Everything happens for a reason. A cultural commentary with a lotta rock-n-roll, semitism, and parenting. See our Etsy Shop! Buy HeadyBands, Hoodies and more at www.wholephamily.etsy.com
A Shabbat custom is to have flowers on your table. It is a nice one. We don't do it a lot for various reasons, but I love having flowers. Our shabbes guests brought us tulips on Friday afternoon.
Here is my arrangement:
The Schweppes Bitter lemon came from my trip to Berlin. The Gold's Horseradish is a way of turningzayde's favorite condiment into something hip, and the San Pellegrino is one of my favorite "fancy" sodas that is more readily available here in the states. All are glass bottles.
We got a 2nd bunch of tulips. My mom gave us this cool disposable Made in Israel vase that comes folded up, called the Vazu.
It is throwaway, which isn't my inclination, but it was pretty handy!
A few weeks ago, actress Juliette Lewis was in a YouTube viral video (wow, it is over 10 million hits!) , entitled Sh*t Girls Say. Really funny stuff. Not quite kosher, but I found it great.
Circulating today in the Jewish blogosphere, just before shabbes, is Sh*t Frum Girls Say. Listen for the Canadian accent, as it reminds me of Kids In The Hall. Haha "koisel"...
I gotta say, coming from a frum perspective that is good SHTUFF! (Though I do think the "baruch hashem" could have flowed better from the tongue.)
Lest you think Frum (observant) Jews are the epicenter of the world, they are not.
Jews are so small in numbers. Frum Jews? Even smaller.
The Black girls and Asian girls also have parodies.
Early this morning, I found myself 10 minutes late to spin class. Normally I sit in the same area, but I saw a friend with an open seat in her vicinity and was tempted to sit next to her. I am glad I didn't. I have my reasons: it is near the windows, I like to be up front in the mirrors, and it offers more privacy. It is my makom kavua, or dedicated space, that I return to day after day.
If I succumbed to impulse just to be social, I would have lost out. Don't get me wrong: I love to mix it up. But I would have given up the reasons why I am there in the first place. And one of those is not to catch up with my girlfriends. (actually, we did get a chance to chat, but it was after the class, which is the appropriate time and place).
When it comes to children, routines are essential. They enable them to thrive and yet getting them to stick to the routine is challenging. One area where I have been successful due to sticking to consistency with my kinderlach is in clearing the table. We use the Hebrew word toranut to refer to clean-up. When the Wolfman leaves the table with his breakfast dishes still there, I will say simply, "Did you do your toranut?" Repetition of this question has instilled that he knows it is his responsibility. When he acts like he doesn't want to do this job, I will ask probing questions such as: "Is there something you need help with? Are the dishes too heavy?" Often, this helps.
There is a time and a place for everything, and routines help us get there.
Pete Seeger captured this Jewish concept in "Turn, Turn, Turn," a song popularized by the Byrds. It is based on the Book of Ecclesiastes (which appears in the Old Testament or Tanach). It is called Kohelet in Hebrew and is read in synagogue during the holiday of Sukkot, a harvest festival all about changes of the seasons. As creatures of habit, every year our sukkah has the same look and feel, but the people who come to it bring variety of all stripes.
The Wolfman's Brother is eating his oatmeal with strawberries, a bit of maple syrup and a chocolate syrup drizzle as I type.
If there is one thing that I learned while teaching early childhood with the lovely Original PurpleGirl, it is to use small pitchers for the children so they can pour their own. Here, we have an Arcoroc glass pitcher you can pick up at Crate and Barrel.
This is the perfect size for small hands, and even my older two (The Wolfman is 6 and Concealed Light is 8) find it useful.
Easier than trying to get them to pour from a gallon container.
My sister, Reba, is confused as to what type of blog this is.
It is a me blog.
And a big part of me is seeking out the good stuff.
I am posting stuff here that I like and hopefully it will all make sense.
We have spent a day in Lake Placid the past couple of years en route to our Adirondack Mountain vacation. I love the ADKs, having gone to summer camp there.
On Mirror Lake Drive, the main drag in Lake Placid, you are sure to find touristy shops and restaurants. I believe I found the best one of all, and even on the outside of the store which is called "ADK Outlet" you will not know the goodness unless you go inside.
photo courtesy of the ADK outlet's Facebook page
Awesome oversized patch from ADK Outlet, 2472 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid, NY 12946
There is nothing touristy-cheesy about the ADK Outlet.
Last summer we finally met the proprietor of ADK Outlet. His name is Tom Dalton. He played guitar in the store with my children. He currently has no web site but produces a lot of preppy-inspired reproductions. Rugbies, felt college banners, vintage-looking college shirts for Syracuse, Michigan and other popular schools. He himself exudes the prep-school boy ski bum image, though he is well past the school years and is from Upstate New York. You feel like he is Ralph Lauren (nee Lifshitz)'s long-lost brother. He is doing preppy for cheaper.
Tom lives in China half of the year where his quality goods are produced. Last summer I purchased some jersey-knit knee-length skirts that I have not found anywhere else. The quality is is superb. He embroiders the skirts right on-site. For those frum readers among you, these are the best comfy "sweatshirt" A-line skirts you will ever find. They are elastic waist with drawstrings. They are really the perfect skirt I have been looking for years for. Colors include: cobalt blue, black, hunter green, gray. I sniff a business idea. Not.
His shop is decorated beautifully with a plethora of vintage collegiate memorabilia including felt pennants, sporting equipment, and Adirondack hiking gear. If someone blindfolded you and brought you into his store, you would think it was Ralph Lauren.
This all reminds me that I have never heard "Prep School Hippie" and there isn't even a YouTube since Phish no longer plays it, but here are the lyrics:
Prep school hippie
Or hip school preppie
I can't decide
Should I spend my adolescent days wearing tie dyes or Vuarnets
I can't decide
Big ten kegger at the frat
Or watching Jerry shake his fat
Prep school hippie
Or hip school preppie
I can't decide
I can't wait till I'm 21
Doesn't this give you the hankering to get back to Oak Bluffs?
Further to my recent entry on Feng Shui, I am finally able to part with some items from 1st and 2nd grade (late 1970s).
The first are the remnants of my Hello Kitty address book.
My childhood friends in 2nd or 3rd grade. I only hope that Concealed Light will have really great friends, too.
My brother's work. Let's just call him The Goalie
In 2nd grade we did an imaginary trip to Australia with Mrs. Burn.
We made Koalas stuffed with popcorn kernels. We cut out the fabric and sewed the koalas. I remember looking through the travel brochures about Australia and all the kids laughing when we got to the photos of the nude tribal people. Things were looser back then.
Koala Feeding Instructions
The Koala just hanging out in its box
Here is the Koala, whom I have had since 1980.
Now it's time to say goodbye to my Koala. He's had a good run.
My sister is a phenomonal jewelry designer using semi-precious stones. These would make great Bat Mitzvah necklaces. Contact here here at her Etsy store.
These are the Saucony Grid Lightspeed gym shoes which I purchased yesterday at DSW. Alas, a quick Google search just now doesn't reveal this most awesome color combo anywhere on the Internet. Just goes to show ya, the Internet isn't the end all be all.
I recently blogged about Nike, and I think they're a great company. I initially bought, at DSW, a pair of their pretty well-known shoes from their "Free" line, which look similar to the pair above.
I got sucked in to following the herd (since all the cool kids at the gym wear Frees, I wanted a pair, too and also their ad that I linked to in the recent blog entry where talked a bit about Nike, I am confident will agree it is a great advertisement) and not trusting my instinct. I was a product of being marketed at!
Over the years I have had numerous pairs of Saucony Jazz. Black, red, navy, green and yellow, etc. They are, without a doubt, the most comfortable but cool (some can say hipster, that is fine with me) fun sneaker out there.
Anyway, I got home, put on the Nikes and They.Didn't.Feel.Comfortable.
Saucony always, always, always did right by me, so I persuaded DSW to let me use a $5 birthday coupon which I didn't even have with me but didn't use this year.
With all this recent purple discussion, it was funny to see the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team mascot all decked out in Superhero purple on this children's book I saw at my local 5 and 10 Mapes Store, a real gem and relic if you ask me. Go there for toys, party supplies, office stuff (not bulk, though, but for hard-to-find items they have it!)
Good thing I didn't buy this book, though, since it cost $6.31!
I guess that is where licensed products get ya...more pricey. Call it brand recognition. Though from this cover you pretty much don't see any Phillies logo branding...
Anyway, that price of $6.31 is cool because if you reverse the last two digits you get $6.13 which is the number of mitzvot there exist in the Torah.
Talk about finding numerology stuff at a 5 and dime store. Now, that is fitting!
Just now as I was tucking in the kinderlach, I finally got around to weeding out some of the summer and fall clothes that I inevitably leave lingering in the drawers just in case we get one of those random warm nights in the winter. Or for that one time we go to the JCC pool, I have not just one but two bathing suits in the drawers. And rash guards. Like they're gonna get sunburns indoors in December. At least I don't have swim diapers hanging around anymore. Guests who need a diaper because they forgot one? Sh*t outta luck, pun intended.
All of my mama friends agree that with children, the clothing situation is never-ending. The switch of seasons. The new shoes. The growing kids. The mismatched socks. The laundry to be done. The laundry to be put away. The missing slipper that you just located behind the other child's bed. The raincoat. The winter coat. The fleece. The hoody that is too tight. The dress that bubbe bought that Concealed Light insists on wearing despite being a size too big. The hangers falling off the closet rod because she is too lazy to get a stepstool to reach. The ponytail holders that end up all over the house. And, of course, the clothing left behind on the floor.
But this is all for good reason.
Thank God, my children are healthy. That is truly the part that matters the most, and I should feel blessed that I have such things to deal with. I have three healthy children who are fun, engaging, musical, and avid readers. I need to remind myself that these are all good things and the clothing pile-up is something that all families (usually the moms) need to conquer.
And now, one of Reba Magdalene's favorites. This was on cable ad naseum and is apropos to this message.
And now I have to get up to the attic to put away the old stuff.
