my sister's wedding too.

*My younger son's Bar Mitzvah

*I got a new job!!! And it's in a field that actually interests me and is something I want to grow into even more: Book publicity!

* Having Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. It was so nice to be back together in person again. I hope we can make things work for Passover, as long as omicron gets under control!

*My kids going back to school in person. It's been good for them, even if it means I get up at 5:45 am!

*Some mini-vacations: Staying at a cabin in the woods, going to Virginia Beach (and spending an entire day at the beach itself), staying at a cozy house for a little winter retreat. 

*I made a couple of new friends, which is a challenge in this day and age. Both live nearby and I've already connected with one in person a couple of times. I have lots in common with both of them, as well. 

*Getting to see my friend who moved to Florida a few years ago. She was in town for a week and we hung out a couple of times.

*The Chinese food car picnic my husband and I had for our anniversary. 

That's a wrap for 2021! Here's hoping there will be an end to this pandemic in 2022. 

Got this from a friend's Facebook post

Also got this from a friend's Facebook post

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A Festivus for the Rest of Us!

Today is Festivus, so I felt it was an appropriate time to air my grievances. Keep in mind that most of these are first world problems, but it's still enough to get my goat, so to speak. Feel free to share your grievances in the comments. (Keep in mind that I monitor them to avoid spam, so don't worry if it doesn't show up right away.)

*The Amazon situation that I hope to never experience again. Long story short, they would NOT make it easy for my son to access his account, and he would have lost his gift card balance as a result. Somehow my husband was able to get them to let him back in, but this was after I made 20 zillion calls.

*USPS delaying mail for a month and a half and then delivering a damaged item. It looks like they spilled coffee all over it.

*Covid coming back in full force and somehow this new strain is vaccine resistant. I really hope we can get it under control this time. I don't think my kids can deal with going virtual again. 

*Extracurriculars being cancelled but not athletics, even though the athletes are the ones taking off their masks during practice....

*Rent getting cancelled. My oldest and I were supposed to see it at a local professional theater. I hope they'll extend its run when things get better. 

*People driving really bad. Now that my oldest has his permit, I'm even more hyperaware of all the bad drivers he'll have to contend with. I've been cut off a couple of times and I'm glad I was the one behind the wheel during those instances. 

*The sun being too bright in the kitchen. My husband got something to help with this, but apparently we need a handyperson to install them. And since anyone my husband has called has either not called back or came to check things out and never gave a quote, who knows when this will happen? I currently put paper grocery bags on my kitchen table to block the sun from getting directly into my eyes. 

*The bus depot accusing me of lying. A few weeks ago, my younger son's bus was running late. I called the depot and they said that the driver had already been there and no one was waiting for it. We had been there since 7:00 and the bus had not been there or we would have seen it. It's hard to miss.

*Being forced to purchase a month of Peacock Premium to be able to watch Annie Live. At least we got Saved by the Bell out of that. Still, there are so many streaming services and all come at a price. If the show was on a network station, their website should be streaming it without requiring a cable account. If someone has cable, they don't need to stream the show from the website when they can watch it on their TV. 

*CVS not accepting conditioner as a beauty product for the free beauty product deal. It makes my hair silky and smooth, so I consider that to be a beauty product. 

*How annoying it is to schedule a booster vaccine for people. (And even just the regular vaccine for kids.) And it's even more annoying to find out that it's very hard to get a Covid test and that places are charging a large amount of money for one. Is that legal? Some places in our state are giving out free Covid test kits, but they are totally out of the way. 

*All the spam entries I had to clean out from a giveaway I did at my blog. I'm glad someone alerted me to this, but what a pain!

*Not getting certain books in advance even though I've been blogging for 10 years and some other people have already got these books, so I know they're available. 

*My older son's job situation: Why does he need to do THREE interviews for a pizza place when most places are lucky if someone wants to work for them right now and would hire them on the spot? When he had his "audition" meeting, they had him cleaning toilets. They also keep putting off his offer meeting. 

*The holiday eves are on Shabbat. It's hard to stay up until midnight to ring in the new year when that's the case. I also can't do my Rent post on Facebook, unless I change something around that day. 

*I got on the Philadelphia cream cheese website at noon the other day for a chance to get $20 toward another dessert item and the site was backed up and not working. There was another chance to do it, but of course it was on Shabbat. :P

*My hands are so dry all the time even though I use tons of Aquaphor and gloves every night. I go through so many bandages and look like Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors.

*Getting notifications of deals on certain websites, but they're only good for that same day. Why even bother? 

*Special K Vanilla Almond always being out of stock at my local CVS.

*Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent) not being included in the sexiest men issue of People magazine. GRRRRR....

Tedlassogifs Ted Lasso GIFfrom Tedlassogifs GIFs

Tell me your grievances! Don't be shy.

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Winter Joy Retreat-Day 11: Food and Tradition

I'm participating in an online writer's retreat, thanks to Nina Badzin's blog. The topic is "Edible Memories," so all the posts will be about food. I will try to post every day to keep up, but there are some I might come back to later, depending on my schedule and when inspiration strikes.

Due to Hanukkah and a busy week, I'm still behind, so please bear with me. Thanks!

Friday's topic:
What family traditions have fallen away or transformed into something new over the years? What foods evoke the rituals of your past? Tell us.

When I was a kid, and all through my teen and college years (and probably beyond), we had Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's first cousin and her family. Usually, my maternal grandma and her brother would be there, as well. We'd have it at our house every year. The only time we didn't was when my mom's cousin hosted the year my mom had back surgery. When we were little, my cousins, sister, and I would sit at the kid's table. Eventually we got to join the adults at their table. My third cousins on my mom's side are somewhat close in age. I'm a year younger than one of them and several years older than the other. We all got along really well, and still do!

Every year, there would be turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and most other traditional Thanksgiving foods. I don't remember what desserts would be available since I didn't like pumpkin pie at the time. Maybe my mom got me cherry pie or a cake? I'm surprised that dessert is such a blur for me!

I remember one year my sister took a video of everyone together. Our beagle, Buddy, was part of the festivities, as well. He even sat in my chair and licked my finished plate while my mom's cousin looked on with shock and disgust. (I think there was a different year when he grabbed a turkey leg off the table and my dad chased him around the house, and then the same thing happened on The Simpsons while we were watching together after dinner.) In any case, it was funny to watch!

On Christmas, we would go to my mom's cousin's house for a similar feast. While we didn't celebrate, they did.

This tradition changed when we moved away. I'm sure my family still celebrates one or the other with my mom's cousin, but not always both. Our first Thanksgiving out east was spent at my mother-in-law's apartment in Manhattan. We went to see the Macy's parade (as much as we could see of it) and then relaxed back at the apartment. There was a pool on the top level, so we even got to swim for a while. I had made pumpkin soup and brought it with for all of us to enjoy. My mother-in-law made a small turkey and some side dishes. And then there was pumpkin pie. Since it was the only dessert available, I decided to try it. Lo and behold....I enjoyed it! The following year, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner in our house for the first time. My in-laws and my husband's uncle came over for the meal.

The second time we hosted Thanksgiving dinner was in our new home in Maryland. My in-laws came down from New York and it was just the six of us (including my two sons). Then they spent Shabbos weekend with us. From there on, we've hosted Thanksgiving here every year. The only break in tradition was when my in-laws couldn't make it out here one year because one of them was sick. We hosted some friends who lived nearby and didn't have family visiting either. That was in 2012, I believe. The following year, it was Thanksgivukkah, which was the one and only time Thanksgiving and Hanukkah collided. It was also the first time my brother-in-law and his family joined us for dinner. Since then, they've been coming over for Thanksgiving every year.

I have a feeling that Thanksgiving traditions will ebb and flow, but I enjoy that we host it and I have a great relationship with my in-laws. I also have the fond memories of childhood Thanksgivings to look back upon, so that I can re-create the feeling for my kids.

Festive and merry, right before January

Blog Project 3.0 has been going on for about two years, even though one of the group members changed after a few months. I love blogging with this group and I hope we can continue to inspire each other.

This week, Moma Rock chose the topic: What are some of your favorite (or least favorite) holiday memories?

First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic. I will be only posting links to posts on this same topic from my group. So check back if you were hoping to read their blogs and don't see a link yet.

Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

Since I am doing this Winter Joy retreat, I am a bit drained from writing anything else. I will instead share some excerpts from previous posts about holidays. I'm just focusing on the winter holidays. Thanks for understanding!

Hanukkah (from Chick Lit Central; December 26, 2011):
The thing that makes Hanukkah really come alive for me is the most is latkes. I associate the smell of frying potatoes with Hanukkah. Sure, that smell will linger for days on furniture, clothes, etc. However, it is so warm and delicious that it doesn't bother me a bit! When I was growing up, and even into my adult years, my dad was well-known for making latkes for us, extended family and our friends. There was one night that he made them for me and some friends at midnight after we got home from a late showing of Aladdin, back in 1992. Over the years, we've also had many latke parties with him standing over the frying pan the entire time so that we wouldn't run out of the tasty treat. Nowadays, my husband is the chief latke maker. His latkes look and taste different, but are delicious, as well. We haven't had latkes for Hanukkah this year, but we plan to before the last day. I think when I take that first delectable bite of steaming potatoes and onions, Hanukkah will really give off its true "feel" for me.

Family Hanukkah pic from 2013

My husband's latkes

Christmas (From 'Tis the season; December 23, 2011):
My mom's first cousin is not Jewish. (There was some intermarriage in our family.) Therefore, she and her family celebrate Christmas. We would celebrate the day with them when I was growing up and even as I was becoming an adult. As a result, there was a time in my life when I actually enjoyed Christmas and all it had to offer. I love celebrating Hanukkah, but there was something warm and wonderful about Christmas at the time. It gave the whole month of December a certain "feel." We would go to our cousins' house and the whole place would be decked out in Christmas gear. They had a really nice (huge) tree taking up part of their living room. (Their house represented Christmas so well that it was weird to go there any other time of the year, when all the decorations were gone.) They had relaxing Christmas tunes playing in the background the entire time. And then there was the food. There would be snacks when we first came in. Amongst the snacks was a bowl of dill weed dip (my favorite). I'd use it for cucumbers and potato chips. Dinner was turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, etc. I don't think the items ever varied from year to year. The best part was dessert. Our cousin had my late maternal grandma's cheesecake recipe and would make it with cherries on top. There were Frango mint cookies and brownies, as well. Three other things that made the experience memorable....eating dinner on the giant ping pong table in the basement, getting free Disney CDs (our cousin's husband worked for Disney records at the time) and most important of all, having my grandma and great-uncle there. (They were brother and sister and passed away about 4 1/2 years apart from one another.) Another treat was my cousin's husband's sister coming in every other year or so. She was just really nice. On the way home, we'd be all bundled up in the car on a snowy night, passing by all the houses with twinkling lights. There was something so peaceful about the drive back to our house.

At our cousins' house in 1991

My late maternal grandma and her brother
about seven months before he passed away
(Taken at my college graduation dinner)

Side note: My least favorite holiday memory is when my sister and I woke up on Christmas morning to find our dog laying dead in our family room. I didn't really understand death at the time, but it put a damper on what was supposed to be a fun day. (This was back when we wanted to be like our cousins and celebrate Christmas.)

New Year's Eve (from Out with the old...; December 30, 2010):
On the last night of 1994, I was involved with "Rocky Horror" and NYE was on a Saturday. My parents drove me to the theater in a snowstorm and I had a blast ringing in the new year with my friends there. After the show, the cast (which I was part of at the time) went to an apartment (owned by two of the cast members) to all hang out together and party through the night. That was an interesting experience in itself. Let's just say I didn't do anything I shouldn't, but I still felt the effects from everyone else who was doing this thing. I can't remember if I slept at all that night.

New Year's Eve 1994 at the Mundelein Cinema

On the last night of 2001, I spent NYE in Israel. I was there for Birthright and completely jet lagged. I had no idea what time it was and almost missed the changing of the year altogether. The hotel had this party for all the people visiting for Birthright, even though Israel had celebrated their new year in September. I spent my first day of 2002 touring around Jerusalem. It was almost surreal.

On the last night of 2002, my husband (then boyfriend) and I went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then went to First Night Evanston and walked around in the freezing cold to the different shows and events going on. They had a hula hoop contest, where I realized that I could no longer hula hoop like I did during my Bar/Bat Mitzvah party days. One of the buildings hosted a dance, which is where we officially rang in the new year while dancing to big band music.

Happy holidays, no matter what you celebrate!

Winter Joy Retreat-Day 3: Food and Freedom

I'm participating in an online writer's retreat, thanks to Nina Badzin's blog. The topic is "Edible Memories," so all the posts will be about food. I will try to post every day to keep up, but there are some I might come back to later, depending on my schedule and when inspiration strikes.

Today's topic:
Tell us about a time when you felt food was about freedom -- or the lack of it. Who was involved? How has that experience influenced you as a person?


I personally don't have stories about feeling oppressed and thinking of food as freedom. However, this topic brought Passover (Pesach) to mind. (Funny that I'm talking about this now, with Hanukkah right around the corner.) Every spring, we sit around our dining room table, leaning back on our big pillows from the couch, and read from the Haggadah (the seder and story of Pesach). There are certain items that need to be on the table during the seder: matzah, parsley and a bowl of salt water, a hard-boiled egg, a roasted lamb bone, charoset (apple and wine mixture), lettuce, and horseradish root. These symbolize different things in the seder. I can explain a few of them.

The parsley is for dipping in the salt water, to represent the tears of our ancestors when they were enslaved in Egypt. When we had our first Pesach in New Jersey, we learned that you could use other items aside from the parsley for dipping in salt water. As long as you can say "....boray pree ha'adamah" (prayer over foods that grow from the ground), it's eligible for the (double) dip. This brought up an argument between my husband and some of the other men who were learning with him, as he knew that pineapples grew from the ground. Since he was right, the Rabbi put a pineapple on his seder table when we were there for the second night.

Yes, you can dip this in salt water!

The charoset represents the bricks and mortar that our ancestors used during their enslavement. We put it between two pieces of matzah and include a bit of horseradish for the korech, or Hillel sandwich. The charoset balances the bitterness of the maror, symbolizing the optimism of the seder. My husband has this amazing charoset recipe. I can't even explain what he does, but it comes out great every year. He makes a batch without walnuts due to our sons' nut allergies. It's delicious either way.

The matzah represents the bread that our ancestors didn't get enough time to bake before fleeing from Egypt. It's also the reason we can't eat anything leavened on Pesach. Over the past few years, we've been using Shmurah matzah at our seders. It's even thinner than the boxed kind made by Manischewitz or Streit's. It's really crispy, aside from it's plainness. It's great for making matzah pizza. The melted cheese weighs down the matzah, but it retains its crispiness. My kids like to eat it with cream cheese spread on top, even when it's not during Pesach. 

Shmurah matzah

At our seder table, we sometimes compare our enslavement in Egypt to the Holocaust. There was also no freedom for our ancestors during this horrific time, and food was hard to come by. My mother-in-law told us about her relatives who perished and how they would cherish a morsel of food whenever they could get it. At this time of strife in Israel and all the blatant Anti-Semitism going on, we compare what is happening to the Holocaust. The idea of being in such a perilous situation is jarring and unsettling to my family, my friends, and myself. We think about a time long, long ago and it's similar to a time in the not-so-distant past that we should never forget, as many survivors have now passed away. We are thankful to Hashem for bringing us to this time and place and providing a bounty of food that we can eat while celebrating our freedom and reminding ourselves "Never again!"

Pesach food used to be associated with bland taste. There weren't a whole lot of options for the seders or even during that whole week. I tended to eat a lot of matzo ball soup when I was growing up. In college, I had to improvise a bit, as the Passover "airplane food" provided by the dining center was disgusting. I'd get a plain burger or a plain piece of chicken, no bun. I wasn't keeping Kosher at the time, but I was pretty good about sticking to most of the Passover rules, even on a campus where the only synagogue was in the middle of nowhere. I'd bring matzah and the fruit slice candy (the good stuff with the sugar on top) to all my meals. My friends were interested in trying some of it, so I didn't feel too weird about that. My mom would also send me back to school with these chocolate chip cakes, which were the only dessert worth eating on Pesach at the time. The mix has been discontinued and I still miss it. I used to warm it up in the microwave so the chocolate chips melted and the cake was even softer and more delightful. A perfect breakfast treat! Side note: the Kosher for Pesach cereal is horrible and the bag inside the box is so small that it doesn't equate to the five dollars charged for it.

The first time I started liking Pesach food was when we went to my sister-in-law's family's house for the holiday. Her mom is an amazing cook and the food didn't even taste like it was intended for Pesach. Everything was just so incredible from the soup to the main dishes to the side dishes to dessert. At lunch, she had matzah macaroni and cheese and matzah lasagna. I now make those dishes for the holiday and they are in high demand from my whole family. I think the experience at my sister-in-law's parents' house inspired my husband to go outside of the box when it comes to cooking for Pesach. He's made some amazing dishes over the past years, including Pesach crepes. My sister-in-law baked these delicious blondies this past year and then gave me the recipe. It was so hard to stop eating them! And I managed to work with a Kosher for Pesach pancake mix that my kids and I both enjoyed. We used strawberry jam on top, as K for P syrup is ridiculously expensive. After all, if we're celebrating our freedom, we shouldn't be eating something bland!

My husband's Pesach crepes

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday

One of my favorite blogs, Airing My Laundry, does a post every week that was inspired by a section of Glamour magazine. She invites her followers to do their own posts like this. I enjoy doing this a every so often, so I thought it's time for another list. Since I don't do this weekly, my list will be long.

It's okay...

*To be supportive of Israel.
I've been invited to some private online parties to show support for Israel in a safe environment. I've invited lots of people to attend and some people, for an unknown reason, declined the invitation. It's an online party so you can participate in your pajamas! What is really perplexing is that the people who declined are Jewish! I hope it was just a misunderstanding on their end. I do appreciate the support of my non-Jewish friends who are taking the time to read the articles I post and understand Israel's side of things.
Tomorrow: wear blue and white and post photos of yourself on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #isupportisrael.

*To not do much for Halloween...other than get your kids costumes so they can participate at school.
We haven't gone trick-or-treating in ages. One year, we did it at the mall, which was fun but got kind of chaotic after a while. That was the last year we did it and was when I was still pregnant with my youngest. I offered my oldest an opportunity to trick-or-treat the following year, and he decided he wasn't comfortable doing so. No one in our neighborhood does it anyway. We get all our treats (and give them in return) on Purim. And we dress up then too!

*To not want to cook much.
It takes an extra effort for me to cook anything these days. I was spoiled this past year when my husband was job searching and home to have dinner ready every day. (Plus, he made lots of extras from his catering side-business that I got to enjoy later on.) I also am letting my older son cook more, and he's getting good at it!

*To be almost caught up on Parenthood. Started season five recently and then have one more to go.

*To be totally behind on The Big Bang Theory. I will catch up. I promise!

*To be fully caught up on Modern Family. Finally! Still loving it!

*To be a book hoarder. My husband keeps telling me to donate books. I've given a lot away already, but my collection still manages to grow. I hang on to books I have yet to read thinking that I will eventually read them.

*To rarely ever argue with your spouse or significant other.
My husband and I were recently talking about this. It's nice to know that we don't argue all that much and when we do, we're able to talk things out and resolve them. (Sharing a sense of humor helps too.)

*To not know much about whip and nae nae and not really care either.

*To be pleased when the lady at the restaurant praises my older son just for being the nice kid he is.

*To not feel bad about working from home on a day when school is closed last minute. 
I spent some time with my kids too.

*To be annoyed when people who are friendly in person can't seem to accept your friend request on Facebook. 

*To still not have a handle on my abundance of e-mail.

*To finally get a haircut after waiting a month past when I would usually go.
I get haircuts every three months, but this time I went four months since my last visit to the stylist. She told me she missed me. :)

You should be watching the Macy's parade....

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: Give your opinion on Black Friday starting on Thanksgiving

First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

I wrote about Black Friday last year, but this topic is a bit different.

One thing to be thankful for today is that I don't work in retail. I have today and tomorrow off, and I don't even have to spend my free time at the mall. (Haha...as if...you know how I am spoiled against retail prices!)

I thought the whole concept of Black Friday is that it is on FRIDAY....the day AFTER Thanksgiving. It's a whole day to shop-til'-you-drop! (Unless you observe Shabbat and then you only have half the day, but if you got up at 5 a.m., it's not a big deal.) Not sure when Thanksgiving became about retail and people getting gifts for their loved ones and other treats for themselves a day early, but this nonsense has to stop! It's not like the merchandise is going to disappear if consumers have to wait a day. Stores making their employees miss a day off to spend with family (or just relax after a busy month) is just cruelty. I understand grocery stores being open part of the day for people to get last minute cooking ingredients (because you may be missing the cranberries after all), but it's more for necessity than for retailers to make more money. Like they're not open every other day of the year for people to shop anyway? Is being closed on a NATIONAL HOLIDAY really going to kill their revenue flow? And if you REALLY need to shop on Thanksgiving, why not do it online, from the comfort of your own couch? You won't have to fight the crowds, you can stay in PJs and watch the Macy's parade. And the stores will even ship the items to where you want them to go. Best of all, you'll be allowing retail workers to actually enjoy Thanksgiving.

Have a nice Thanksgiving...but may it only be from the comfort of your couch. If you are a retail worker stuck at the store today, know that your efforts are not going unnoticed and hopefully people will be boycotting stores enough that day so that you never have to go through this annoyance again!

*I just read an article about a Pizza Hut manager who lost his job for refusing to make his employees work on Thanksgiving. I love how he phrased his resignation and I hope he finds a better job soon. Bravo to him for taking a stand against greediness.

*Finally, a retailer who is doing the right thing!

*Sign a pledge to not shop on Thanksgiving.

*I found this posted on Facebook. Someone added a funny, tongue-in-cheek caption to it.

'Tis the season

While we're constantly having Christmas thrown at us from every angle, between the TV, radio, stores, houses with lights, etc., I still can't muster up a "feel" for the winter holidays this year. I know I celebrate Hanukkah and that it is going on now, but even that feels misplaced to me, like we're doing it at the wrong time of the year. I thought it was the weather being more balmy than usual, but we spent many a winter holiday season in Florida when I was a kid and it still had a "feel" to me.

To understand what I'm getting at, allow me to backtrack a bit. My mom's first cousin is not Jewish. (There was some intermarriage in our family.) Therefore, she and her family celebrate Christmas. We would celebrate the day with them when I was growing up and even as I was becoming an adult. As a result, there was a time in my life when I actually enjoyed Christmas and all it had to offer. I love celebrating Hanukkah, but there was something warm and wonderful about Christmas at the time. It gave the whole month of December a certain "feel." We would go to our cousins' house and the whole place would be decked out in Christmas gear. They had a really nice (huge) tree taking up part of their living room. (Their house represented Christmas so well that it was weird to go there any other time of the year, when all the decorations were gone.) They had relaxing Christmas tunes playing in the background the entire time. And then there was the food. There would be snacks when we first came in. Amongst the snacks was a bowl of dill weed dip (my favorite). I'd use it for cucumbers and potato chips. Dinner was turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, etc. I don't think the items ever varied from year to year. The best part was dessert. Our cousin had my late maternal grandma's cheesecake recipe and would make it with cherries on top. There were Frango mint cookies and brownies, as well. Three other things that made the experience memorable....eating dinner on the giant ping pong table in the basement, getting free Disney CDs (our cousin's husband worked for Disney records at the time) and most important of all, having my grandma and great-uncle there. (They were brother and sister and passed away about 4 1/2 years apart from one another.) Another treat was my cousin's husband's sister coming in every other year or so. She was just really nice. On the way home, we'd be all bundled up in the car on a snowy night, passing by all the houses with twinkling lights. There was something so peaceful about the drive back to our house.

After my great-uncle passed away in 2000, the feeling of the day changed a bit. My grandma was also not doing so well and getting confused more often. The enthusiasm the two of them brought to the day had diminished. As our group got smaller, we stopped eating in the basement and ate at a dining room table in the kitchen instead. It was still a nice day, but it just felt different.

When my older son was born, we stopped doing the annual Christmas dinners at my cousins' house. We didn't want to expose him to Christmas, even as a baby. We would travel to visit my mother-in-law instead and spend a traditional Hanukkah with her. After we moved, we didn't come back to visit on Christmas. One year, we came in the day after and just focused on Hanukkah and New Year's Eve. That was back in 2007. In 2008, we spent Christmas day in Baltimore with my in-laws and stayed for a Shabbos weekend. It didn't even feel like Christmas at that point. It was just another day. The following years, Christmas was combined with Shabbat, so it was easy not to notice it and we didn't have to listen to the music either. :) By this point, Christmas music had started to annoy me overall.

Back to the present. Christmas is on a Sunday this year. For us observant Jews, it's considered to be just another day. It's equivalent to non-Jews getting the day off for Rosh Hashanah (at least those who work in schools and Jewish organizations do). However, there's not as much to do on Christmas, aside from going to movies and eating Chinese food. We have yet to do that on Christmas anyway. This year, my family is coming in for a visit, so I'm looking forward to that. I hope we'll be able to find some entertaining things to do though. Maybe this is the year we'll get Chinese. Who knows? I'm just thrilled to have them here to spend time with us and the kids. In any case, we're celebrating Hanukkah and it just happens to coincide with Christmas again this year. It will be nice to have a holiday at the same time as everyone else, but I also hope the kids don't get cabin fever. If it's nice enough out, we could go outside.

I'm not sure what the lack of a "feel" is about this year. Maybe I'm burnt out from being so busy lately? Perhaps it's nerves over my daughter's upcoming cochlear implant surgery? Is it because I've become so disassociated from Christmas that it really has become just another day for me too, thus overtaking the way the holiday season feels in general? I would hope to get a "feel" from Hanukkah though, since that's my whole focus these days (even though I'm having trouble focusing on it). And it's one of my favorite holidays. At work, everyone has been gathering for menorah lighting on a daily basis. Someone shares a reflection about Hanukkah each day. It's really nice, but I still can't say that it gets me into the mood of the holiday. I'm hoping that having my family here will bring in a "feel" for this time of year. (And I hope to see "The Muppets" too. :) ) Finally, I'd eventually like that cheesecake recipe so I can make it for Shavuot and maybe start a new tradition in that way.

Thankful in 2011

I like to post what I'm thankful for every year, so I will just cut to the chase and share my list.

1. My amazing husband whom I’ve known for almost 10 years.
2. My sons who make me smile every day, even when they drive me crazy sometimes.
3. My daughter who was a surprise for me because I was expecting another boy. She has the best smile and laugh and I melt when I look into her sweet little eyes.
4. My family, both immediate and extended.
5. My friends. They’re all wonderful whether they live near or far.
6. Chick Lit Central. It has taken off to new heights since I started it almost a year and a half ago. We have a good team now and lots of fabulous authors who give us their time and share their books. Our readers are all enthusiastic and participate a lot, which keeps us going strong. We have 600 blog followers now!
7. My house, especially now that it looks a little better in some parts. :)
8. My job. Especially now that we have a new CEO who brings a lot of great ideas and enthusiasm to the organization. He’s also very inspiring to me on a more personal level.
9. “How I Met Your Mother” because it makes me laugh all the time and I just love it to pieces! All the characters bring their own unique style to the show and make for a hard to beat ensemble!
10. That the hurricane and earthquake this past summer didn’t hit us too hard or cause any damages or injuries to anyone nearby (or to those I care about).

And most of all....Hashem for making all this possible in the first place!

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US!

Funny Friday-9/23-Trick?....or TREAT....

While I don't do AS much for Halloween these days, I'm still a fan of the holiday. It's hard to give up something I had as a favorite pastime while growing up. However, it's more apparent these days how costumes aren't that innocent. I have always found it amusing how anything can be a costume if you add the word "sexy" to it, at least for women. I thought about this concept again when I read about an older woman whose nickname was "Naughty Granny." (I'm not even joking here.) I thought, "Hey, Nick would sell that costume at his store." That made me think of the "commercial" for Nick's Girls's Costumes, which features a stereotypical New Jersey guy who looks like a younger version of Ed O'Neill (a.k.a. Al Bundy), trying to sell all sorts of costumes by adding the word "sexy" to them. It's so funny and you can see it right here! I think my favorite one was "sexy Abraham Lincoln."

My subject line make me think of when my friend and I performed at Showcase '92 (talent show at our high school) together. She was dressed as a cat and did an interpretive dance with a real cat to a T.S. Eliot poem I was reading....about cats, of course. While we were waiting to go on, she would say "trick?...or treat...." while twirling her tail during the "treat" part.

I know Halloween is a little over a month away, but I'm taking some time off from "Funny Friday" because of all the holidays I do go all out to celebrate these days. And maybe by the time Purim comes around, I'll have a good costume idea again. (I'm not sure that it will be anything "sexy" though...that wouldn't go over too well at my shul!)

Out with the old....

Now that another New Year's Eve is almost upon us, I thought I'd talk about some of my favorite New Year's Eve experiences from the past.

When I was a kid, we'd spend a lot of our winter breaks in Florida. We'd go to an Italian restaurant with our friends and their families and then hang out in one of the time-share condos to watch the ball drop. The last year that we were in Florida for a vacation, we went to a big party at my friend's uncle's house. It was a huge house and they had lots of good food. There were enough older kids that the adults got to go out and the younger kids had people looking after them. It was a fun party and we rang in 1990 there.

After that vacation, I ended up babysitting on NYE for a few years in a row. We'd watch the ball drop at 11 since it was an hour earlier in Illinois. Then I'd tell the kids that it was really the new year and we'd throw confetti and later use it to decorate their house.

On the last night of 1994, I was involved with "Rocky Horror" and NYE was on a Saturday. My parents drove me to the theater in a snowstorm and I had a blast ringing in the new year with my friends there. After the show, the cast (which I was part of at the time) went to an apartment (owned by two of the cast members) to all hang out together and party through the night. That was an interesting experience in itself. Let's just say I didn't do anything I shouldn't, but I still felt the effects from everyone else who was doing this thing. I can't remember if I slept at all that night.

On the last night of 2001, I spent NYE in Israel. I was there for Birthright and completely jet lagged. I had no idea what time it was and almost missed the changing of the year altogether. The hotel had this party for all the people visiting for Birthright, even though Israel had celebrated their new year in September. I spent my first day of 2002 touring around Jerusalem. It was almost surreal.

On the last night of 2002, my husband (then boyfriend) and I went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then went to First Night Evanston and walked around in the freezing cold to the different shows and events going on. They had a hula hoop contest, where I realized that I could no longer hula hoop like I did during my Bar/Bat Mitzvah party days. One of the buildings hosted a dance, which is where we officially rang in the new year while dancing to big band music.

The next few years after that were spent in our home entertaining friends or at our friends' home just to hang out and watch the ball drop. Then, on the last night of 2008, we threw a party in our NJ home. We were surprised that some people from the community attended. We also had one of my close friends from NY over, as well as friends from Rhode Island who decided to stop by at the last minute on their way to Baltimore. They ended up staying over. It was a fun time and people got into playing Bananagrams for most of the evening.

Last year, we rang in the new year with a few close friends from our neighborhood. We spent most of the evening playing Loaded Questions and laughing so hard we couldn't think straight! We almost forgot to watch the ball drop.

This year, we're having my in-laws and some friends over for a Shabbat potluck dinner. I don't know if we'll stay up till midnight, but the kids are still going to bed at a somewhat normal time. I'm looking forward to it. Next year, we'll think about getting a sitter and go out for a night on the town....and maybe that sitter can start some NYE traditions that they'll get to blog about in the future.

It's all about the candy

There’s a term called “High Holiday Jew.” This applies to Jewish people who only attend shul twice a year, during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I used to fall into this category during college and a little bit beyond. Then I went to Israel in 2002 and all that changed. Anyway, I’m not actually spring-boarding off this topic to talk about the steps I’ve taken in my path to become more observant. That will come another time. I am just wondering if there is a term for more observant Jewish people who celebrate non-Jewish (but not church-related) holidays. I’m not talking about the American holidays of Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day or Thanksgiving. I’m referring to Halloween and Valentine’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day could fit in this category too, but I don’t follow that one at all. Could it be “Non-Jewish (but non-Church) holiday Jews”?
I wanted to touch on this topic because I have enjoyed celebrating both Halloween and Valentine’s Day my entire life. (Even when I wasn’t seeing someone during the latter.) I know there are things involved with both holidays that people who are even more observant than I am will not even fathom celebrating. However, I celebrate them for the surface things; the fun stuff I did as a kid and can do with my own kids. I love dressing my kids up to go trick-or-treating. I know that Purim is around the corner and that it still involves costumes and treats, but it’s different. I love carving a pumpkin and baking the seeds. I love that Halloween takes place during autumn, which is my favorite season. I love all the excitement my kids show for Halloween. We focus on the fun and silly things instead of the scary and macabre things. One of my friends throws the best Halloween parties, which I haven’t been able to attend since we moved away. I love seeing the pictures she takes of everyone in their clever costumes. I love the creative games and treats she has at these parties. I threw a Halloween party during the first year my husband and I were dating. It was a lot of fun and I still have my pictures and memories of that night. I went trick-or-treating or to Halloween parties with my friends in college. I’ve gone to “Rocky Horror” shows for Halloween on occasion. The movie fits best with that holiday. I’ve only had a couple of bad Halloweens, but it never ruined the holiday for me overall. This past Halloween, we couldn't go trick-or-treating because it was on Shabbos. However, we took the boys to a Halloween festival at an aviation museum. There were snacks, crafts, stories and a hayride. It was really cute. The boys still got to dress up too. I also stocked up on lots of costumes at the thrift store for both dress-up and Purim.
As for Valentine’s Day….I always liked making the pretty foil covered boxes to collect Valentine cards from my classmates. The candy is as much of a perk as it is on Halloween. If the conversation hearts were Kosher, I’d have them in my house. Somehow, a Hershey’s kiss wrapped in pink foil tastes that much sweeter. As I got older, I still enjoyed V-day even without a significant other to share it with (that didn’t happen till I was 18). I liked sending cards to family and friends. I enjoyed having a busy night at work (at my Chinese restaurant job in high school). I’d even get dressed in red and pink for school on V-day. Throughout college, my parents would send me fun V-day care packages with lots of chocolate. This was carried over from when they’d give me V-day presents as a kid. V-day was even a wake-up call for me one year. When I met my husband, we started dating around V-day and he brought me a card and rose on our first real date. Then he came over the night before V-day (he was going on a ski trip on the holiday and I had planned a girls’ night before I even knew he’d come into my life) and that’s when we had our first kiss. We went on fun and romantic dates every V-day. Our last real V-day date was the year I was pregnant with my older son. After that time, he joined us on our dates. This year, that is going to change and we’ll have our first V-day kids-free date since 2005! My older son is now aware of Valentine’s Day and excited to celebrate it at school. He’s always asking if it is V-day yet and then asking if it’s February yet, just in case he thinks he missed out on a holiday. I read him a story about it last night and I think he’s even more excited for it now.
I also like volunteering at my older son’s school for these holidays. I did it for Halloween and plan to for Valentine’s Day, as well. I love baking holiday-themed treats.
Before I became observant, I did actually like Christmas. (I never liked Easter though, since I couldn’t enjoy the candy due to Pesach.) That has changed for me though. However, nothing can change V-day or Halloween for me.