So They Didn't Want Our Blood

While my family was in New York we decided to do something to help out with the hurricane relief effort. At first the idea was to volunteer, however it was impossible to find a place that didn't require an orientation or to be over 18.
After realizing volunteering was out, the second idea was to donate blood. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a place that will take your blood around here, most of the hospital data bases are down so they are not taking blood donations, no matter how needed it is.
After almost an hour googling around and calling people, my dad found two places that might be open. We had no confirmation from either of them, and ended up walking to the one that was closer. We promptly became lost, walking in circles trying to find a place to just take our blood!
When all seemed lost we found a become of hope, a blood donation center hidden behind a park. We walked in, ready to donate when...
We were told they would not be accepting donations till January because of the storm! Luckily, or so it seemed, they had the name of another blood bank that would be open on Black Friday.
Today we set off, ready to finally do our bit to help New York recover. Paper work was filled out, photo IDs looked at, and the preliminary tests taken when...
We were denied. My iron levels were to low, and it turns out that you can't donate blood if you have a cold, meaning that our two day adventure resulted in nothing. Ah well, perhaps another year.

Thanksgiving 2012

It seems to be a thing to do a Thanksgiving post, almost all the blogs I read are doing one, so I figured I'd jump on that band wagon.
This year my family is back up in New York as we are every year, bonding with everyone and enjoying the city. I didn't go to the parade this year, although my cousins were in it yet again. As a typical teen I stayed up till midnight and slept till noon. It's the holidays, I get to chill a bit.
My father and I walked down to see the freedom tower, which was incredible to see in person. I was about 5 during 9/11 so my memories are vague, however my dad was in his early 40s, and we had a long conversation about it.
There wasn't all that much to see besides construction, but the building is so majestic, I was awe struck looking up at it. I think it will be completed next year, and my family and I will be able to go and pay our respects.
Tonight we gorged on turkey and other amazing food, and reflected on what we have to be thankful for. I have so much to be thankful for, and I won't bore you with listing everything ( although I do love lists) but what I am most thankful for is my family, for standing by me and supporting me for 16 years. I would be totally lost without them, and love everyone so much. Have a happy turkey day everyone, may your plates and hearts always be full.

עם ישראל חי

I don't like to bring politics into this to much, hence no post about the election this year. However with everything thats been going on in Israel I feel like I have to say something about it. I'm very pro Israel, as is any US citizen that plans on joining the IDF. I spent last summer there and hope to spend a semester there next year, its one of my favorite places on this earth. When I was there this summer my group was taught a lot about the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Our counselors tried to keep the conversation as unbiased as they could, but half of them were Israeli and many had lived in Israel at some point or another, so naturally we did get the Israeli point of view. Regardless we witnessed first hand life by the Gaza strip, and talked to kids our age who's houses had been hit by rockets while they were sleeping. We saw a bomb proof day care center and learned about how little time there is to get to a shelter when a siren goes off.
I know there is no way to keep an open mind with everything that is going on, but what I am asking you to do is please try to see the other persons side, whether that be the Israeli or the Palestinian. The only way that peace can be achieved is through compromise, and the only way compromise can be found is through trying to see the other persons point of view. It isn't easy, and I'm not asking you to change your opinion on the conflict, rather to see where the other side is coming from. I hope that peace, or at least tolerance of the other group of people can be achieved soon, and the loss of innocent lives ended on both sides. In any conflict innocent people are killed, it is inevitable, and this conflict has been going on for decades. My only hope is that the conflict will end soon, no one should live in fear like that.

Trying to Explain My Weekends is Like Trying to Read Alphabet Soup

Its no secret that I love to keep myself busy. My friends make fun of me, saying that my "down time" is volunteer work with Soldiers Angels, but I digress. Generally my schedule is pretty set, busy but normal. However every once in a while something crazy comes up that shifts my day around. Alright maybe twice a month but you get the idea. This past weekend was spent at the ACDA All State Conferience. ACDA is a national organization  which has yearly choir conferences including a few different All State Choirs for kids of different ages. I've tried out a few times for All State choirs throughout the years but have never gotten in, until now.
Being a part of the Women's Choir at ACDA was an amazing experience, one that I will never forget. Never before had I been a part of a choir that was so professional and so dedicated to singing. Our conductor, Rollo Dilworth was so energetic and involved in bringing out the best in each one of us. We even sang one of his songs, a gospel song that has been stuck in my head ever since. Seeing a conductor get so into leading his choir like Dr. Dilworth does always makes me incredibly happy.

This is a picture my Dad took at the concert. 

I am the one in the green dress on the front row

In other news, this weekend I am heading to the LMEA All State, another music conference which is very similar to the ACDA one in many ways. The LMEA auditions are all in person instead of recordings and has two rounds instead of one. As far as I know I am the first student from Lusher to go to the LMEA Choral All State, and I am looking forward to it.

Last but certainly not least I found out last week that I was accepted to the ACDA Women's National Honor Choir, which will take place in Dallas next March. 8 students from my school were accepted and I am very psyched to see what it holds in store. 

To Pants Again!

I did it! Against all odds, I somehow managed to only wear skirts for a full year, baring athletic activities. This summer was a pretty big challenge as far as skirts were concerned, because we did a lot of athletic activities. I wore pants in the Negev, for obvious reasons, and also to a concert. I was going to wear a skirt to the concert near the end of the trip, however with thousands of teens running around I figured that shorts were the best idea. However I did wear a skirt when we climbed Masada, and for our multiple walking tours all around the country. After a while wearing a skirt wasn't that big of a hassle, I just learned to live with it and adapt to the various difficulties that would occur. I'm wearing a pair of jeans now, and it feels kind of weird. I almost feel more constricted in a pair of pants then I did in a skirt, probably because there is more fabric. Its weird not having the restrictions on what I can wear anymore, but I know that I will probably keep wearing skirts most of the time. What can I say they are very comfortable.

Hello Again

So I have been admittedly bad at blogging recently. I could make the excuse that things have been kind of crazy recently which is true, but I have also been incredibly lazy about it. School has been in session for about a month now, and I love it. It has been a few years since I enjoyed going to school and in some ways I am still shocked with how much I like it. I am doing well in most of my classes, and the one that I am not doing as well in, French, I have been working with the teacher some to pull my grade up. You can tell how the teachers really love their subject and want you to do well in their class. I could go on and on about how much I love the school I go to but I won't for now.

Coming this weekend: an in-depth look at Camp Dream St. MS. Only a few months late!

Its been a long time

Its been over a month since I've blogged. Wow. And I've been home for a pretty long time also, so no excuse there. Its also been a year since I started blogging. How crazy is that? So much has changed in a year, small and big. I promise there will be more posts soon, school starts in a few days and I have a lot of prep work to do before then. But I promise I have a great summer to talk about.

Repairing the World

As part of the trip I'm on we go one four day Chavayas. You can go on a hike, do army training, work in archeology, or do community service. Surprise surprise I am doing the community service Chavaya, and having a great time.

The Kotel

Today my group went to the Western Wall. It was such a stunning experience, praying next to so many other women.

We fall a lot!

Sitting in the Warsaw airport. I feel like the entire trip is really clumsy. I am having a great time, we are going to Israel today! The trip I am on is the NFTY in Israel La'dor va dor trip with Jacobs and Greene Family Camp. So.Many.Puns!

Chilling in a mall in Poland. I have so many good stories to tell when I have time!

Oy! My feet hurt!

Believe it or not I am writing this post from Pola d! That's why I haven't been very active the past few days, I haven't had wifi. More will be written soon.

He's Getting Fat Cuz He's Santa

I talked a lot about The Winter Garden a few weeks ago. I loved it, it drew me in and I got a lot of people to read it too, who all loved it. So when I saw  Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah on sale for a dollar at the library I figured what did I have to loose? I read it pretty quickly and for the first half was somewhat disappointed.  This isn't the Kristin Hannah I knew and loved. This was fine for a romance novel book, hell it was even great for a romance novel the characters weren't 2d stereotypes, but it wasn't anything like what I knew her writing to be. I thought I had confused authors or something. It boggled my mind.

And then IT happened. I wont tell you what IT was, because well that would spoil the whole book. All I can tell you is your mind is going to be blown. I literally said "Wait WHAT" out loud alone in my room when IT happened. So if any of you gave up Comfort and Joy before IT happened, and you know when IT happens, go read it! You will end up loving it.

Someday My Prince Will Come

As a strong independent women who doesn't need no man, I am so sick of hearing people talk about waiting for their prince charming, or something like that. Ironically I started reading this book when I had a boyfriend, and was waiting to be let out a standardized test to hang out with him. Regardless, I am sick of people thinking that women can't function without a man. It sounds archaic but even in the 21st century there are people that think that way.

One of the ways that young girls are exposed to "price charming" is through Disney. Let me say, I love Disney. The songs are awesome, and I watch the movies all the time. But the message in some of the princess stories is that a girl needs her prince to save her. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein delves into Disney's monopoly on little girls and all of the things it has spawned. My mom loves Peggy Orenstein and was really happy to see that I was reading her books. I went on to read other things by Orenstein, which I will talk about later, but Cinderella Ate My Daughter was a great starting point. Although it took me a few months to finish this book, it was fascinating!

I Could Hear the Hearts Breaking on Every Page

I returned from Dream St today, but am not going to blog about it just yet because all of the photos aren't online yet, and I wanted to put some of them in so that you can really see how wonderful Dream St is. Until then back to your regularly scheduled programing!

Polygamy has always interested me. I think I might have blogged about it before, I really can't recall. I love to show Sister Wives, it is interesting to learn about how different people live, especially in pleural  marriage. Sister Wives shows an honest view of polygamy, as far as I can tell, and even though it is hard they seem to all like the family at the end of the day. Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer paints a very different picture of the polygamous life style. Irene was raised in a family with sister wives, and although she saw how miserable it made her mother she still decided to become a second wife. Eventually her husband moved the family to Mexico, where they lived in poverty, and always just barely made ends meet. Eventually the family had 9 wives and some 58 children, 13 of which Spencer gave birth to. The majority of the kids were born in adobe houses with little to no attention from any sort of trained medical officials. Shattered Dreams gives a gut wrenching portrayal of something that is normally swept under the rug. Spencer tells the reader every detail of her life as one of multiple wives, and is so brutally honest that it is almost impossible to put down, even though sometimes you want to cry after reading how hard it was on Spencer, the other wives, and the kids. Overall it was an amazing book that lays it all on the line, the good the bad and the downright ugly.

Good Gatsby!

My dad loves to mention how much I hated The Great Gatsby when I first had to read it. I could force myself to keep reading for the first third of the book. He has a theory that most people hate books that they have to read. But after a while I fell in love with the story, especially the symbolism. I will never again be able to see a green light without thinking about Jay.

Also, for the next week there will be some quite on the blog. I am going away to be a counselor for Camp Dream St, a camp for kids with mental of physically disabilities. I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back though!

Does Not Help the Plastic Surgeon Stereotype

I first "discovered" Emily Giffin when I was in Israel. I read Something Borrowed while floating in the dead sea, and have devoured several others of the years since then. The most recent one I read was Heart of the Matter. In it a young boy was tragically burned and his mother who falls in love with the plastic surgeon who helps reconstruct his face. And as the title says, it really doesn't help the stereotype if a plastic surgeon. The man is conceded and self centered, just like the stereotype is. No offense to plastic surgeons reading this, for every stereotype there are plenty of people that are total opposites.

Regardless Heart of the Matter is well written and intriguing. Its told from a few different points of view, and although it isn't say Dickens, it is a great read like all of her books are. Some parts of it infuriated me, but only briefly. I know I'll be reading her next one.

Timmy Boo Part 2

A few months ago I wrote about a rabbit I found on the way home from Starbucks, and promised more of the story then left you guys hanging. When we last left our rabbit friend he was chilling in my room in an impromptu hut, and then on my bed. My dad returned home and was less then happy that there was another animal in the house. We have somehow acquired a lot of pets over the years.

He insisted that we take Timmy to the ASPCA, who said that they would take him. However my dad made the mistake of holding Timmy before we dropped him off, and fell in love. I felt awful leaving him all alone in a cold metal cage, and before I left him promised I'd come back for him no matter what. What can I say, he stole my heart with his big ears and twitchy nose.

And two days later we did just that, paying the ASPCA $25 for the bunny we found. He did get a clean bill of health from the vet though so it was worth it. Timmy has settled in quite nicely at home, residing in the study. I call him Timmy my Study Bunny. We let him roam around the study when we are in there and sometimes out doors. Remus, our little cat, is actually afraid of him, which I find humorous. My dad has taken a shinning to the rabbit, he'll come and say good night holding the bunny in his arms. Timmy is the most sweet natured rabbit I have ever met, and I am so glad we found him.

Soldiers Angels

It all started on Post Secret. Someone talked about how much it meant to them when they got letters from civilians through a pen pal service while deployed. Actually there were a few secrets about service people pen pal programs. And as I read them I got curious about what these programs did. I had read about programs like that in 8th grade and actually signed up for one, however after reading the amount of rules I got somewhat confused and sadly never wrote. I still think of the original service person, I don't remember what site I used, and hope that someone ended up writing him.

In December, after reading the post secrets, I started doing some research and found a program that I really loved, and still love. Its called Soldiers Angels and it is made up of some of the most amazing men and women I have ever met. I joined Ladies of Liberty and adopted my first pen pal in December and now am also a part of the Letter Writing Team and have filled my maximum of three pen pals. The first thing an angel learns is to never expect letters back. With how busy most of our brave men and women are over seas most of them don't have the time to write back. Some of them simply cannot for one reason or another.

However every once in a while a letter comes stamped as "free mail." Its called that because our service people don't pay postage while they are deployed, something that I love. Getting free mail has become the highlight of my weeks, because I know how far that letter has traveled. I always write back, and a few soldiers and I have even developed a friendship, sending letters back and forth. One is heading home soon and has given me her home address so we can keep writing each other. Every soldier I have ever heard from says that having their name called during mail call makes them feel so happy, many of them need the support from up.

I originally recorded the time I spent writing for SA to go towards my goal of volunteering for a cumulative year. I spend about 30 minuets to an hour writing for SA every day, however as the months go on I realized that writing for SA is something that doesn't count for this, because I write to develop friends. It's not something that I do for service hours, although honestly I don't do anything just for service hours. Soldiers Angels is the most amazing website, and community, I have ever been a part of. Even though I am one of the youngest Angels I still feel like a loved, and even respected, part of the community. Most of us are part of FaceBook pages and all talk to each other, and can recognize who each of us are. I have even started writing letters to some other angels who have sent me things for my soldiers.

I am very proud to be a Soldiers Angel of almost 6 months. It is an eye opening and wonderful experience and I want to send my love out to any Angel that happens upon this page. I know none of us do this for thanks or recognition but I want to tell you all how much it means to everyone we write to, something we all hopefully already know. And anyone who is deploying or knows someone who is, I'd recommend that you put in your/their name and info in to SA, especially if they don't get much support at home because you will gain a family of angels very quickly.

From wingtip to wingtip may no soldier go unloved!

The Magic Room

I have always counted myself lucky to have a close relationship with my dad. We go on bike rides together, watch movies together, and just pal around. Not every girl can say that their dad randomly gets books for them when shopping online. That's of course not to say that my relationship with my father is perfect, but its probably as close as it gets.

The book he ordered online The Magic Room by Jeffery Zaslow. I read it in February (which just shows you how behind I am with book reviews) but around when I read it, I learned that Zaslow had recently passed in a car accident, leaving behind three daughters. I have always been a fan of Zaslow's, his Girls of Ames book was beautiful and as most of you have read I adored Gabby. He is well known for his ghost written books, which is when I read The Magic Room I was glad to see he was getting a front cover billing. However reading about the love he has for is daughters, and knowing he had recently passed, it made me so sad.

Regardless, The Magic Room is a literary triumph. I teared up a few times reading the back stories about the brides. The Magic Room is about a small bridal shop that has been passed down from mother to daughter for over a century. One thing that makes the shop special is the magic room, which is full of mirrors and soft lighting, where brides fall in love with their dresses, and mothers cry. Zaslow mixed the stories of the brides and the history of the shop into a wonderful medley, and has even made my dad tear up a few times. It's a wonderful swan song for a fantastic writer gone to soon.

Every Little Bit Helps

It is said in the Torah that one should give 10% of their paycheck to others. Most people don't follow that law, because it isn't one of the ten commandments and so isn't very well known. It came to my attention when I was reading A Year of Living Bibically and I thought it was a pretty good idea. Tzedakah is very major in Judaism and most laws involving tithing say 10%. Others say other things, but the majority says 10%.

I recently got a job working at my temple, and as the year drew to a close I started to think about the laws about tithing. And how all of my pay checks say how much I have made in the year to date. And I decided that every year I would donate 10% of everything that comes up on my pay check. I babysit also, as most people my age do but I use most of that money to buy yarn and haven't been keeping track of it as well as I should.

Some of you may know that my baby sister is adopted. I can not imagine my life without her, and I also know how expensive adoption can be. Which is why my heart goes out to the Jepson's. Bobby and Laura Jepson are a married couple, and Bobby is in the air force. Right now they are stationed in Germany and are trying to adopt a pair of siblings in Eastern Europe. They had already found two children and had started the adoption process when they were adopted which was heart breaking. They are working on raising funds to bring home these two beautiful kids.

I decided that this year I would donate my 10% percent to the Jepson's. It may not be much, but small gifts add up. I can't wait until they bring home their little "prince and princess" and am so happy that the brother and sister pair get to stay together instead of being split up and adopted by different families. What the Jepson's are doing is truly amazing and I am so glad that I get to help them, even if it isn't much.

I May Be Raised in the South, But I Dont Have a Souther Mama

I was born and raised in one of the bigger cities in the South, full of Southern Belles and Southern Traditions. Debutant balls, southern accents, and bless your heart. My best friend Noodles mom is a born and raised southern belle and a prime example of how different things are down here. Going to Noodles house is always different then going to anyone else's, they always have full meals on good china and under portraits of long gone family members. Now its not to say that Noodle lives in some sort of grand house stereotypical of the South.

The day before we went to Disney World forever ago, I dropped by my absolutely favorite bookstore, Garden District Books. I don't normally buy books, because I read so much it wouldn't be the smart thing to do, but when I do buy a book I always go to Garden District. The occasion that merited a trip to Garden District was to get a birthday present for a friend I would be seeing in Orlando. When I  was there I picked up a book called Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On! by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson. It was the perfect plane read, a lot of stories from the author and other southern girls about their mothers wisdom. It put in full detail all sorts of mannerisms and sayings of different southern women.

You don't have to be born and raised in the south to enjoy Suck You Stomach In and Put Some Color On! I laughed out loud at least once reading it, and found it to be a very interesting, and as far as I can tell non exaggerated, book about the south. Its funny, easy to read, and not that long, so I'd say that its a great book to pick up and devour in a few hours/days.

And Now I Farm

As much as I love growing up in the biggest small town in America, the one thing I dislike is the lack of available gardening space. Some of my friends have good yards, but our house has little land and littler sunlight. Gosh darn those big southern oaks. I compensate with window boxes and capitalizing on the little growing space we have.

Enter GreenRoots Nola, an amazing organization with a few community gardens around the city. I volunteered with them for J-Serve last year, and then went for a few hours to get the feel of the garden again for some girl scout stuff. And I had a blast. Everyone was so nice and I painted some box frames and weeded a few different garden beds. But my favorite part was picking fresh tomatoes off of the vine for them to give to the members of the garden. After that all of the volunteers for the night got to eat fresh made food from the garden, some of the best food I have ever put into my mouth. The food was fresh and you knew exactly where it came from and how it was grown. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

A few weeks later I went to J-Serve for the second year. There wasn't as big of a turn out, and most people were from BBYO. But I still had a great time planting things and weeding, just regular garden things. Be sure to stay tuned to hear more about Nola GreenRoots, because I'll be spending a lot of time with them in the future.

Its Raining No Wait Its Hailing

With the amount of time I spend reading you'd think I would automatically read all the print on a website right? Well I some how managed to sign both my father and I up for a 7:30 run on a Saturday morning. It was run by a Methodist church and done to raise money for malaria research or something.

We got to the race around 9, when it was pretty much ending, grabbed our shirts and started on the walk. Soon it started to rain, hard. My dad and I kept going, laughing and on occasion belting out songs. Yes we are just that weird. And then, it started hailing. Yes, hailing. Like ice falling from the sky. Made for an interesting 5k, one neither of us will forget for a while.

A Night To Remember

The idea that people are using the sinking of a great liner and subsequent death of around 2,000 has sparked a lot of conversation online. However many people, myself included, used the 100th year anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic as a night of remembrance. And good food.

I've thought about doing a remembrance party for years, and almost didn't end up doing so. But one morning I happened to catch the end of the Today show for some reason and saw the one and only James Cameron talking about his love of Titanic. This reminded me of the party I had dreamed of for a while, and I set to work planning the party.

A cookbook was ordered from my local book store, invitations were sent out, and I set to work cooking decorating and trying to find a costume.

The costume was found in my closet and elaborated with costume jewelry and things of my mothers. Finally the day arrived. I had a 5k in the morning (see United We Stand) diving practice, and then GNOYO before a full day of cooking. By the time my friends arrived in various states of costumed, I was exhausted but excited.

We sat around and ate and drank the fruit of my family and my labors and listened to music from the Edwardian Era. After we had eaten our fill we went upstairs and after some wrestling with cables settled in to watch the movie.

There were a lot of us, so fitting on the couch was somewhat of a problem. Everyone was sandwiched together and some people sat on the floor but the movie was full of laughter and jokes. A good time was had by all in the end, and we remembered one of the greatest man made ocean disasters of our time.

United We Stand

I apologize for my lack of positing as of late, I've been somewhat sick. Its nothing important or concerning really, anything "bad" has been ruled out.

Speaking of bad, or awful I should say, is childhood cancer. Cancer itself is horrible. I think we can all agree with that one. But there is something about kids getting cancer that seems especially awful.

I found about the CureSearch walk through the HPA (Harry Potter Alliance) and decided to give it a go. Up I get by 8 on a nice and sunny Saturday morning to find that no one in the HPA could make it but myself and friend Aaron. No matter we walked around for a while before it started, listened to the speeches, and then went on our merry 5k way.

In saying what I say next I mean no disrespect to the people who organized CureSearch but the course was not very clear cut. I have walked at least one other 5k at Audubon and know that one loop doesn't quite do the trick. I've always started at the same place gone almost all the way around and then doubled back. I think we were suppose to do something along those lines, or just take another lap, however most people just stopped after a lap. Aaron and I did another for safe measure and had a blast doing so. There is nothing like making a 5k fly like having someone to talk to.

Scull the Tiller

On one of our last days at Coronado my dad and I got to take a sailing lesson. We walked a short way to the docks from our hotel and then had to turn around and go back because everything wasn't in order. Ah well, we had been there early enough that it didn't change anything. Gotta love how laid back they are. We were sent to a boat and met with Dave, our sailing guide. We all hopped on and got going

Look at me look at me I'm on a boat!

My dad and I were told a few different things and just kind of got going. Sailing was very relaxing just moving through the water, the wind blowing through my hair, conversation flowing like the breeze. I couldn't tell how old Dave was, but he told story after story about his sailing trips and different boats he's sailed on. It was fascinating. 

What a great view

Sadly the sun started to set and we had to start back. 

However as it is like to do in Coronado, when the sun disappears so does the wind. We slowed down for a while and eventually came to a stop about 200 yards away from the dock. Dave said that we could just turn on the engine and zoom right in, but me being the purest that I am, when told there was another way jumped on it. The other way it turns out is moving the rudder back and forth to propel the boat. And I did just that, for 200 yards. I felt like a Viking or something. Dave says that the term for kicking it old school is to "Scull the Tiller." And if I ever got a boat, that is so what I would name it. 

Dave says that sculling the tiller is the sailing equivalent to churning butter. The look on my face shows that I agree 100%

Now I Know How Jack and Rose Felt

I'm not very coordinated. I can walk, and even dance sometimes but I tend to stumble a lot. Stumble but never quite fall. My friends use to say my long thick hair acts like a cats tail keeping me steady. Since I cut my hair I have become a little more clumsy, which is odd I have to say.

You'd think that since I know I'm clumsy I would stay away from things that require balance. Well I don't. At all. At Coronado I saw that we could take surfing lessons, so my baby sister and I signed up for it. At the last minuet my dad joined us.

I think I can pull off the wetsuit quite well

With my Grandfather before we hit the waves

We had a quick land lesson and then hit the surf. There was a collective gasp, the water was freezing. The wet suits helped a little, but we didn't have anything on our feet or hands. Luckily I lost feeling in them pretty soon. My little sister caught on pretty fast, my dad got the knack of it soon but I had some problems at the start. I caught the waves but always seemed to be heading towards someone or something. But eventually I caught a few waves and stood up. It felt like I was flying even though I'm sure I was moving at a snails pace.

There were a few epic wipe outs, I must have swallowed more icy cold salt water then healthy because I had a sore throat for the rest of the day. A few times I just wanted to lay down on the board and just stop bit each time I grabbed the board and kept trying. In the end it was a total blast, and I can't wait to try it again.

A Travelers Pesach

Oh Muffy!

This year for spring break, my family decided to do something different. Normally we go skiing in Aspen, but this year the snow had melted early and we decided to do something new. Honestly Aspen is beautiful but I have gone once or twice a year for my entire life and I was ready for a change. By the way, we go to Aspen to visit my Grandfather, he has lived there as long as I have been alive. The amazing mountains and animals are just a bones.

My mom and dad just figured we would go to Aspen anyway, even if we wouldn't ski. Then I suggested that we go with my Grandfather to a new place. We tossed around Belize and Dominica but couldn't get our passports in order. So we "settled" on going to Coronado, a small island right outside of San Diego.

We only had two flights, which wasn't bad, and then to our (or at least my) surprise my Granddad had someone pick us up from the airport. We spent the twenty minuet drive talking about drug rings in Mexico something I really had no prior knowledge of.

Coronado is absolutely beautiful. Beautiful might be an understatement. I took this on my phone, so it might not be as good as the pictures online but its still. Well you'll see for yourself.

In the next few days expect more pictures, tales of surfing, sailing, and a travelers Passover.

Dancing Bears, Painted Wings

Although Anastasia is not a Disney movie (I think) but I always count it as one. It takes a depressing story (like Disney) animates it (like Disney) adds a few songs (like Disney) and adds a happily ever after (like Disney). And like Disney its also won Oscars.
The first time I watched Anastasia I was at a sleepover, and it scared us both so much we couldn't sleep. Its a creepy movie, based on a horrifying story. But I mean once you get past that its a great movie. The drawings are really good and the songs have been stuck in my head more times then I can count. So what if its not historically accurate? Most movies aren't. But its a great introduction to Russian history for kids. They watch it at 9 and then start to wonder, hop on the google machine, have their hopes and dreams dashed about Anya surviving, but in the end an interest in Russian history is born. And adorable bat like creatures.

Admit it, he is really adorable

The Calhoun Girls have some spunk in em!

I had my flirtations with romance novels. I know puny but its true. I've bought a few of them, and liked them as much as one can like clichéd books. I've thought about trying to write one, I mean how hard could it be, but never really put in an effort.

I got the complete Calhoun collection by Nora Roberts for a few bucks at GoodWill. I never really got into them, but I can't lie and say they were totally awful either. I brought the collection with me camping, and it was light enough to read around the fire.

The women in it were all cliché, and the men were not very believable. The main mystery plot was decent , I even got into it at some points, but I felt like the build up was to long for such a short conclusion. I hated that everyone had a happily ever after, although it being a romance novel I didn't expect much else. The premise was good, if it hadn't been written as a romance novel it might have actually been a good book/book series.

Old McDonald Had a Farm

I confess to loving McDonalds. Yes I have read the horror stories, and I know its not good for me in ANY stretch of the word, but lets face it the fries are like heaven. Deep fried, salty, potato heaven. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean, they are good.

I knew off the Ronald McDonald house, having seen the quarter collecting jars at the front of the store and some TV specials but had no idea there was one in New Orleans. But at the HPA meeting not only did I find out that we had a Ronald McDonald house, but were going to cook dinner with them for the Hunger is Not a Game Campaign. Ironically I had started reading the hunger games that day. But more on that later.

My family and I showed up this afternoon at the house at 4, right on time. Maybe a few minuets late. However one thing we didn't know was the amount of traffic everyone else ran into on the way over. We hung around the house for a half hour, took a tour, and then thinking that no one else was going to show up, started making a pasta sauce with vegetables as a back up plan.

A few more people trickled in, with the recipe and supplies and we put the pasta sauce in the fridge and started cooking. We made crawfish Alfredo, some sort of salad, and cupcakes made with soda. That's right soda. I didn't end up trying one, but they were fluffy and good looking.

I loved the feel at the house. It was brightly painted, warm, and somehow had a sense of privacy. They are looking to move to a bigger location, right now the house can have 15 families, and somewhere closer to the hospitals. OH and did I mention the play room. It was full of books, games, dolls, everything a kid could ever want. And the kids were free to run and play while their parents did other things in the next room. It was awesome!


Volunteer Update: 4.3 days volunteered so far! 

WOOOOH I'm Half Way There!

Admittedly I am not caught up blogging about books, but as of yesterday I am half way towards my goal of reading 100 books this year. Totally behind schedule, should have been here last month but as summer starts I will have more time to read! Sweet tea all around!

In Which I Finally Finish Talking About the Bar Mitzvah

Alright Ev, I know its been about a month since your Bar Mitzvah but I've been busy ok? Anyway when we last left our heroin she was at her first, and possibly last, New York Bar Mitzvah. One thing I discovered was that conservative services are about twice as long as reform services. However the service was absolutely breath taking, and Ev did a fantastic job. Sadly there is no photographic evidence because you can't take photos on Shabbas in conservative temples. I was invited to the bima to read a prayer for our country and sing some blessings with other people. I wasn't really warned about it, it just kind of happened. However I was honored to be asked to say a prayer at Ev's bar mitzvah, especially because he was to young to speak at mine.

After the oneg my dad and I went to the Grand Central Station Apple Store and to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, both of which were fascinating in different ways. I had seen the Dead Sea Scrolls in Israel when I was 12 but the exhibit at the Discovery Center was amazing, with historical background and even a mock Wailing Wall where people could place prayers that would be placed in the real Western Wall.

Dad and I made it to grandma's apartment just in time to quickly get ready and go to the Yale Club to get pictures taken. And pictures were taken, many of them with every position and combination possible. After that we went to cocktail hour in the library with all sorts of food and drink. But then, the real party began. We were ushered upstairs into this grand room with tables for adults and a buffet for kids. There was a photo booth and a dance floor, everything you could ever imagine for a bar mitzvah. We sang, danced, ate, drank, and talked the night away. I had a seat at a table but spent a lot of time with Ev's friends and just in general had a ball. It was the quintessential New York Bar Mitzvah.

You Can't Win Them All

This weekend NFTY-So's spring conclave was held in my city. Although I wasn't elected as a conclave chair, in fact I didn't run for anything, my advisor and Hilary (the conclave chair) appointed me as the other one. It was the best experience I've had in a while, and although this weekend was incredibly stressful, with making sure everything was running smoothy and my friends were all getting along, I loved almost every minuet of it. Well there was about a half hour where I totally crashed and just laid on a couch recharging but other then that it was amazing.

One of my signs of progress with this whole self esteem thing is that I ran for regional board. I'll tell you now I did not win, I ran against the most popular boy in NFTY-So, and I'm sure he will do a great job as regional SAVP. But the fact that I had the chutzpah to run is something I, and my family, are very proud of. This time last year I never would have been able to put myself out there like that, knowing that even if I didn't win at least I tried and that there is always next year.

Can You Say Stereotype?

My people, the Jews, have been stereotyped for centuries. I have the belief that all stereotypes have some basis in reality but some of the things I have heard have been ridiculously over blown. I will spare you all the details but generally when people write jewish characters they tend to over blow the stereotypes. Now I don't want you to take that to mean that I think all authors do that, but it does tend to happen, and honestly is a pretty easy thing to do.

At first glance most people find that The Victory Gardens of Brooklyn by Merrill Joan Gerber is full of stereotypes. At originally I would agree. But after delving into the characters, their motives, and situations, I really feel like it is how most people, jewish or not, would respond. Overall, The Victory Gardens of Brooklyn was fine. It didn't inspire me, or leave me feeling anything powerful. Its not a bad read per say, but I can't say its my favorite.

Oh. My. God

Last night I finished reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. And by last night I mean last month, but that's niter here nor there. The point is I was floored. I never really expect much from kitting books, generally they are pretty straight forward and predictable, that is unless they are a mystery. Yes I enjoy them but I always know what is going to happen. Not so much with The Friday Night Knitting Club. I don't want to spoil it, but all I can say is that I stayed up till almost midnight finishing the book, and when I was done my head was spinning.

On GoodReads a lot of people said it was cliche, poorly written, and boring. I disagreed. Now it may not be every ones cup of tea but isn't life full of cliches? They have to have some sort of basis or they would have never come to be. I personally would recommend it to the chick lit loving population but I can't guarantee they would like it. However I did, and you might.

The Law

Recently a girl in Morocco killed herself. Now this happens everyday, and is awful already. Suicide is something I am sure I will talk about a lot, it is something very connected in my life. But the reason that this 16 year old girl killed herself is appalling. Amina Al Filali was raped at the age of 15, and some sources said beaten also, and then forced to marry the man that abused her. After the marriage the abuse continued, and Amina killed herself by swallowing rat poison on Saturday.

I for one am appalled that things like this are happening. Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code "allows for the ‘kidnapper’ of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution, and it has been used to justify a traditional practice of making a rapist marry his victim to preserve the honour of the woman’s family." 
So instead of being punished for this awful crime against a young girl, the rapist marries her for the honor of the family. Now I understand that family honor is important in some cultures but what about the girl? Does she not have rights? A lot of people online are outraged by this, and justly so. There is even a petition to get the law changed. Its in french but not to hard to understand. If any of you are as sickened by this as I am then I urge you to sign the petition and tell your friends about it, so that this never happens again. 


Rest in Peace Amina, I am so sorry that you had to suffer this way. 

Juana La Loca

I must confess that I don't know very much about Juana of Castile. Her sister Catalina, I do know about, she falls into my original area of interest, that being Tudor history. However in every passing year that interest widens. And so when I saw a book on the shelf about Juana of Castile, I figured it would be an interesting read about her. And that it was. in The Last Queen by C.W. Gortener, I learned about Spain's "mad" queen.
Now of course The Last Queen being historical fiction I can never know for sure what really went down with Juana and if she was really mad or not. However The Last Queen did portray a very good balance of her sanity, with Juana quite sane originally and eventually driven mad by scheming and plots against her and her family. Gortener breathed some life into a pretty much forgotten historical figure, and and made me genuinely interested in her plight. The Last Queen was a truly interesting and intriguing read.

1,000 Pages of War and Love

Oprah. The word alone is inspiring, and something that everyone trusts. When she condones a product everyone immediately knows it good. So when she endorses a book, you know its great. My dad got my mom a year of books from the Oprah Book Club for Christmas one year, and one of them was Pillars of the Earth. My mom and I both read it, and loved it. At my summer camp there was a library no one ever really used. We would hang out there and I borrowed books over the summer including World Without End the second book in the Kingsbridge Trilogy and adored it as well.

When I saw Fall of the Giants by Ken Follett, I figured I couldn't go wrong reading a book by an author I loved so much. And I was right. Fall of the Giants was amazing. It had a little to much detail about the war for my taste but that is to be expected. The writing was exquisite, the characters had a breath of life in them, and the interpersonal dramas were believable and not over dramatic. I would love to see Fall of the Giants on the silver screen, however I feel like it could never live up to what played in my head as I read the book. It may seem like a tome at first but it reads fast and is worth the time. Its a truly amazing representation on the events before during and directly after world war one and shows the point of view of many people in many countries.

Rant

So this blog is about what runs through my brain. Normally it has to do with my bucket list. But I figure sometimes something is going to come up that I want to talk about. That isn't on "The list." And I think that I am going to sometimes just Rant about things. I promise that any of my rants, or really all my posts, are my thoughts. No one is bribing me. So here goes.

Its safe to assume most people in the continental US have been to Sports Academy or Sports Authority or really any store around. I went to one of those such stores today, to get a pair of yoga pants and a mat. I went to the pants first. They were either to tight or baggy in weird places. Maybe they don't make yoga pants for people of my shape, but I feel like thats a total lie.

Everything at the sports store was geared to someone. Bright pink bikes for little girls, pastel yoga mats and starter sets with dainty but muscly women on them showing results that are not typical for the average user, and camouflage everywhere. Now I get camo, there is nothing wrong with it, but it accosted my eyes with such severity that I started to think about the branding in sports stores.

Everyone, and by everyone I mean the people that market the brands, want to to buy their product to be different, and inherently better. Real women do yoga, girls are princesses, and real men can not, under any circumstance, wear pink or anything pastel. You need to be slimmer, hotter, more toned, all with their products of course.

A lot of people are manufacturing pink guns. Now that sentence alone has nothing wrong with it, pinks a fun color. But the guns are pink to attract women to them. Because in this day and age women can't do anything that isn't feminine. I am a woman. I have shot a gun before, and let me tell you the experience would not be any different if the gun had been pink, or green, or purple, or tye-dye. When it comes down to it a gun is a gun, and the color is just for aesthetics. And attracting a different type of customer.

Whats so wrong with being who you are. Just you, who you are in your soul. Enough with this whole peer pressure thing. It doesn't end well for anyone. Growing up is hard enough without having to deal with what magazines and the "media" says we need to look like. Why can't we all accept each other for what we like. Hi I'm M and I like to read. I also love to bike and cook. I am not model thin and I don't wear the newest fashions. Most of my clothing comes from a thrift store and its not because thats all we can afford. Clothing today is so reveling, its easier to find modest things in a thrift store. There is nothing wrong with a  little mystery. But I will rant about that another day. And I definitively don't party. So I guess by all of those descriptions I am a nerd. Or a geek or a looser. I've been called a slut too. Because why not?

I think that we all need to get rid of those idea of what people should be, the social cast system. We should just accept people for who they are and what they like. Why shouldn't boys like pink, women wear combat boots, and men like to be pampered sometimes? I feel like as long as we aren't hurting anyone, why should we care what other people are doing, looking like, or enjoying to do. Why do we all have to be model perfect? Why can't we be something better. Us.

Warning: If Reading Have Russian Food On Hand

I blogged earlier about Russian food and how wonderful it is, both to cook and to eat. The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah is what spurred me to make some. I first spotted this novel in a air port book store, which is the best place to find books to be honest. Anyway I picked it up, and read the back, and was intrigued but of course didn't have any money on me to purchase the book so stored the title in the corner of my brain and went on with my day.

Fast forward many weeks and as I was perusing the shelves as I am apt to do a book caught my eye. You guessed it The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. It grabbed me by the hand and took me on a journey of love, loss, confusion, and history. It is so descriptive, I felt like I was actually their. I brought The Winter Garden with me to a weekend long regional event and started reading it on the three to four hour long bus ride home. My pulse quickened as the story progressed and the entire world just stopped existing as I read on. On the rare occasion that I could pull myself out of the story the world seemed so much sharper, the details standing out. I don't know what it is about books that are written with spot on descriptions but they make me notice the world a bit more then I normally do.

The reason I say to have Russian food on hand when reading The Winter Garden is because Russia, and consequently Russian food are a large part of the novel. Because of the spot on descriptions each page of The Winter Garden made my mouth water and my stomach growl. I would recommend it whole heartily, it is a story that will stick in my mind for ages to come.

Well Hockadoo!

If memory serves I don't think I have posted about my confirmation class trip last year. I have a few stories that fit this blog, we did a LOT of museum hopping, but one of the highlights of the trip was seeing a Broadway show.

Let me back track. As most of you have probably figured out by now, I am Jewish. Most reform Jews have something called Confirmation in the 10th grade. Its separate from having a Bar/Bat/B'nai Mitzvah, and is basically a year that you spend learning about Judaism before making your decision about staying with the faith. Like I said this is normally done in 10th grade, but my class was so small (three people on a good day) that we were put with the grade above up. I have many interesting stories resulting from that, but those are for another day.

The first weekend in February our class got on a plane and flew to New York for a wild wild weekend. We all got lost in Times Square, missed the boat at Ellis Island, a few of us walked home at midnight, and I even did the Torah Blessings in front of hundreds of people. It was snowy and cold and exhausting but a  trip I will remember for the rest of my life.

A few months before the trip we had to decide what Broadway show we wanted to go see. No one really knew about the shows that were being put on, and so our Rabbi ended up choosing that we would see Memphis. None of us had ever heard of it, and after one of the guys inquired with one of his family members, we were told we probably wouldn't like it. But by then it was to late to change the tickets and so off we went.

Our seats were surprisingly good although at first it didn't seem that way. But as the show went on we all figured that it was a great show, and it totally drew me in. Not that anyone was quite surprised by that, I have loved musicals since the age of two when my Grandma insisted on taking me to see Beauty and the Beast. My mother and father told her that I would not like it, but she persisted and so we all went. And I sat, spell bound throughout the entire musical. In fact I still have the program from it.

Memphis was also spell binding. The man we saw portray Huey was the understudy, and he gave the role his all. It was phenomenal to see his energy light the stage as he sung and danced. My father remarked later on that he must be very tired of being the understudy and put his heart and soul into it. Because of this I became so entangled in the story, it was a remarkable experience that I will remember for ages to come.

Touching and Remarkable

To be frank, I have never followed politics. I know some, mostly the presidential candidates, but I probably should know more. I of course did not know who Gabby Giffords was, her being a congressperson representing Arizona. So of course, on the awful day she and 19 other people were either killed or wounded was the first day I heard of her. I distinctly remember sitting in advisory at my old school that Thursday, listening to one of my fellow advises and advisor talk about what had happened. I asked then who Gabby Giffords was, probably not the smartest thing to do because my advisor turned to me and said something along the lines of "you have got to be kidding me." I mumbled something and turned away blushing, going to Lord Google with my inquiries. I followed her progress some in the coming months, cheering at her triumphs and saddened by the unneeded deaths of 9 innocent people.

Gabby by Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords is one of the most heart wrenching books I have ever read. It was ghost written by Jeffery Zaslow. I could write many blog posts about how much I love Jeffery Zaslow, and I will talk about him soon discussing a book he wrote called The Magic Room. But for now I shall talk about how wonderful the love story between Gabby and Mark is. Their love is so strong, and has overcome an assassination attempt and a few trips to the moon. Gabby was of course, incredibly well written. I would not expect anything less from Zaslow, but as always it pulled me in and took me on a roller coster, enjoying a book that I never thought I would have. Its a wonderfully spun story, and I am sure will be helpful for American Historians a hundred years from now, as they wonder not only about a congressperson and an astronaut, but also how an amazing author wrote in our times.

Oh the People You'll Meet

I know I haven't finished blogging about New York or Cajan Mardi Gras, and I promise I'll get to them soon but I have got to talk about this. My dad and I were going for a stroll in Audubon Park, when we saw a man biking holding a gigantic box. He ended up asking us to take his picture by a sign. My dad, being the people person that he his, took a picture and struck up a conversation with the man. We found out his name is Nick and he is biking from Dallas to New Orleans. Also, and this was kind of cool, he was from Australia.
This is his blog. He ended up asking us for directions to his hostel and we, and by we I mean my dad not that I wasn't cool with it, offered to take his bike box to the hostel for him. Nick biked away and we walked to the car with the box. Of course my Dad's mini was to small for the box so we ended up driving with the trunk of the car open as I contorted my body to hold the box and make sure it didn't fly away. We must of looked so weird.
On the drive to the hostile my dad told me the story of his bike across the country, with Bikecentennial. He was suppose to go to Greece with friends that summer, but they were at war or having some sort conflict with Cyprus and the trip was canceled. Instead he and his three best friends from high school biked across the country. He says that he is very glad the trip was canceled, because although going to Greece would have been an educational and cultural experience, there is no better way to see the country and explore then biking across the continental United States.
We met Nick at the hostel that was pretty near our house, which of course none of us knew existed. Dad gave him some tips about taking apart his bike and he gave us a flyer for his blog and a tiny stuffed koala, which now is sitting on my desk to remind me to keep peddling.

Behind the Wheel: Part 1

I've never been to antsy to learn to drive. Honestly the whole operation kind of scares me. You can do a lot of damage in a car and there are a lot of idiots on the road. Most of my friends have gone to drivers ed, some even have licenses and cars. But me, I had never been behind the wheel. Until today.

My dad has been talking about teaching me how to drive for a few weeks now, and I had looked up a few drivers ed courses but hadn't really taken much interest. For some reason, inspiration struck my father and I to get me driving. He and I hopped into his Mini Cooper and drove to an old closed down Robérts.

There it is. The first place I drove!

My dad and I switched places in the car and I sat behind the wheel for the first time in my life. I know I know I already said that, but it was kind of a big deal. 

Do I look scared to death? Because I am

I stalled the car a few times, and was sort of jumpy for a bit, but I got the hang of it after a while. My dad had prepped me for the worst, so by the time we went home I was feeling good about it. I am nowhere near street ready, but although my dad didn't say it I know he was proud of how well I was doing. It felt very freeing, and I am actually excited to get my license and go on a few adventures. 

The Iron Lady

In February my Grandmother came to visit and we decided to spend some one on one time together. So we went to the movies at Canal Place, a theater that had comfortable seats and food service. We decided to see The Iron Lady, and both really loved it. The makeup itself was phenomenal, I couldn't tell that the elderly Margret was Meryl Streep. The movie was so well done, it jumped from time period to time period and although it was confusing, I feel like it was meant to be so, because Margret is confused. But by the end of the movie everything made sense.

One of the funny parts of the movie wasn't in the movie itself. The theater we were in was inside of a mall. And as Margret is driving with her daughter and talking about bombing, the screen goes blank and lights start flashing on both sides of the screen. It took me a second to realize that it wasn't a part of the movie, and that it was a fire drill. However just as people were starting to stand up, one of the attendants came in and told us that some "punks" had been pulling the fire alarms in the mall, and that the movie would start back up in a few minuets. I turned to my grandma and said "Well at least now we can see what we are eating." She laughed, and ten minuets later the movie started back up.

Overall, we both adored The Iron Lady and agreed during the credits that Meryl should get an Oscar for her performance.

Edit 2-26-2012: I am watching the Oscars right now. The Iron Lady has already won the Oscar for best makeup, now lets see if Streep wins for Best Actress.

Note: Looking like a live oscar statute with a standing ovation, Meryl Streep almost faints as she wins her third Oscar. Congrats Mrs. Streep!

Increadably Authentic

I know I haven't finished blogging about Ev's big new York bar mitzvah but I have to talk about where I was for Mardi Gras this year. My family and aunt, uncle, and cousin from Norway went to Eunice for Cajun Mardi Gras. It was at least a two hour drive, probably more, and by the time we got to Eunice for the night it was pretty late. We stood in the town square, or something like that, and people were standing around under a balcony drinking and having a good time. On the balcony were a bunch of people throwing cups, hats, shirts and most of all beads.

The next morning my aunt, uncle, cousin, dad and baby sister got up early and went to Mamou and Eunice for the scavenger hunt type thing. They ran around, begged for food, and tried to catch live chickens. My mom and I slept in and then drove together to Mamou. We parked outside of the family dollar, and saw this on the door.

Some things you will only see off the beaten track. Right off the parking lot was a field of dandelions, so I stopped, not to smell the flowers but to make a wish.

My mom and I caught up with the rest of the family, who were standing talking to a man with a stand about the origins of the festival. We caught the tail end of it but it was still a pretty cool shpeal. 

After talking to the man, my dad got some of his yummy popcorn balls. I am not normally a fan of that kind of thing, but they were yummy.

My dad seemed to really love it. We moseyed on down for a while, just enjoying the scenery and decided to get some hats. My baby sister and cousin got baseball caps, and I got a cowboy hat. The other two almost did, but couldn't find one that they liked. 

I think I fit right in don't y'all? The town was so interesting, full of life, music, dancing, and good food. At one point the parade rolled through, full of horses, and "floats" which were basically flatbeds pulled behind trucks. Beads were tossed, my aunt even caught one from muses. 

Little bit of local color, a birds nest, and my dads head

Afterwards we went back to Eunice. The parade was over but there was live music and good food. We all laid on the grass and listened to music. It was so picturesque and authentic. An experience I will never forget. 

Trip

Hello from the Grand Central Station Apple Store!

Slogan

Well, here I am in the Big Apple. You know how I said I was going to a bar mitzvah. Well its my cousin Ev's. Not only is he a fantastic singer but he is very very smart. If fact he and I are eating fortune cookies right now. Mine had two fortunes in it, how weird is that? Something about self love and wisdom in young beautiful people. Wait what was I talking about. Oh yea Ev.

After the friday night service, which was amazing by the way, we went back to his house to eat, and he decided to check out my blog for the first time. And I, taking advantage of his incredible brilliance, asked him to help me find a slogan. We tossed around a few ideas and finally came up with Always Done Never Finished. Ok when I say we, I mean Ev, I basically ate and vetoed.

NYC

I am currently sitting in the air port in my home town on my way to New York for a Bar Mitzvah. Gotta love free wi fi!

There Has Got To Be More!

I never really knew much about life in America in World War II. Great Depression, sure my Grandma grew up then and I have heard stories of when she grew up. The 50s well of course, its been portrayed and stereotyped in every TV show. But as far as life in America during the second world war, the extent of my knowledge stopped with the American Girl books.  Louise's War by Sarah R. Shaber, changed that slightly.

Louise's War is a spy murder mystery, written in the perspective of both Louise and her friend Rachel, who is married and lives in France at the start of the Second World War. That wouldn't be so bad, but Rachel is Jewish. She writes to her college roommate Louise, who she knows lives in Washington DC for help, and what happens next can only be described as a twisting plot, and at the end I honestly couldn't believe that the book was over. Luckily with the help of Lord Google I found my way to Shaber's website  and discovered that it is a series, so I will be able to find out Rachel's fate.

Your Trying To Mend a Broken Heart by Hitting it With a Hammer

Many of you know that my baby sister is adopted. I was seven when we adopted her, and thats just what our family has always looked like. Because of that, I know that when I have a family one day, I want to adopt also. The old saying that blood is thicker then water has a somewhat different meaning for me. My baby sister is my blood, even if the blood that runs in her veins is different then mine.

I don't know my baby sisters background. We have her birth mothers name somewhere, although I have never seen it. We don't know if she is alive or not, married or not, why she gave up my baby sister. Or at least as far as I know we don't, my mom and dad might. However when illagetament children were born in the US about 200 years ago, it was put on their birth certificates. In a time where people were incredibly conservative, this being discovered could ruin someones life.

Blossoms in the Dust is the story of Edna Gladley who after emense tragedy in her personal life, opens up an orphanage and eventually works to have the records of illagitamicy removed. The movie was made in 1941, and is stunning. The acting is superb and the costumes are breath taking. I recorded it on Turner Classic Movies, which is quickly becoming my favorite channel. There are so many amazing movies that are in danger of being lost to the ages. I would recomend Blossoms in the Dust to everyone, it is both heart warming and heart breaking.

Widget!

Some of you may notice the new widget on the side bar. Its from GoodReads, and its the 2012 reading challenge. Well as much as I love the good people at GoodReads, they don't realize that some people start challenges outside of the new year. So the widget may say 2012 reading challenge but it is counting my 100 books one year challenge, from August to August.

Blind Pianist. Sounds Plausible

Many people take piano lessons when they are young. I know I did. I spent almost six years in piano and still can not play to save my life. However some kids can play really well, and a few of them are incredibly talented. Such as Maria-Theresa von Paradis, who was not only an amazing pianist but was also blind. She is portrayed in a novella called Pianist in the Dark by Michéle Halberstadt. Maria-Theresa can not see but is one of the best pianist of her age. However her parents take her to an experimental therapy to try and regain her sight. What follows is something that can only be described as Dark Romantic style writing, showing that only disaster will follow if people strive for perfection. I read Pianist in the Dark in about two hours, probably less, but it was perfect. Short but well written with a clear moral and fantastic imagery. I loved it. 

Land of the Free Home of the Brave

I was born in the United States of America, and like most Americas some of my recent family are immigrants. My Grandma Great Grandma and Grandpa on my mothers side all immigrated to the USA after World War II. My fathers side immigrated a lot farther back, the first recorded ancestor is John Rouse who came to America in 1717 from Germany, and was sold into indentured servitude by the captain of his ship.

Living in the United States I feel like I have grown up taking for granted many important things. Although rights are not 100% equal for women, it is a lot better here then some places. Our government isn't perfect, but when is one? You can not please everyone, and it is hard to find a balance. Not to say that I think that things are fine here, and I agree that we need to strive for better, but honestly many citizens should look around the rest of the world and realize that we are doing pretty well over here. I would change a few things, but change is coming and hopefully soon everyone really will be equal. When our constitution was written, the meaning of all men are created equal was that all white land owning men were created equal. But over the years, and after a few bloody and unfortunate wars, equality has spread. And in the next decade I hope to see the United States prosper and give everyone the inalienable rights to Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It is what our country was founded upon and we need to strive harder to make those dreams a full and incontestable reality.

The Happiest Place on Earth

When I was a little girl, my family went to Disney World. I was five, and it was myself, my mother, my father, my Grandma Luna, and my Uncle Dave. Dave isn't really my uncle, but he and my father have been friends since far before I came along. And somehow I just got into the habit of calling him Uncle Dave.

I grew up in with Disney cartoons, far before the age of Miley Cyrus and before the world figured out that all the Disney girls ended up with drug addictions and alcohol problems. On the family trip to Yosemite, also with my Grandma Luna, we listened to the Little Mermaid soundtrack so many times that to this day I know it by heart. And much to my fathers dislike he does too. But by far Beauty and the Beast was my favorite princess. She was strong, smart and beautiful. And unlike the rest of them she didn't need a prince to save her. Not that five year old me really thought about that aspect of it all, but she was my favorite. When I was two I sat through Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, much to the amazement of my family, and when I was three I was her for Halloween. Going to Disney World she was the princess I wanted to see most.

This year my family went to Disney World again, this time it was just me, my mom and dad, and my baby sister. We went to a few parks, but over all I loved going to Disney World. As soon as I got on the parking lot tram I reverted back to my five year old self. It was lovely. We road splash mountain and space mountain, two things that I never thought I would do in a million years.


We went to the Hall of Presidents, and like a said earlier road the buzz light year ride and lot totally and were stuck for something like ten or twenty minuets. My dads game maxed out in fact, just proving that he loves gaming more then he is willing to admit.

I even got to see Belle, although it was not as magical as I remembered.

Me and Belle

My family and I also saw the daily flag retreat, which I had learned about a few days before from some of my friends at Soldiers Angels. The color guard played and the flag was lowered and given to a veteran, one of the more touching parts of the day.

All of our Heros should be honored like this

The fire works were one of the more amazing parts of the night, the way the fire works lit up the nights sky and played in time with some of my favorite Disney songs. It was magical, incredibly magical.

I also learned from a few people working there about internships offered at the parks. You stay in dorms, although the price is taken out of your pay, and even earn college credit for it amazingly enough. The people I talked to really seemed to love it, in fact one of them was on an extension of her second internship. People come from colleges all over the world and you end up meeting loads of people around your age from ever corner of the globe and have the opportunity to work in every aspect of the park, from maintenance to food to shops to character work. It sounds like the experience of a life time.

Welcome Home

On the first full day of our stay in Orlando, my family went to Universal. I was the last one up but the first one out the door, dressed in my robes and ready to go! I was filled with the same anticipation I normally have on the drive to camp, but we were lucky to go when we did. The lines were long but they would be twice as long during the summer. We got into the parks and headed over to one of the parks, Universal, figuring that it was where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was. My Dad bought the tickets and we went into the park before we figured out that the Wizarding World was in Islands of Adventure, the other park. Luckily Guests Services helped us out with our tickets and we were all set to go.

Let me explain for anyone who has never been to Universal how the layout works. Universal as a whole is in three parts. Two parks and then a whole bunch of shops and even a movie theater. There are some hotels sprinkled in there somewhere. But you do have to pay two admissions to get in if you want to go to both parks. Or screwed up and bought the wrong tickets...

Eventually we walked over to Harry Potter world and my baby sister and I practically ran to the entrance. We ate at the Three Broomsticks that day for lunch. The food was really good for theme park food, and the butter beer was just how I thought it would be. It tasted like cream soda and happiness. Afterwards we headed over to the Forbidden Journey ride, where my baby sister decided that she didn't want to wait in the long line, and neither did the rest of my family.

That was fine with  me, I just headed over to the singles line and ended up meeting a really cool family from Puerto Rico. The ride itself was so real, I felt like I was flying and was totally swept into the ride. It was a dream come true for a Harry Potter fanatic for life like myself.

I met my family outside of the ride and my mom and baby sister went to Seussland and my dad and I waited in line for the wand experience. The line was about 40 minuets, but the woman running the cue said that it normally is about two and a half hours. We were at the front of the line for our session and were positioned right by the latter where Ollivander walks down and because of that, and the fact I was in robes I was chosen to do the wand picking, and had the wand pick me. It was reed with a core of dragon heart string meaning that I was passionate and a good leader. The wand picking felt incredibly real and magical.

After the wand picking I took off my robes and spent the rest of the day with a friend and his mother inside Islands of Adventure. He was on a college tour and spent the night over at Universal before flying home. We did the Forbidden Journey ride again and a few others, including the gigantic Hulk roller coaster. It was scary and exhilarating.

Tune in next time to hear about my family going to the happiest place on earth, Lego Land, and Epcot. Have y'all gone to any of these parks? Do you have a zany story to tell? If so, share it in the comments! Especially if the wand chose you. In that case I want to know what wand and what it means.

I wanna be a starship ranger!

My family and I are currently stuck on the buzz light year ride at Disney World! It's been about 10 minuets. Pictures to follow.

I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here!

We made it! Two planes and a layover in Atlanta later and my family has made it to Orlando! A few months ago my mom got a call from someone and if my mom and dad went and looked at time shares for an hour or two we would get a cheap stay at the Hilton Parc Soleil. Before I go on about the hotel, let me say that the Hilton in no way paid me to write this. But hey, if they ever want to send me somewhere I would be totally up for that. Of course the opinions and emotions expressed in my blog are always my own, you can send me anywhere in the world but that doesn't guarantee I'll like it.

Anyway the room we are staying at is amazing. Full kitchen, bath AND shower, and even a washer and dryer. My baby sister and I love it here. We got to the hotel about a half hour before the pool closed and everyone threw on their swim suits and went for a swim. Baby sister and I swam in the pool and my mom and dad chilled in the hot tub like real adults.

Most of my family vacations are to visit family, which is always wonderful but sometimes its nice to get away. We went to the beach this summer, just the four of us and went out and swam and just bonded. We aren't always on the same page, and vacations can be stressful sometimes, but its really nice for us all to get away together and enjoy being together. I have found that my family tends to fight less when we are out of state.

I Can Trace Everything Back to Harry Potter

Everything in my life can be traced back to Harry Potter. My mom started reading them to me when I was five, and to this day I have an intense fear of snakes and spiders from the second book.

When the theme park opened I was elated. Sadly there was never time to go. Until now. Its the semester break at my school and my family is going to Orlando. We are leaving today, in about an hour actually, and I have no idea if the hotel we are staying at has Internet, so chances are I won't be blogging for the next few days. However I will be tweeting @livingmylife96.

When I come back I'll have lots of fun stories to share, so stay tuned!

Lost about half her blood and lived!

One of the things I am guilty of is buying books in the airport bookstore. My dad makes fun of me for packing a traveling library, and then I turn around and buy books at the airport bookstore. I guess that's why there is one in every airport. I hate to be board and I have the feeling so do most Americans.

That is how I ended up reading Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton. Anyone who has been following my blog for a while knows that my family watched the movie Soul Surfer together a few months ago, and we all loved it. It in fact inspired me to do a day with one arm. In doing so I broke one of my cardinal rules in seeing a movie before I read the book. But that was rectified over the vacation when I got Soul Surfer in one of the many airports we were in. I think it was LA, might have been Huston but it doesn't matter. What does is how amazing Soul Surfer was.

I know many people might be put off by the religious aspect of the book, but I can guarantee you that it did not come off as preachy or pushy. Yes Bethany and her family are religious and yes that does come up a few times within the course of the memoir but so does surfing. Bethany talks about surfing as much as if not more then she does about her faith and just because she talks about it doesn't mean that I want to become a devout surfer. And the same is said for her faith. It was interesting to read about but it wasn't something that made me want to go out and become Christian. That doesn't mean that the book won't have that effect on you, but the religious part of Soul Surfer should not scare you away from reading such an amazing and inspiring book. It really is worth the read.