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!

100 years ago....

      On July 24 for the secular date and 10 of Av for the Jewish date my grandmother would have been 100 years old. Sometimes her secular birthday would fall on Tisha B'Av much to her chagrin.
       My grandmother  had the most infectious laugh. She was so full of life and wisdom. She was an associate travel agent and planned trips for senior citizens when she was a senior citizen herself. People always loved her trips. Grandma had a way of making everyone feel special.  I miss her very much. I am blessed to have had her as a grandmother.
       Grandmothers are so important.  If you have a living grandmother be sure to treasure her. I treasured mine.