Today’s post marks the return of Jew Stuff! I wasn’t leaving it out, really; it’s just that bulk of the Jewish holidays are crushed together between mid-fall and early spring. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. It literally means “Head of the Year”. Why do we celebrate our New Year on what seems like a random day each year in September/October? I’ll tell ya why: because Rosh Hashanah actually occurs on the FIRST day of the FIRST month…of the Hebrew Calendar. Where the Gregorian calendar (January, February, March, et al) is related to the sun and how the earth moves around it, the Hebrew calendar is related to the…
-
-
Stuffed.
Meals in this house are boring about 85% of the time, maybe even 86% of the time. Normally we are too busy, too tired, and too lazy to make plans far enough in advance to pull something out of the freezer in time to defrost, or to make sure we have all the ingredients needed for something “exciting”. We usually really step it up when we have a Fab Five gathering; that’s a given. This past week though, I really wanted to get out of the rut and so I started thinking about dishes that I used to make when I had a little more time and was a little…
-
Polish Like It’s 1999
I am a creature of habit. I like routine. I am comforted by “The Same” of it all. Shakeups and unpredictability are fun for me now and then (alright, depending on what it is); I can rise to the occasion and have fun with something different, but in general terms and daily details I am all cozy with what I’m used to. Which is why, when my friend/co-worker said to me “We’re not painting your nails a boring color this time, are we?” I trembled a little bit. Yeah, it’s just nails*. No, I’m not a shallow person. There are bigger decisions to be made and the matter of nail…
-
Oh, Leaf Me Alone! (That’s What My Dad Would Say, Anyway!)
My girl Andie at Sweet.Southern.Spirited. posted recently about how fall is her favorite season, and she wanted to see some colorful fall photos. Fall is coincidentally MY favorite season (okay, there was a 1 in 4 chance of that happening, right?) too, and I thought I’d do an almost-wordless-Fall post. My sister Julesie took these photos in the fall of 2005. (EDITED: Andie is actively looking for fabulous fall photos! If you want to share yours with someone who would love to look at them, e-mail her at sweetsouthernspirited (at) cox (dot) net. She thanks you in advance!)
-
Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Kat*!
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, meine Katikat! Es tüt mir leid, das mein Deutsch nicht so gut ist; aber für dich, werde ich mein Bestes tun. Ich schickte dich ein Geschenk, und ich habe auch ein Geschenk hier. Zuerst, dieses Lied (Spliff: “Herzlichen Glückwunsch”): 1983 kaufte ich ihre Musik in Deutschland. Ein anderer Liebling, UKWs “Sommersprossen”: Mein Lieblingsteil ist: “Tina – ist das nicht primawas für ein Klima;haben wir hier schlechtes Klimafahren wir sofort nach Lima.” LOL Wieder, am besten Wünsche auf deinen Geburtstag. Ich hoffe, dass du den Tag genießen. Ich sende dich viele Umarmungen. *Today is my evil German twin sister’s birthday. I haven’t yet figured out how I…
-
Forget The Current Economy: Remember Bartering?
I have recently gained a new person to stalk blogging friend, known to her readers as Weaselmomma. She and I have crossed paths in comment sections over at Nuclear Family Warhead and Joeprah, but other than our eyes briefly meeting across a crowded cyberspace, we never really had a conversation. Until the last couple of days. After we mutually stalked each other visited each other’s blogs, we came to a realization that was confirmed via e-mail: we live no more than ten minutes from each other. Small world, right? The distance between us–or lack thereof–made it necessary for Weaselmomma to bring something to my attention: she is currently “up” over…
-
Speaking of Kynt & Vyxsin…
What a crazy coincidence! Didn’t I just mention them in yesterday’s post? They (one of our absolute fave Amazing Race teams) apparently lit up the red carpet at the Emmys on Sunday night, according to Perez Hilton. Click here to see them in all their glory. They should have presented an award or something. Would have been alot more entertaining than some of the other folks that made it on camera…
-
Persuading Americans To Sit On The Couch is Like Persuading Cookie Monster To…Well, You Know.
So, tonight begins the Fall TV season; do you have your viewing plan all set? The good news is that, according to ABC, this week is “National Stay at Home Week”. My question is, who was the “genius” executive that thought the public had to be told to stay home this week–to save gas, no less–in order to catch Week One of the New Season? Between the writer’s strike that chopped last season into little tiny pieces, the extra-long summer of reruns, the Olympics (nothing against them), the political conventions, and the awards shows that—so far, anyway—seem to have been written by non-writers and have proven to be mind-numbing wastes…
-
Anatomy of a Fight
The Scene: Skokie Northshore Sculpture ParkThe Date: June 17, 2005The Occasion: A picnic and photo sessionThe People: Melisa, Julesie, and the two boys (Older boy being days away from 13; younger boy being 10) This park is chock-full of interesting sculptures in all shapes, sizes, and materials. We thought it would be fun to make the drive up to see it and enjoy a picnic. And it was. Two specific memories from that day stand out in my mind; one is the inaugural use of the phrase “Gotta pee pee at the BP“, coined by Julesie. (EDITED: I stand corrected: it was “I gotta TEE TEE at the BP.” I’m…
-
You Can Take The Girl Out of High School…
Last night it was our parental duty to attend Curriculum Night at the sixteen-year-old’s high school. One of us was happy to go in order to learn about the topics our son would be taught this year but otherwise was not thrilled about being in the high school environment. One of us was happy to go and was positively thrilled to the bone about walking around the massive building as if it were the ’80s again. Any guesses? I adored high school. I light up when talking about it. I would go back and do it all over again if I could. If you were to ask me what was…