gmar chasima tova to all of my friends out in the blogosphere!

I (heart) these things...

at the request of Dude with hat, i have returned briefly to post about seven things i love:

(these are in random order)

1. making people happy- for example, today at work i completed a project for a client and he called me up and told me how much he loves it and that made my day!! i love doing things for people and seeing their pleased reactions.

2. the feeling when something suddenly clicks and everything becomes crystal clear- this applies in Torah learning but also in secular studies... whenever i don't understand something and then i find another way to explain it that i really like or when someone gives me a new piece of information to complete the picture.

3. driving!

4. singing and music- i've discussed this before :-) 

5. hanging out with close friends and just shmoozing and having fun

6. swimming and anything to do with water

7. fave foods, well a few of them: sushi (just had an awesome godzilla roll from Sushi Metsuyan), (israeli) iced coffee, coffee ice cream, whipped cream, and corned beef

follow-up post

at a wedding last night, i saw the person i mentioned in the previous post, who i had decided to forgive and forget what she had done. 

i gave her a huuuuge hug and spoke with her for a few minutes and did NOT, not even once, have any negative feelings towards her or speak negatively about her. it was such an incredible feeling!!

i hope that all of you will take this opportunity to forgive someone who hurt you at some point because its an amazing feeling to finally be done with that horrible feeling for once and for all.

:-)

forgive AND forget

I recently learned about forgiveness.  It's a mitzvah to forgive someone for something he/she did to you when they come to you and apologize. It's an even greater level to forgive someone when he/she did not even come to you to ask for forgiveness.

I left the shiur with a mission: to forgive someone I've held a grudge against for nearly four years.  Even though I thought I had forgiven her for what she did and how she acted towards me, I did not forget.  And in Yiddishkeit, it's not ok to just forgive but one needs to forget also. Because if you still remember, then it means you still hold a grudge. So I decided to honestly and completely and wholeheartedly forgive and forget the incident. Because I can truly see how though this person may have wronged me, she actually did me the biggest favor because I ended up where I did and it was all yad Hashem- truly.  (though i did not realize that at the time, of course)

I feel like a burden is now lifted off my heart. 

And I know that when I see her next week (and I know I will for sure), that I can go over to her and hug her and honestly ask how she's doing, and forget the past, because the future is so much more important.

When i think of her now, all i can do is smile. It's a funny thing, mechila (forgiveness). Totally changes everything upside and right side up.

hey guys!

just wanted to check in and say hi! hope y'all have a great shabbos!

news flash

i will be taking a hiatus from this blog for a while. feel free to go through the archives and comment, comment, comment!

enjoy the rest of pesach!

(i'll still be checking other blogs and commenting, so i won't be totally gone :)

Well, almost all cooking has been finished and we're all heading to bed, B"H. Just want to wish everyone a Chag Kasher V'Sameach! Enjoy it!!!!

Can't wait for Bircas HaChama very early tomorrow morning :)

TAoPP part 2

for all those who had trouble figuring that out (lol)... this is The Adventures of Pesach Prep continued!

In keeping with the funny/weird theme: I took my brother shoe shopping for Yom Tov. He (finally) found a shoe he liked and it was on the clearance rack. My bro tried it on and it fit ok so we asked the salesguy, Sean, to bring out the other shoe. Sean returned a few minutes later and said sadly, "I can't find the other shoe. I think it was thrown out." (!!!) I've never heard of Macy's throwing out new shoes before! Have you?

Also, I think I now appreciate men's shoes a little more. I used to think they're all the same, unlike women's shoes. But after shopping tonite, i think i'm getting the hang of it! there's tons of variety- loafers, tie-ups, tassels, cowboy shoes, with a heel, with rubber sole, in black, maroon, tan, pointed toe, square toe, square-ish toe, round toe, up toe, down toe, with design, without design, one color, two-tone, the list is endless. 

so now, all you girls out there who until now thought guys' shoes are all the same, i hope you'll reconsider. i have :)

The Adventures of Pesach Preparation

If i were writing a novel called The Adventures of Pesach Preparation, this would definitely go in it: While my brother was vacuuming the car, his yarmulka fell off and was sucked into the vacuum! He had to go buy another one! How funny is that?? :-p

to be continued :)

Here's a great inspirational song to listen to while you're preparing...

M.O.

You know, some people would be envious of Michelle Obama. I mean, she is First Lady of the U.S. But I really don't envy her at all.  There's a lot of stress and expectations. People expect many things from her. She can't make any mistakes because she represents the President. And when she's outside of the U.S., it's even worse. Because she represents America.  

I'm not into politics at all (and that may be a whole 'nother discussion why not) but I am into fashion.  The President and First Lady were in Europe this week, spending some time in England. Out of all things to talk about, the press focuses on Michelle meeting the Queen, her etiquette, and her clothing!  

There's one sweater that got a lot of criticism.  (Quoted from Time Magazine:) "Then Thursday morning she was off to the Royal Opera, dressed in a sequined, patchwork cardigan, the kind of goofy outfit that in another context could get a teenage daughter eye rolls from her baffled parents." 

I actually like the sweater. I think it's really cool and original. When I first saw it in the pictures, I thought, hey, i'd like to get myself one of those! Only problem:  it costs $800!! 

(and notice that it only comes in small and medium... let's say you're a size large, G-d forbid?)

What do you think?

Design

Poll: Do you like the design of my blog?

Results: 4 users said yes, 3 users said no

For all those who said no, would you mind telling me what it is that you don't like so i can fix it?

And for all you yes-ers, please tell me what you do like about my blog.

Thanks!

I passed by this sign today while driving in Queens. Pretty scary, no?

Picture Perfect (i wish...)

i had an argument with my mother today. her friend, who thought of a boy for me, dislikes the photo on my shidduch "resume" and wants a different one. i really am not so photogenic so i dont have any good pictures i would want to give this shadchan, other than the one that's on my resume now which is from my brother's bar mitzvah. so this shadchan decided she doesnt like that picture and wants another one. i dont have another one! i like that one! but my mother wants me to find a different one... and she wants my yearbook picture. 

okay, first of all, my yearbook picture is from THREE years ago. second, i hate it!! i really really really don't like it and i would never want any guy who is deciding whether or not to date me (or worse, his mother) to see that. 

i decided to google "shidduch picture" to see what others in the blogosphere had to say on the topic and i arrived at this site, which said:

"12/23/2003

Ed. Note - Possibly of interest for those who'd like to lightly touch up" their shidduch photo.

HATE YOUR YEARBOOK PICTURE? Attention students and teachers: get rid of unsightly pimples, remove orthodontic braces, circles under eyes, double chins, stray hairs, etc.  I will retouch your yearbook or other photo for only $10!"

The last line of the ad was the best... it says: "Remember Hashem made you perfect, but the camera makes mistakes!" awwwww... how sweet!  lol

in the end, however, i caved, and sent the yearbook picture. because i figure the shadchan will compare the two pictures and come to the conclusion that the first picture is much better (which is exactly the conclusion i want her to come to!!) 

PS. i had always heard a rumor that the guys in lakewood had a library filled with all high school yearbooks from all the schools all over the US from all the years. but a guy i went out with recently claims he has never seen a yearbook in Lakewood yeshiva. THANK G-D!! (all you girls can breathe a sigh of relief)

Blogging about Life

Child Ish Behavior, on SomethingDifferent's post about Blogging Inspiration, linked to a little quiz to figure out what type of blogger you are. I took the quiz and it revealed what type of blogger I am....

Let me know what you think... Is it true?

You want my... honey??

no, silly! they wanted my blood! 

recently i donated blood for the first time! the first time i willingly gave blood was in high school when i was tested for Dor Yesharim. when i heard there was going to be a blood drive i was kinda nervous about donating. im not squeamish with blood but the thought of someone sticking me with a needle and taking a pint (!) of blood out of me really made me nervous. in the end, thanks to (the good kind of) peer pressure, i decided to give blood. 

B"H i was totally fine, though i actually saw my friend faint in front of my eyes! (but that's a different story) it took about fifteen minutes, maybe less, and then it was all over. and i feel so great about giving the gift of life! you know, they say 60% of people in my region are eligible to give blood and only 2% do. every 2 seconds someone else in the world needs blood. it's a major thing to be able to give. so if you're eligible... do it! you'll feel so great afterwards (okay... maybe two hours later, after the weakness and lightheadedness has gone away :)

one of the girls i was with said something really amazing that got me thinking. she said that we're at an age now where we will do something to willingly hurt ourselves because we know something good will come out of it. think about it...

when i was younger like 10 years old, no way would i allow myself to get hurt if i had the choice. why have to suffer willingly? but now, as a 20-year-old, i understand that it may hurt for a second or maybe for 15 minutes will im being pinched with a needle stuck in my vein drawing out my blood, but afterwards i'll be ok and i'll be able to save someone's life. 

it's a really amazing idea if you think about it. the more i think about the concept of taking my blood to give to someone else, the more amazing i realize it is. my blood going into someone else's body is pretty cool. and the whole thing about different blood types is cool too. i can't wait to find out what type i am! lol

fyi here are some facts about giving blood:

1. one pint of blood can save up to three lives

2. the average adult body contains 10 pints of blood

3. 500,000 Americans donated blood in the days following September 11th, 2001 

4. A newborn baby has about one cup of blood in his body

5. there is no substitute for human blood.

JUST DO IT!