Val-isms

Anticipation and changes

2013 will go down in my personal history as a memorable one.

On the positive memory side, Sophie is becoming a lovely young woman, blossoming into a young adult who is confident and able to express her talents in a variety of ways.

She has maintained honor roll status thru the past 2 years in Middle School (6th & 7th grades), only getting 2 B+'s and the rest A's .  She takes her school work responsibilities seriously and requires no nagging or checking to see if her homework is done.

The school system has implemented a wonderful tool that allows parents to be able to not only check grades daily,  but to see what the daily assignments are.  This tool is also accessible for the kids, and all of their books are online, as well, so really, there is no excuse for missing any homework or not knowing what the homework is.  

This past school year had her starting her formal training for her upcoming Bat Mitzvah and she has excelled with this, as well.  Though she has sometimes moaned and groaned about going to 'religious school', and attending services on a pretty regular schedule, she actually admitted that she was glad for all of that, as it made it pretty easy to learn what she needed to for her Bat Mitzvah.  She watched as her friends who were not so regular attendees of services struggled.

The first time she did her lesson with our Cantor on the bima, I have to admit, I got a bit 'ferklempt' and my eyes got a bit moist.  As I looked at her, I remembered the first time I saw in person  that beautiful face with the big eyes and could not help but feel a sense of loss for that little baby, but a sense of pride for who she has become.

I snuck a shot of her up there....

She continues to study/practice through the summer. 

Sophie is attending a Fashion & Design day camp for the month of July - each week focusing on different things (i.e. dresses, shoes, jeans, the color pink & bathing suits) - designing and making these items!  She is loving it and making friends from the neighboring towns and being somewhere in air conditioning, which has been a HUGE bonus, as it's been in the 90's for the past 2 weeks!

On the not so positive side, Linda & I made the mutual and amicable decision in mid-May to dissolve our marriage.   Though we had been together for 9 years (married for the last 3), there seemed to be issues that we could not resolve.  We remain on civil terms and she wants to maintain the role of step-parent to Sophie. 

It has been a transition, to say the least.  She moved out of the condo at the end of June and is living with a mutual friend of ours who has an extra bedroom to let her use, as well as a basement to store her stuff.  Paperwork was filed last week and should be finalized in November of this year.

It was very sad to have so much to celebrate with regards to marriage equality at a time of such personal loss, but it was still so great to see all that was passed by the Supreme Court.

Fortunately, I have great support around me between friends, family & co-workers, so I'm doing ok.  Bat Mitvah planning offers a great distraction!

Looking forward to some of my family from Israel coming in for the Bat Mitzvah for a week and will post again soon, if not right after the big event (which is on August 10th!).

Special Day for a Special Person

Some years ago ,a cute little baby girl was born on this date in Hanoi Saigon, Vietnam.  She came to America at the ripe old age of 3 months!

She has been in Connecticut ever since.

4 years ago, she walked into my line of vision and my life was changed forever.

Happy Birthday, babe.  You just keep getting better and better.  Enjoy your day.  I love you.

Looking for YOUR support!

You know that my partner Linda is quite the biker.  No, not the Harley-Davidson type.  (Though she probably would look quite nice in leather... hmmm... ahem, I digress...)

She has joined a group of other bike riders who are riding 130 miles over 2 days on Memorial Day weekend to raise money (and awareness) for a great camp called the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp that helps sick kids.  Here's your chance to help her and the kids.  You only have a few weeks, so please give what you can.  It's really a great cause.

You can read all about THE ANGEL RIDE here.

They are riding 80 miles the first day and 50 miles the second day and the riders are actually staying at the camp on Saturday night between the 1st and 2nd days!

Now that's GOT to be worth you taking the time to click here to make a donation, right?  RIGHT???!!

Do it for the kids.  C'mon, you know you wanna!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE to Linda's fund-raising.

Another spring-like day - the week has just been perfect.  So, you know what that means, right?  Yep, the temps that have been in the mid 70's all week are dropping 10 degrees and the rain will come for the weekend!

Today, had me up VERY early, as I didn't feel like working last night (instead, we watched "Fried Green Tomatoes", as Linda had never seen it.  Great movie!).

Sophie and the rest of her 2nd grade class are doing a presentation on States this afternoon, that I need to leave the office early for.  She picked the state of Florida.  She actually did research online, printed out many facts and pictures and drew some sketches of things like the state butterfly (who knew?!) and the state flag.  She turned in the big poster board yesterday and each child is speaking on their state for the parents today.  It should be cute. 

As shy as she is, she has no fear of getting up to do these presentations.  In fact, she looks forward to them.  My stomach turns just thinking of her getting up, as the thought, even today, of getting up and speaking in front of people scares the crap out of me.  Perhaps if I'd been given the opportunity to do presentations as early as 2nd grade and had positive experiences with it, it would have helped.  Let me share some of my presentation memories.

My first presentation was in 5th grade.  I did a presentation on ferns.  Seemed no big deal.  I labeled all the parts of a type of fern and mislabeled the name of the fern as "Fiddlesticks" instead of Fiddlehead.  The other kids didn't notice.  But after I was finished talking, the teacher pointed it out in front of the class while I as still standing up there and I can still hear the laughter and remember the mortification of that moment.  Horrific. 

Then in 6th grade, after all the prodding from my parents to participate in class and ask questions to show the teacher that I was interested, etc..., I finally raise my hand to ask a question.  My heart was racing, I was SO nervous.  I don't even know what it was that I asked, but the teacher just looked at me and then said, "That's a ridiculous question." 

I rarely spoke in class again.  So I relive these moments when I hear of kids having to do reports/presentations in front of a class.  Kids today are being given great opportunities and as far as I can see, the teachers are being supportive and encouraging no matter how the kids do.

I'm sure that Sophie will be fine.

Tonight, we have been invited to dinner at a couple's home from the Temple.  The wife is the head of our Temple Sisterhood and a runner, who did her first marathon in January.  I'm sure that there will be talk of some running dates for the upcoming months between her & Linda.  Her husband is a quiet man who we don't really know that well, but we look forward to changing that tonight.

Tomorrow, aside from the weekly cleaning and morning services, Linda will be preparing a special treat for a special couple who are coming over for dinner on Sunday.  Well, a very early dinner, as we all have to get to bowling at 6!  (We are defending our tie for 1st place and there's only 2 weeks left to the season!)  We're really looking forward to having them over, as they haven't seen our new place yet!

Saturday night, Sophie is singing with other kids from her school for a benefit for Leukemia, at the Middle School in town.  She's very excited about it, though we just found out about it this past week.  Seems that it wasn't that publicized and not a lot of information was sent home about it.  (You'd think with all the papers and e-mails from school, that we DO get telling us of things that we really don't care about, this would be something that would have been shared somewhere.)

Sunday morning, I'll be going to a Judaism class at the Temple on meditation and it's role in Judaism.  Linda is going for a training bike ride - only 2 more weeks before her big ride (120+ miles over 2 days!).

Anyway, it's another full weekend.

Shabbat Shalom.

Nice win...

Go Hillary!

Another beautifully sunny day here in the northeast corner of the country. 

The only ones able to enjoy it, however, are my parents and our cat.  I left windows and sliding doors open at home and I can just picture that cat draped either on the hassock in the living room or on the carpet in our bedroom, letting the sunlight warm her as the breeze flows over her.  Nice life, that cat has.

My parents, on the other hand, REALLY get to enjoy it - outside walking or just sitting out on their deck.  They, too, have a nice life.

Happy Hump Day, folks!

If it's Tuesday, it's about time to blog

The weekend was a blur.

It was fantastic.  The Seder we made was fabulous, from the food to the company.  I really got a huge kick out of hosting this holiday.  I've always enjoyed attending it at my folks' home, but it's something quite different 'being in charge'.

My first attempt at Matzo ball and chicken soup was a hit.  My daughter, who is the matzo ball soup maven, gave it a 2 thumbs up.  And, she ate it for leftovers on Monday night and raved all over again!

I managed the food very nicely, from the soup to the nuts, literally, and all the stuff in between.  This included:  gefilte fish (with lots of horseradish!), charosis (Dad's home-made!), roast chicken, baked potatoes, potato kuggel (store bought), salad (with Linda's home-made dressing!), olives, pickles and matzah.  The meal was completed with some coffee and chocolate and almond macaroons for dessert.

The weekend was very full in many ways.  As we celebrated the holiday of freedom, I was able to stretch my culinary skills that was WAY out of my comfort zone.  This was a freeing experience for me.  In my relationship with Linda, I have beeen given the freedom to try new things with the support and encouragment she gives me.  It's just incredible and I so appreciate the opportunity to broaden my horizens, so to speak. 

My stomach was very full, as was my heart and spirit.  It was a wonderful Pesach weekend filled with friends, family and loved ones. 

P-p-p-preparing for Passover

No, I don't have to change dishes and throw out a ton of stuff from my pantry like my more observant Jewish friends do, but I've realized just today, that saying that I'm doing a Passover Seder at our home is so much easier than actually planning and doing it. (Note to self:  make sure to thank my parents for the too many to count Seders in my life, as well as thank my brother David and my wonderful sister-in-law Cheryl, for the too few Seders that we got to share with them when they hosted us all before they moved to Israel.)

It's quite a bit of coordinating.

But I do happen to like making task lists and spreadsheets.  So I have done that part and done some research online for recipes and kid games/activities, etc...

I have a plan.

It involves taking a day off tomorrow to do some cooking and shopping.

I'm looking forward to having my parents and one of my nieces (8 yr old Maisie) join Linda, Sophie & I for a nice evening Saturday night.

The kids are having a sleepover, which should prove to be a good test of the theory that the distance between the 2 bedrooms will allow the adults to actually sleep!

Saturday is the day to look forward to.  Sophie returns from Florida (she's at Magic Kingdom DisneyWorld today with her Grandpa and her other Mom) and a nice family Seder at our new home.

.. and now, I have planning, cooking & coordinating to do.  oh, and my lovely partner will be assisting in the process, of course!

Spring renewal?

With the warmer weather over the weekend, came the internal 'nudge' (read: sweating and clothes not feeling comfortable, mixed with shopping with someone holding up size 0 (yes ZERO!) and sighing, "this looks too big") that the temperatures will only get warmer and I don't want to scare anyone when I model my swimwear this summer, so the gym saw my appearance yesterday.

There was no big fanfare from the gym folks there.  I still remembered how to work the treadmill.  I did a half hour on it and even tried to run, but my body screamed informed me that I needed to start off slower.

I'm going again tonight and will try incorporating some weights, as well.

Linda went on a 33 mile training ride yesterday, in the hills of the Weston.  She came back moaning at how out of shape she is and how the hills KILLED her.  I just shuddered and was grateful that the treadmill was not on any elevation level but flat!

We bowled well last night and had fun, as always.

Then we watched the movie "Into the Wild" about some kid who rebeled and ended up dying in the wilderness due to his own stupidity/ignorance.  It was sad and made me dream strange dreams all night.  Kind of disturbing.  I just kept feeling bad for his family and for him, as he had reacted to a troubled upbrining/overbearing parents by doing such extreme acts. A real waste of a life and heartbreaking to watch.

Anyway... happy Monday.

Leaving on an.... AMTRAK?

Sophie starts her Spring Break a day early today. 

We headed out and picked up my ex and I left them both at the train station on my way into work.  They'll take a train to Penn Station in NY and then get on another train (where they have a sleeper compartment) which will take them to Florida.  They did this last year, but didn't have a sleeper compartment, so it should be a much improved travel experience this time.

She has her "Carrot" (a nice fluffy tan bunny), lots of books and her portable DVD player with some movies.  She's looking forward to seeing her Grandparents and to spending a day at Disney.  And going to the pool every day will be a plus, as well!  She'll have a blast!

When I picked her up from school yesterday, she had made me a pseudo picture frame to hang from my rear-view mirror.  Instead of a picture, she had taped a piece of paper which reads, "I love you, Mommy.  Love, Sophie".  She told me to look at that anytime I miss her during the week that she's away.  (um... perhaps I should just tie it around my neck, so it's handy!)

She returns in time for our Passover Seder next Saturday.  Another reason for celebrating that evening.

Tonight, Linda & I are dining with an old friend who we haven't seen in awhile.  We're looking forward to reconnecting with her.

Shabbat Shalom.

End of the season... with a thump.

My UCONN gals didn't have the season I'd hoped for.  To add insult to injury, Tennessee won their back-to-back Championship.  Since I can't offer any kind or congratulatory words at this time, I'll just leave it at that.

Baseball has started.  I'll root for my Yankees.  It's a little nippy outside still so it's hard to get into any type of 'spring fever' at this time, but it will come.

As will the WNBA season. 

There's always another sport to cheer, but for me, women's college basketball is IT for me.  It's a long way pff til October.

Go Yankees!  Go Sun!  Perhaps some local bloggers can get together for a Sun game this summer???  Any takers?