Its that time of year again...

     Its that time of year again. Yes, its my birthday. Again. Baruch Hashem . Its the time where I look through my list of things that I would have liked to have accomplished this year and I realize that I haven't done half of what I would have liked to have. I suppose this means that I still have things to strive for which is  a positive thing. It is never good to be stagnant. Birthday time is where I push my goals to the next year. Hopefully by next year I  will accomplish them. Or not. Anyway, happy birthday to me.
     

Premium Rush

     I viewed the movie Premium Rush  last night . Premium Rush is a film about a bike messenger in Manhattan  who unwittingly is given a shady delivery . The story line is cutesy and kind of reminds me of the movie Speed. What stands out about PR is that it is a valentine to the streets of Manhattan. It was so much fun guessing the locations the characters were riding through. The love story is cute but predictable.   It is fun watching the adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt  biking. PR is not the most Oscar-worthy film you will see, but it sure is a fun ride.

the most important quality

     For elderly women the most important quality in a man is his continued ability to drive a car. For all us younger women the most important quality in a man is his computer skills.  Or at least it is important to me as my computer skills leave much to be desired.
     Finding a man with computer savvy is much more difficult than one might think. Women often date men who are older than them and usually younger individuals are better with computers. I once met a guy who told me he didn't own a computer and that he was so impressed with my computer skills. Unfortunately for him this was my red flag to pass on him. I may write a blog but Steve Jobs I'm not.
     Aside from dating younger men who were computer savvy I have actually met some older guys who possess the computer gene. Just this evening  a guy five years older than me told me on the phone that he is good at fixing computer glitches. I think I am in love.

thrift shops

     In this crazy economy I have been a frequent thrift shop shopper. I like thrift shops way better than 99 cent stores. Thrift shops are filled with expensive or regular priced clothing that people no longer want to wear. 99 cent stores are filled with pure junk. A lot of clothing that ends up in thrift shops are from Anne Taylor, J. Crew, Banana Republic, Dress Barn, Gap , Moda International, Sigrid Olson, Talbot's and more. People who shop at Anne Taylor are the biggest thrift shop donors. I am not sure if people who shop at Anne Taylor most want to cast off their purchases or if Anne Taylor customers are more into clothes recycling. Either way I am thrilled. Anne Taylor always has beautiful clothing in their windows, but I can only afford Anne Taylor  at thrift shop prices.

The Groggers - "Mindy" [Official Video]

This is so silly and cute that I just had to post it. 

we are family

     As a kid you learn that your family consists of parents, children , aunts , uncles, grandparents and cousins. As an adult I have learned that family consists of much more than just blood relatives. Family consists of those close  to you who one chooses to be a part your life. This includes spouses as well as close friends.
     With one's birth family one is forced to be a part of each other's lives. With spouses and friends one chooses to be a part of their lives.  Both types of family are vital to my existence.

      As my life moves on the lines that divide biological and chosen family has blurred. This is as it should be. Family is family.

listen

     So many people play interviewer while dating . I don't and somehow I find out a lot more about people than the interviewer types. This is because I actually listen to what the other person is telling me about himself. Its not that I do not ask any questions , its just that  I don't opt for mistress of interrogation mode.
People tell you everything you need to know about them, if only you would listen.
     If a guy tells me he is at a specific religious level that is not mine  i believe him. If someone tells me that he does not want to get married  I believe him. If a tells me that he does not want to marry me I believe him. I don't second guess him and think that I know better when the person himself has stated clearly and specifically differently. Who knows a person better than ones self? Believe what a guy tells you about himself. He means it. He does know himself better than you do. Spare yourself the heartache and just listen.

sunset

Just thought I would post some pictures of the sunset that I have recently snapped. Enjoy and have  a fabulous evening.

on keeping kosher...

     I have always found it humorous that even after some have forgone a lot of  mitzvos they still adhere to the laws of kashrus. Its not that I don't believe that it is nice for people to keep whatever they can of the Torah, but I find it interesting how people who have cast off so much persist in holding onto one of the most difficult of mitzvos. In a way it is ironic that they hold on to kashrus which is meant to keep us Jews apart from others that those who have seemingly assimilated find it difficult to violate.
     I also find it curious that many Jews have gastric problems. Maybe this is to remind even the most assimilated of us that we need to mind our diet. I do realize that assimilated Jews are not the only Jews who have gastric issues, but it is quite curious that for a Jew who otherwise may not be paying attention to his/her diet to pay attention to it even if its not just to keep kosher.

Butternut Squash Fries

     As a big supporter of the farmer's market I have been buying butternut squash for years. I used to  always steam it and I loved it. The problem is that I had yet to make another butternut squash dish. I have tried baking butternut squash but it would never come out right. The other problem is that it is really tough to cut butternut squash before it has been cooked. Fortunately I found a solution. I steam butternut squash for a bit until its soft enough to cut but not fully cooked. I let it cool off so I don't burn myself, and I cut the squash up into wedges. I spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and I put the wedges on the cookie sheet. I sprinkle pumpkin spice and salt free garlic blend spice over the wedges . Finally I spray a few sprays of cooking spray onto the wedges and then I bake it for about a half hour. It would probably be best if I flipped the wedges midway through the half hour, but I am much too lazy to do so. Either way , it still comes out tasty. The finished product tastes like a lighter version of sweet potato fries. I plan on making some for shabbos.

Dress Codes

     Whenever I shop at Pomegranate in the summer I bring a sweater with me because it is so chilly. I think that if the stores that want people to adhere to a specific dress code would just turn up the air conditioning to sub zero temperatures everyone would be as covered up as Eskimos in their stores.

soda tax

     Recently mayor Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City proposed a ban on the sale of soda cups larger than 12 oz. to combat the obesity epidemic. While I think it is admirable that mayor Bloomberg is concerned with the obesity epidemic, I am not sure that his limiting portion sizes At movie theaters or imposing a per ounce soda tax will help peel off the pounds. The desire to be thin must come from within. It can't really be federally mandated.

Jewish Burqa Trend: The Frumka - pt 2 of 2

Jewish Burqa Trend: The Frumka - pt 1 of 2

This is nothing new, but I found the discussion interesting. I think that Jewish women dressing like Muslim women is not more modest. I think that it is oppressive for a woman to wear a burka and that it is only contributing to the ever invisible woman in charedi society.

can't always go it alone

     Some people are never on their own. They always are in a relationship or they are co-dependent with their parents . They never learn to navigate life on their own . I have always envied these people. Even when I was a kid I felt alone. My parents were always so busy with my younger siblings that I felt like I had  to fend for myself. This was not all bad, but it does not help when I need to ask for help from others. Sometimes a person really needs to ask for help from someone else and when you are so used to solving problems on one's own it can be hard. It can also be hard to rely on someone else's help when one is not sure one can trust the other person enough to rely on their help.

celeste and jesse forever

    I saw the movie Celeste and Jesse Forever today.  CJF  is about a married couple that was going through a divorce yet they could not cut the cord because they were each others best friend. This movie gave deeper meaning to the saying "can't live with you , can't live without you". Without giving away the entire plot I will say that I think that this thought is so profound on so many levels. In some cases some people who are married don't really know how great they have it, but divorce because they think that they could find something out there that is even better than what they have now. I of course am speaking of someone who is in a pretty good situation and most likely did not date too many people before they married. Couples really need to try and work things out if things are mostly good. Once a couple breaks up there is no turning back so if you think things have a shot in h$@l of possibly working out it behooves you to try and fix things. Then again sometimes its time to move on and no matter how much you want something to work out it just isn't going to .
     I realize that writing about marriage issues is outside my expertise as I have never been married, but I really was moved by this movie. It had a lot of good think questions  that can be applied to those who are in relationships even if they are not married. Often things are shades of gray  and not just black and white.

smiles

     I always wondered why it is that when some people smile all of the teeth in their  mouth show and when other people smile just some of their teeth show. Do some people go out of their way to show all of their teeth when they smile or is it kind of like some people are double jointed and others aren't. Do people who smile with every tooth in their mouth showing wrinkle more? Inquiring minds want to know.

SWC EXCLUSIVE: Guri Weinberg Thanks Gold Medalist Aly Raisman for her So...

Aly Raisman - London Olympics 29th July 2012 @richmillett richardmillett...

returning lost objects

     Hashavas Aveida - returning lost objects - is not an easy mitzvah. It appears simple though. You find and object that you know must belong to someone and you realize that it should be returned, but it can be a pain in the neck to post signs and possibly receive crank calls from weirdos all because you are trying to do the right thing. Gee, I must sound like a horrible person.
      I found some keys next to the elevator on my floor in my apartment building. Judging from the shapes of the keys I could tell that whoever the keys belonged to had to be living in my apartment building. Judging by the mini cards on the key chain I knew that the person must have been an older woman.
     When I first spotted the keys I thought that they may have been mine, but after a moment I realized my keys were in my pocketbook so the lost keys were not mine. For a split second I thought about leaving them where they are, but when I imagined myself  in the same situation I opted to post a note in the elevator and in the lobby about the keys. Within 45 minutes of posting my note the owner was found- an older woman who lives on my floor.
      I wish that I did not have to  say that my lazy self almost prevented me from performing this mitzvah, but fortunately my lazy self did not win and the object was  returned to its owner. Once again the yetzer harah was defeated and good prevailed.
   

Hungry Girl

     A few years ago I picked up a cookbook by Lisa Lillen .  True to form I just read it but never tried any of the recipes. Lisa Lillen's cookbook series is called Hungry Girl. Hungry Girl is her cartoon alter ego.  The  Hungry Girl cookbooks make low calorie versions of all of the fun food we hungry girls would like to eat if we did not mind being 300 pounds. Hungry Girl recipes are also relatively easy to prepare. Lillen lists all of the nutritional information as well. Now that I am in full on diet mode Hungry Girl is my new best friend.
     Check out the Hungry Girl website. You won't regret it.

photo please...

     I never learn my lesson. My usual policy is that I don't contact men on dating websites that don't post their pictures . A guy without a profile picture contacted me today. Against my better judgement I replied. Instead of immediately requesting a photo I chatted with him online. When I finally saw his photo I was in quite a dilemma. Not only did he look a decade older than his listed age, he did not look appealing to me either. I  was in quite a pickle. Why hadn't I upheld my rule?
Then again , it was not entirely my fault. This is the chance people take when they don't post their picture on dating websites. They think that if I really like them then it won't matter what they look like . So silly.
      Anyway, back to Romeo. Well as soon as I saw old Romeo's photo I knew he was not for me, only confirming all doubts I had about him without the photo. He had a lot of flaws before I saw his photo, but I guess I thought if he was cute it might not be so bad.... Well the photo brought me to reality and no Romeo was not for me photo or not!
     Well , I have learned my lesson. Next time I am immediately asking for a photo when mr no photo contacts me.

life

     Though we are called by the same name (unless we change it) our entire lives, we are really different people at different times of our lives. First we are babies, then toddlers, children, young adults, adults, middle aged , and then if we are fortunate we become elderly. Though we always seem to be just ourselves throughout these stages, we are also really different.
     I would like to encounter my younger self and speak to her with what I know now that I did not know then. If only I could look into the future and guess what my future self would want to tell me  with what I will know then.
     Perhaps it really is best not to know what is yet to happen. Perhaps it is good that we can't communicate now with who we will  be in the future. If we could we might not make the mistakes we will make today, but perhaps we wouldn't take the risks we should take if we knew what the future holds.

the process of inner peace

     Peace is so necessary . Inner peace as well as world peace. When one does not have internal peace one cannot rest. I know that I need to make changes. All around me so many things have changed. My social circles have changed. Never ending unrest at work. I need to change but it is so hard to move. For some people change is so simple , for others familiar chaos sometimes is mistaken for comfortable. Change is like foul tasting medicine. You know it will help but the process may not be so smooth.
      Change is often needed to achieve inner peace. Sometimes it is just a decision one makes despite environmental unrest. 
        Have a peaceful shabbos. I hope that I will too.

Searching For Israel's Capital (we know its Jerusalem!)

     As a child I was always amazed to hear that the media would name Tel Aviv and not Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Every Jew in the world knows that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. My friend sent me this video. Its amazing. It appears to be a 'Where's Waldo ' the Israeli version. I of course had to share this with all of you. Enjoy!