All American Girl

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, I picked the topic: Since July 4th is coming up next week, write about anything to do with America. Favorite places to go, favorite songs about America, what makes you American/how living in America has affected your personality, favorite presidents, etc. anything goes!

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

A while back, I wrote about my love for America. This time, I want to talk about all the states I've visited; when I was there and why I visited them.

I’ll try to keep this in alphabetical order...

Arizona: Went on an ATV ride in the desert during a trip to Vegas (in 1999) and got a mega-sunburn.

Delaware: Drove through to go between NJ and MD back in 2009, when we were planning out our move. Stopped for dinner during these road trips.

Florida: Many family vacations took place here. We would go to Disney World, Epcot and Sea World whenever we were in Orlando. We also spent lots of vacations at a time-share in Pompano Beach. The last time I was in Florida was a day in Miami before going on a cruise in the beginning of 2000. We visited South Beach at night and checked out some of the cool hotels.

Georgia: If drive-throughs in Delaware count, then airport stop-overs in Atlanta should count too, right? That’s about all I’ve seen of Georgia so far. And I was a kid at the time!

Illinois: I lived here for a little over 30 years. Grew up in Buffalo Grove, went to Illinois State University, lived in Itasca for a while and then made my way back to the BG area, living in Arlington Heights for a few years, as well. My family and a lot of friends are still there, so I go back at least once a year for a visit.

Indiana: My sister went to Butler University in Indianapolis for a while, so I visited her there a few times in the late 90’s. We’d go to Shapiro’s, which is this cafeteria style deli. They have awesome soup and sandwiches! I was also in Indiana for my LASIK surgery. Three hour drive to and from South Bend and my dad had to make the drive twice because one of my eyes was having a problem. When “Will” was at Indiana University in Bloomington, I’d visit him a couple of times.

Kentucky: I went to Louisville in 2000 to visit a friend I had met on a cruise the year before. “Will” came with me, and we also spent time with another mutual friend. It was pretty laid back out there, but felt like any other town in the Midwest.

Maryland: The state I’ve been calling “home” for almost three years. I first visited Maryland when I went to my brother-in-law’s wedding in Baltimore in 2003. Then we’d come out to visit him and his family when he was living in Baltimore, shortly before we moved out this way. We spent a few weekends out here before our actual move, as well.

Michigan: Visited St. Joseph a few times during their art festival weekend (between 2000 and 2006). It’s such a quaint town with some great restaurants. The beach is really nice too. I’ve also been to Detroit, but just in a suburban area for a work meeting. Nothing too exciting.

Missouri: Went to Lake of the Ozarks with my family in 1991. It was another quaint beach town similar to St. Joseph, MI. My maternal grandma was still alive and well at the time and she had a lot of fun there. We had this big pool raft and all the other kids and teenagers there were fighting over it.

Nevada: Only there for a few trips to Las Vegas. I love it there and want to go back again, but preferably when it’s not hot out. First time there was with my first boyfriend in 1995. Then went there with my family for the infamous ATV/sunburn trip in 1999. Went again in 2002 with my family and my husband (who was still just a boyfriend at the time). It was so insanely hot in August though! Saw a lot of cool shows and spent plenty of time indoors! Went back in 2006 with my husband for our two year anniversary.

New Jersey: Lived in Englewood for 2 ½ years (2007-2009). A few things made my time there memorable. Before ever moving to NJ, spent a weekend in Princeton in 2001, visiting some family friends.

New York: First went there in 1996 to visit a friend. Got to tour around the city a bit and spent New Year’s Eve in Times Square. (I’m NEVER doing that again!) Also spent time in northern NY during that trip. Then went back with my mom and sister in 2001 when we visited our friends in NJ. We had a touristy experience which included seeing “The Lion King,” meeting Adam Pascal, and eating a hot dog from a cart. We got to hang out with one of my close friends there too. In 2004, my sister and I went to visit some close friends (including “Will”) and see “Wicked.” In 2006, prior to our move, we visited my mother-in-law in Manhattan and got to see “Company” that weekend. Once we were in NJ, we were up in NY a lot to spend time with my mil or tour around the city. We saw a few more Broadway shows, as well.

North Carolina: Visited my father-in-law a few times and he lives near Charlotte, so we spent some time hanging out in that area.

Ohio: My husband is from Cleveland, so when his mom was still living there, we’d go and visit a lot. We also spent a weekend in Columbus for a friend’s wedding and went to Oxford to visit Miami University, his alma mater. We stopped in Cincinatti during that trip to get ice cream at Graeter’s. Also reunited with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in years.

Oregon: Visited my BFF when she was living there for a short period of time. It was in the winter and the weather made that pretty clear. My first time at Red Robin was out there, as well.

Pennsylvania: My first visit to Pennsylvania was to Lancaster in 2003, to meet the Rabbi who would be marrying us. He’s the father of my sister-in-law, so that just worked well for us. (We weren’t affiliated with a shul at the time.) He wanted to get to know us better, so we spent a Shabbos weekend with him and his family. My bil and sil were there, along with my mil and my mother. It was a very warm and beautiful Shabbos. My sil’s mother is an amazing cook! Afterward, we went to Hershey Park. There was a special nighttime event going on, as it was close to Halloween. Free park admission and $1 rides. People were wearing costumes and someone thought my bil was dressed up in a Rabbi costume. He was wearing his usual clothes. After that trip, we visited my bil and sil when they were living in Lancaster and even spent a Pesach there before we moved to NJ. (It was our first Orthodox Pesach, but the conversation was engaging and the food was fabulous.) We drove through various towns in PA to get to NJ, including Scranton. (Home of Dunder Mifflin.) Last summer, we went to Sesame Place for the first time. It was a lot of fun and I hope we can go back there again sometime.

South Carolina: My father-in-law actually lives in SC, even though we spend most of our time in NC when we visit him. He’s just over the border of the two states, but calling his neighbor down the street is considered long distance.

Texas: Visited my BFF twice when she was living in Fort Worth. Despite how hot it could be, the weather was just right during both of my trips.

Virginia: We live pretty close to VA now and we go out to Warrenton to visit our cousins. We’ve also met up with them in Centreville a few times. I’ve been to Arlington and Alexandria a couple of times, as well. (“Jack” lives in Alexandria and one of my first experiences in VA was hanging out with him.) This past February, we spent a weekend in Richmond, but didn’t get to do a lot because it was snowing and most places were closed on Monday.

Washington DC: I live right by there and love going into the district. It’s such a great city. DC is what won me over originally and the reason I wanted to move out this way. The first time I was there was in 2008, which is when I also fell in love with it.

Wisconsin: I’ve been there many times…overnight camp, Jewish youth group retreats, Indian Princess camp-outs, etc. One of my close friends lived in Madison and I’d go there a lot during my high school and college years. We had fun hanging out in the city/capitol/college town. I went there again with some friends in 2001, just to hang out for a day or so. I also went to Milwaukee a bunch of times to visit friends and even went to some Brewers games. One of my jobs had their main office based there, so I’d go there for meetings, as well. Aside from those trips, I enjoyed going to Lake Geneva just to relax or to Kenosha to shop. My husband and I took a trip to Door County in 2004. It was very scenic in the fall and the drive was romantic, even with my husband stopping every few minutes to take pictures.

That’s all I can remember about where I’ve been in the US. There are still some states I’d like to visit such as Hawaii, California (I don’t count my trip there when I was one as actually visiting the state), Arizona (for more than an ATV ride…I’d like to see some friends out there) and Maine (it sounds beautiful from all the books I’ve read).

I share because I care

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Moma Rock picked the topic: What is a random act of kindness you've witnessed, or that you've done, or that someone has done for you?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

When I think of the concept of "Random Acts of Kindness," I associate it with being anonymous and spontaneous. Something you do on the fly like paying tolls for the person in the car behind you, helping a senior citizen load their groceries into their car, giving a crying child a lollipop (with their parents' approval, of course), letting someone go ahead in line at the store, giving someone the use of your cell phone if they need to reach someone immediately, etc.

Having said that, I feel like most of the acts of kindness I commit are intentional and most definitely linked to my name. It doesn't keep me from doing something nice, but I don't feel it's ever completely random either. The most "random" I get is offering to host a new family for a meal when someone at shul puts out an announcement. Even then, I have to first discuss the plans with my husband and it's not all that last minute either.

There are other things I've done just because I want to show I care. I've made care packages for friends studying for tests (as well as my cousin during finals when she was in college) or if they were sick or having surgery. When we lived in NJ, a little boy in our community was attacked by a dog, so I made him a kid friendly care package while he was recuperating. I made another one for a child in our community out here who had to spend the summer in the hospital. When a friend of mine in NJ was going through a tough time, I made an ice cream pie for her because I knew she liked it a lot. There's also the loaves of love I share each time I bake challah. I sometimes distribute them to someone at random and other times because I think they could really use a challah that week. I'll even bring in a challah to work from time to time and leave it in the kitchen for everyone to try.

I also like being able to share things I no longer need. I usually Freecycle, but sometimes I give priority to people I know. I have a friend who knows two babies who need and appreciate any clothes or toys I can give them. While I am glad to finally clear out some of the clothes that have been sitting in our house for years, I'm also sad to see some of it go. However, it's nice to know that another child will put them to good use. A plastic box can't really show off all those cute items!

One of my favorite "random acts of kindness" stories happened when I was working at a Chinese restaurant during my high school years. I had a habit of giving the little cocktail umbrellas or fans to children so they'd be entertained while they had to wait for a table. The parents appreciated it, even though my manager got annoyed because the kids would tear them up and litter them all over the place. One time, a family came in with a girl who had severe disabilities, both developmental and physical. I treated her like every child there and gave her a little fan. Her entire face lit up and her parents were so thrilled. I had to turn away so they wouldn't see me crying. I still get teary-eyed just writing about it over 18 years later.

I hope to continue to find ways to spread the love through whatever acts of kindness I commit, whether they are random or intentional. I try to reciprocate upon the kindness of others, but I also like paying it forward.

Finally, I wanted to share this gathering of photos. It was really touching. It has some wonderful random acts of kindness!

Comedy's answer to evolution

I've become addicted to a new (or not so new) show recently....The Big Bang Theory.A lot of people had told me to watch it and I was not sure I'd like it because science talk just goes over my head. Then my husband and I decided to give it a chance, once we were caught up on How I Met Your Mother. The first episode of season one was pretty funny and it made us interested in seeing more. Soon, we were having Big Bang Theory marathons after Shabbat. We are now on season three and I can't seem to get enough of it! I think about it all the time and  make references to it. I even made my husband a BBT themed Father's Day card. My in-laws recently got us shirts with Sheldon's "Friendship Algorithm" on them (from one of the funniest season two episodes) and I've been wearing mine practically every day, with some washing machine breaks from time to time.

I want to share what I like about each of the main characters and my favorite episodes up to where I am now (I just saw the one with Sheldon freaking out over everyone fighting.)

Leonard: He is like the role model for why geeks make good boyfriends. He's just so nice and funny and there's something oddly attractive about him, even though he looks so squinty and sounds very nasal. He's the voice of reason for the group for the most part.

Raj: I love how he can't talk to girls without alcohol in his system. And when we does get drunk enough to talk to them, he's just hilarious! In season three, he's starting to become more assertive when it comes to his expectations with his friends. I like how he doesn't let them walk all over him. His sarcastic comments are the best! There's also something really attractive about him. He reminds me of Fez from "That 70's Show."

Howard: Anyone who can play out the Jewish humor like he can is definitely good in my book! He reminds me of Neil from Freaks and Geeks the way he thinks he's Hashem's gift to women and throws around Jewish references all the time. His clothing is atrocious and he lives with his mother, but it's hard not to find him lovable, even when he makes obnoxious comments. He's like those guys who think that girls should date him because their mothers will approve.

Sheldon: He definitely is the funniest of the group. He's just socially clueless, even though he's a genius. I love all his idiosyncracies and obsessive behaviors. He would totally drive me crazy in person, but there's something so endearing about him, like how he lets his grandma call him "Moon Pie." The stuff he says is beyond hilarious and the show would definitely not be as amazing as it is without him.

Penny: I love how she doesn't fit in with the group and yet she totally does. Definitely "girl crush" worthy, as well. I really like how she interacts with Sheldon and totally plays off of his craziness. I find it amusing that I've been watching for over two seasons now and she has yet to break away from The Cheesecake Factory to get an acting gig. I find myself hoping she'll get her big break soon.

Favorite episodes from the first two and 1/4 seasons:

Season 1:

The Middle Earth Paradigm: When they go to a Halloween party and Sheldon is dressed as the Doppler Effect. No, he's not a zebra!

The Loobenfeld Decay: I love the effort Sheldon goes through to make a lie seem plausible.

The Pancake Batter Anomaly: The first time we get to hear "Soft Kitty"

The Peanut Reaction: I know it's bad, but we watched this the same night after our older son had an allergic reaction to something he ate. Howard looked the same after having something with peanuts in it. So hard not to laugh!

Season 2:

The White Asparagus Triangulation: I love when Sheldon crashes Leonard's date and his reasoning about why.

The Killer Robot Instability: Just the beginning scene alone is enough to make me love the whole episode.

The Friendship Algorithm: Classic!

The Terminator Decoupling: Summer Glau is great with her cameo...as herself. Makes me miss "Firefly" ever so much!

The Vegas Renormalization: Why don't they serve brisket in Vegas? C'mon now! (Interesting side note, the prostitute was played by the mean girl from She's All That.)

Season 3 (so far):

The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation: I don't know what it was, but I just couldn't stop laughing!

Leonard: Can you please take that stupid hat off?
Howard: No, I wanna blend in.
Raj: To what, Toy Story?

The Gothiwitz Deviation: Tattoo sleeves allow Howard to look cool and still be buried in a Jewish cemetery. It's a win-win!

The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary: Wil Wheaton also does a great cameo appearance as himself. It's priceless to hear him say "Mee-Maw." I also love the conversation that transpires during Howard's blind date.

If you haven't seen The Big Bang Theory, I highly recommend checking it out. You don't have to know science to enjoy it, but it doesn't hurt to have a geek sense of humor. Also, check out the BBT Wiki site. It has a lot of interesting stuff!

It's hard to see past Friday night

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Froggie picked the topic: Write a "Dear Me" letter to your younger self. (You can choose any point in time.)

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

The subject line is from a song that is so fitting for this week's topic: "Letter to Me" by Brad Paisley. (I am not surprised he's the voice behind this song as I love his music.)

I have trouble writing without some sort of structure, so I've decided to go the route I've observed on the fabulous chick lit blog (aside from my own, of course), Chick Lit is Not Dead. They do "5 Things I'd Tell the Teen Me" with their authors and it's a fun feature.

Therefore, I'm going to share 5 things that I'd tell the teen me:

1. Not getting into a play/musical isn't life or death (even though Rachel Berry from "Glee" would disagree). The people who got all the lead roles in plays are not celebrities in this day and age. And you got an award for being behind the scenes, so bravo for that!

2. You'll one day be able to relate very well to the girl you were friends with who practically became Orthodox overnight. (And you're friends with her on Facebook now.) Don't give her a weird look for not sitting at your table at lunch during Pesach to avoid chometz getting in her food; you may be on the receiving end of those weird looks one day for not loading dairy items in the meat dishwasher. And eat every cheeseburger like it's your last because someday it will be.

3. Travel before you have kids. Go on a huge vacation. Visit Hawaii or backpack through Europe. But don't make St. Joseph, Michigan, your last getaway before your first child arrives. It's a cute town, but not exotic or anything. (And if that does end up being your last getaway before kids, make sure your husband doesn't drink from the same cup as someone who has strep before you travel!!!)

4. You were so good at Spanish but then you gave it up. What were you thinking?!?

5. Three words: It gets better. :) (And you may be so inclined to write an article for a parenting blog telling other teens the same thing.)

There are other things I wouldn't mind telling myself, but maybe I'll save them for another post. There are some things I wrote about already anyway, such as my regret about not going to prom when I had the chance. I also hope I listen to what the 45 year old version of myself has told me.

Senior pic, taken in 1993

With my first car, sometime in 1994

Endless Summer Nights (and Days)

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Mom of Many picked the topic: It is summer. Do you dread the hot, humid days that can lack structure or do you relish the slower pace? Or is it just another day?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

There are a few things I look forward to in the summer...namely 4th of July, my birthday and wearing sandals. I used to look forward to having Fridays off from work, but that has changed this year, even though we do get out a little earlier. So summer will not be a three-month long vacation for me. It's just any other time of year, but hot, with some festivities in the middle. It's not like I have a break to look forward to like I did when I was in school.

Then there's Shabbat. Since the sun sets later, it doesn't start until closer to the kids' bedtime. Then it doesn't end until after their bedtime either. It also means going out after it ends isn't really an option because it's so late that it's not worth doing anything. We're not the partying type anymore, so we just watch movies or catch up on "The Big Bang Theory" after Shabbat. The hardest part is filling the middle of the day for our kids. They get restless and bored after a while and sometimes all we want to do is sleep. We do find play dates, but it's hard to make plans when you can't call people first. I'm not complaining though. I like the break from technology. Once a month, we host a gathering on Shabbat afternoon for our friends. It's fun to have people over for a few hours and catch up with friends. Plus, the kids can play outside, so less mess inside!

My favorite summer treat is ice cream, but I eat that all the time, so it doesn't get associated with summer as much anymore. Then there's watermelon and fresh sweet corn on the cob. We barbecue more often, as well. I enjoy a nice cold glass of lemonade more in the summer than any other season.

I'm not a fan of the heat, but am thankful for central air conditioning and lots of fans. Still, it's hard to get myself outside on muggy or boiling hot days. I especially get annoyed when the heat lingers into fall. When I was pregnant with my daughter, we had one REALLY hot Sukkot. This was in mid-late September, but it was unbearable. Sukkot is supposed to be all about fall, but it felt like we were in the middle of July. It was hard to enjoy the food too.

I like anything to do with water in the summer, whether it is swimming or going to a water park. Sometimes a cold shower is extremely refreshing after a hot and sticky day. Last summer, we went to Sesame Place and they had a lot of water slides and other water related attractions. It was a lot of fun and I hope we can go back there or to another water park this summer. I'd also love to take the kids to a beach this summer. I know they'd enjoy that a lot, especially being right by an ocean. I haven't been to the ocean since our honeymoon in 2004! And after reading "Monarch Beach" by Anita Hughes (which I reviewed here), I want to go to the beach more than ever!

I think I enjoy experiencing summer through my kids' eyes more than anything else about it these days. They get to go to camp and do all the fun things. They eat popsicles that drip all over their hands and clothes. They find fireworks to be absolutely fascinating and love chasing lightning bugs. They don't know that carnivals are a huge rip-off and just like all the excitement. I love their sheer joy when they jump into a pool. That's summer for me these days!

LOL!

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, I picked the topic: Laughter is the best medicine: Talk about the things that make you laugh. Share a funny story or two. Tell us a joke. It's all about humor, so anything goes!

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

I’ve always loved to laugh. The more something can make me laugh, the better. My dad would say that I didn’t have a good sense of humor as a kid because I didn’t laugh about my own gullibility. Maybe it was that my parents’ humor was over my head at the time. I do like the jokes he sends via e-mail, even though some seem weird coming from a parent. And a lot of other things make me laugh, so apparently my sense of humor is intact.

In the past, I’ve posted about things I thought were funny, usually in the pop culture realm. I wanted to share some other things I find really funny, that I may not have already mentioned.

Misunderstandings:
I love the show Three’s Company, because there’s always a hilarious misunderstanding in each episode. I don’t know why misunderstandings are so funny, but maybe it’s the timing of things. The fine art of misunderstanding-themed humor has crept its way into other shows I watch, such as Modern Family. There was a good one where Phil was talking to himself about something he wanted to say to Mitch, and Hayley was sneaking into the house at the same time. She thought he was talking to her. It was so funny! There were some good misunderstandings on Desperate Housewives and a really funny one on How I Met Your Mother that made Ted’s job as an architect sound rather naughty. Even real life misunderstandings can be funny, like the time my mom thought my friend was asking if she turned the grill on because she didn’t know that my dad had called in on the other line. Or when my husband was trying to spell a friend’s last name and I thought he was spelling my mom’s name incorrectly. I think the art of misunderstanding dates all the way back to Abbott and Costello with their “Who’s on First” routine, which was parodied so perfectly on an episode of Animaniacs.

Things little kids say:
Well, mainly things my own kids say. I find their innocent logic and the delivery of the comments to be really funny. The other day, my younger son said that he hated the ground. So my older son said “Then don’t walk on it.” Just the way he said it so matter-of-factly had me laughing out loud. Another time, we were talking about how Tobey Maguire was Spider-Man and my older son just had to correct us because Peter Parker is actually Spider-Man. There was also the time when my younger son told my husband that when he’s mad at me, he just tells on me to Hashem. I could send everything they say to Parents magazine because it’s just that precocious. I do enjoy some of the things kids in Parents magazine have said. The parents will provide context to the comments, as well. There are also things my friends post on Facebook about stuff their kids have said and it’s usually amusing, as well. I can’t wait to hear what my daughter will come up with once she learns how to talk.

Impressions:
I love celebrity impressions, especially when they're spot-on. The ones on Saturday Night Live are usually great. I loved when Jimmy Fallon did his impression of Adam Sandler. Now he does a great one of Russell Brand. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impression was classic. The one I really like these days is Abby Elliott's impression of Zooey Deschanel. It cracks me up every time. I even like when people I actually know (such as my husband) do celebrity impressions.

Geek humor:
I think my penchance for geek humor started during my Rocky Horror days and then carried through college and is still going strong. It explains why I like The Big Bang Theory so much. (Sheldon is the best!) And one of my favorite movie lines is "There was only one return and it wasn't of the king" from Clerks 2. I also say "It's a moral imperative" because of Real Genius. (Those who like TBBT would love this movie!) Freaks and Geeks is another favorite of mine, but I think I can relate to both groups pretty well. (And Jason Segel is on it, which is a bonus.) I really just like anything that can amuse my inner geek.

Comedians:
I know comedians are meant to be funny in general. However, only a handful have really impressed me. I used to watch Last Comic Standing. The first two seasons were really good and then it got annoying. My husband and I would cheer for the comedians we really liked, in hopes that the TV could hear us and count our cheers in as votes. There was one comedian in season 2 who stuck out for us a lot, Gary Gulman. He didn’t win, but he was so hilarious with his commentaries on life. The best was when he pretended to be celery and thanked Buffalo wings for giving it a new purpose. Then there’s Jake Johannsen, whom I first heard about and saw at Zanie’s when I was in college. When I first started dating my husband, I took him to see Jake and we had a great time. I still crack up thinking about how he would explain embarrassing items in his shopping cart by saying they just got in there by accident, but he felt it was fair to pay for them since he brought them up to the cash register anyway. I was a big Margaret Cho fan in my mid-20’s and went to see her perform live twice in the same year. I even got her autograph and we took a picture together. I waited outside in the cold Chicago November air just to meet her. Her humor has gotten darker and moodier over time, but I loved her early stuff, including the impressions of her mother. I also like Pablo Francisco a lot. I was laughing so hard when I saw him at Zanie’s that I could hardly see straight. He has been on Mad TV in the past, as well. He does a great movie trailer voice and I love his Arnold Schwarzenegger impression. This past February, my husband and I got to see a comedy show for the first time in years. It was a blast. The MC and the opening acts were both really funny. The headliner was okay, but I would have been fine just seeing the first two go on even longer. Some other comedians I really like and also enjoyed seeing live are Ray Romano and Jerry Seinfeld. I know they’re more famous for their TV shows, but they’re still really funny. I also liked Ellen DeGeneres as a comedian (I don’t get to watch her as a talk show host). I’ve actually tried doing a comedy routine at an amateur night and it’s really hard and nerve wracking. It takes a lot of skill with writing and timing. So I give comedians a lot of credit when they do put themselves out there.

With Margaret Cho, November 2001

Finally, I want to share one more thing I find really funny...the literal video for "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees. There are some other funny literal videos out there, but this one takes the cake. I was laughing so hard that I had tears streaming down my face!

The crabbiest girl in Merryland

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Moma Rock picked the topic: Believe in them or not (or only think of them on occasion for entertainment value), horoscopes are highly popular and very interesting. What is your horoscope sign? Do you think you resemble what is said about you? And, do you take any stock in it?

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

Maryland is famous for their crabs, so maybe I was meant to move here. Yes, I still keep Kosher and hate shellfish anyway, but in the zodiac, I am Cancer, which is the crab. So it just makes sense for me to live in Maryland now!

I used to check my horoscope in every magazine I got, but a lot of the stuff didn't make sense to me, like "when the moon is behind Jupiter on the 7th day of the 12th month..." I didn't really see it as a prophecy for my life.

A long time ago, I came across these horoscope books at Borders. They would compare my sign with all the other signs for potential love matches. They also included a CD of songs that fit my personality. (There's really funny story to go along with that.*) When I looked up Scorpio, the sign of my boyfriend, the match was so perfect that I got all emotional! In the past, I had dated Libras, even knowing they weren't a good love match for Cancer in the long run. Those relationships eventually fizzled out. (However, I have maintained great friendships with the female Libras I know.) And yet here I am, 10 years later, with the same Scorpio who is now my husband! So the love matches between signs do hold weight for me.

I know that I am very much like my sign from what I've read in the past, and have made it my mission to find out just how much! I looked up Cancer on Astrology-Online.com. It was the first site I came to, so that was what I was going with. I'm sharing a few things from there that describe me:

“It is a fundamentally conservative and home-loving nature, appreciating the nest like quality of a secure base to which the male can retire when he needs a respite from the stresses of life, and in which the Cancerian woman can exercise her strong maternal instincts. The latter tends to like and to have a large family. `Nest like' is an appropriate adjective for the Cancerian home, for its inhabitants tend to favor the dark, mysterious but comfortable type of house which has something of the air of a den about it, a place which belongs to the family rather than existing as a showcase to impress visitors.”

If nothing else, I have strong maternal instincts! I am obviously protective of my children, but I also play Jewish mother to my friends. I like to make sure everyone is taken care of! Given that it was my husband’s doing to have the house remodeled, I can’t vouch for making the home into a showcase. I do tend to keep rooms dark or low-lit whenever I can. I find it cozier. My husband will have lots of lights on though. (I wonder if that’s a Scorpio thing.)

“That is not to say that the Cancerian is unsociable, just that for them there is a time to socialize and a time to be solitary, and this is part of the apparent contradiction in their nature.”

I am definitely a mix of wanting to go out and do stuff and wanting to lay around on the couch in PJ’s while watching TV or reading. When I’m at work, I always read during lunch, even when the option to socialize is available. If I go out with someone else for lunch, I talk with them and I do respond when people are in the kitchen and want to talk with me. However, I just love being buried behind my books whenever possible!

“Their intimates, however, may see a very different character, one with a sympathetic and kindly sensitivity to other people, especially those they love. They are able to identify with the situations of others because of the keenness of their imaginations. They are often over-imaginative and prone to fantasy, sometimes trying to shape their lives to fit some romantic ideal.”

I am TOTALLY like this! I tend to get wrapped up in other people’s lives and try to provide a listening ear or comfort whenever it is needed. I am definitely idealistic though.

“They are appreciative of art and literature, and especially of drama, where the spectacle and ebb and flow of action and feeling particularly excite them. They may themselves possess considerable literary, artistic or oratorical talent. Their sharp ears and talent for mimicry can sometimes give them success on the stage, though their tendency to be emotional may make them overact.”

Case in point...I love to read and I love theater, especially Broadway. I also love when a book, movie, TV show or play has an intense level of drama to it. I like surprise endings and cliffhangers too. And I do some good impressions of celebrities, as well as of my kids. :)

“In their personal relationships they are mentally a mixture of toughness and softness, often emotional and romantic to the point of sentimentality in their fantasies; but in real life and in marriage, their loving is not so sentimental but tenaciously loyal. Even if they have affairs (and they may do so, for the male in particular is open to sensual stimulation), their first loyalty remains to spouse and family, of whom they regard themselves as the protector.”

So true once again! I would never ever have an affair and it disgusts me to see women doing that on TV and in books. You should have seen how mad I got while watching Smash. And I am the one making sure the house is locked up at night and everyone is safe and sound. I tend to be overprotective at times. With my friends, I am a softie, but I also tend to dish out the tough love when it’s needed.

“Both the Cancerian man and woman love unreservedly, giving much and asking little in return - in fact, one of the most important lessons they have to learn is how to receive gracefully. They are too easily influenced by those they love and admire, and swayed by the emotion of the moment. They are also loyal friends, the negative side of their faithfulness being clannishness, the narrow patriotism of "my country right or wrong"; and closing ranks in suspicion and coldness toward outsiders.”

Does that mean I need to be more timely about writing thank you notes? I do enjoy receiving gifts and will thank people profusely, but I’m terrible at sending out thank you notes. It takes me months! Most of the time, I also don’t ask people to bring things to my house when we have Shabbat meals.

However, I don’t think I am cold toward outsiders unless it’s someone who has seriously pressed my buttons. I’m usually very open and welcoming to people and love getting to know new friends. Starting my chick lit group and blog was a way of letting a lot of new people into my life. And there are people whom I am blessed to have met as a result! In my neighborhood, I’m always welcoming to new people and I introduce them amongst my friends whenever I can.

“Cancerians have a retentive memory, particularly for emotionally laden events which they can recall in detail for years afterwards. they are strongly governed by childhood memories and since they live intensely in the past in memory and in the future in imagination, a chance meeting with someone for whom they had an unrequited love, even if they thought they had conquered the feeling, will easily rouse the emotion all over again.”

Once again, this is SO me. People are astounded by the stuff I remember from years and years ago. Little details they wouldn’t have retained at all. I also tend to go off in dreamland with my imagination, sometimes turning myself into a celebrity!

“Physically they are average to below average in height, with a fleshy body and short legs in comparison with the rest of them. Their hair is usually brown, their faces round, their complexions pale, their foreheads prominent, their eyes small and blue or gray in color, their noses short, perhaps upturned, and their mouths full. They sometimes walk clumsily.”

I’m short, a bit overweight (I am still working on this aspect) and have brown hair, pale skin and blue eyes. My nose is not short, as I’ve been compared to Jennifer Grey from her “Dirty Dancing” days. I am definitely a klutz though!

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Given all the comparisons I found, it goes without saying that our horoscope signs have a say in our personalities. I know Moma Rock is also a Cancer, which is why we connect so well. It will be interesting to see if everyone else is as much like their sign as I am like mine.

*Since you've stuck with this post to the very end, I will now share the funny story. When I was still just dating my husband, a friend of mine was dating a guy whom she and I both worked with. There was a misunderstanding a while back regarding "Six Feet Under" and I thought she had given him the nickname "Rico" as a result. So we started calling him "Rico Suave." His sign was Libra, so I looked at his book to see if he was meant to be with my friend, who is a Leo. One of the songs on that CD was "Rico Suave." How crazy is that?!? He unfortunately passed away a few years back (may he rest in peace), but I still have this memory from almost 10 years ago.