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.