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!

Dance Evolution

Every once in a while i'll find a song that i absolutely love and get obsessed with. i listen to it a million trillion times until i get sick of it and then move on to the next song. the song im obsessed with now (and listening to now :) is Michoel Pruzansky's "Al Tirah" which i got off the Oorah Shmorg CD that they sent out in the mail. it's one of those songs that just puts me in a good mood and makes we want to dance.

** LISTEN TO 'Al Tirah' HERE **

the last song i can think of that i was obsessed with and made me want to dance was on Shalsheles 4: "Ashira". I put on that song blasting and just danced the night away, listening for hours on end to the same song on repeat! it was a blast! though my sisters thought i was crazy!! but i got them to dance with me.
im not really a dancer. at weddings i'll dance of course but im not one of those girls who knows all the complicated dance steps. i know a few basic dances and i don't really have to any more than that because usually we use just the simple ones. i know the 6 step tho!! im so proud of myself. though i'd prob be too embarrassed to do it in front of everyone, for fear that i'd mess up lol.
when i was younger, in like 4th grade, i took dance class after school. i was one of the best in my class, really, and im not saying to brag or anything. i was really good but then i just lost it. must of been with all that growing and maturing, i just lost that talent. it's something i wish i could do. like ice skating. i've always wanted to figure skate! they look so graceful and beautiful out there with all the triple lutzes and double axels and spins. that's always my favorite sport to watch in the olympics.
so i guess i could learn to dance again. tho im content with just dancing in my room to my (now) favorite songs, although who knows how long it'll be b4 im sick of them!!!


here are some of my favorite songs for your listening pleasure... ENJOY!
Meidad Tasa's "Al Naharot Bavel"
David Ross's "Power to Be" (the Voices for Israel version is much better)
Baruch Levine's "Vezakaini"
and a lot of others that i can't think of right now!!


just as i was publishing this post, my friend sent me this link to such a cute video! check it out HERE. i wish i was on that flight!!! and please post comments... i, too, belong to the "I love comments club" :-p

rules are meant to be broken

rules are meant to be broken. 

or are they?

who made up all these rules about shidduchim? things like, waiting upstairs when the guy comes in to meet your parents, him opening the car door for you, who leaves the house first... all these things. who made them up? must have been someone. these things have become so accepted that if someone breaks the rules, it's like they've done something wrong, when in reality they haven't... they've just done something different.

and these days people are so against people being different.

but what i think is interesting is that i've gotten questions from shadchanim or people who have called me about my friends for a shidduch, like: what makes you different from all the other girls out there? what makes so-and-so different? 

so what's going on here? is different good or bad?

TGIF

TGIF, right?

I absolutely love fridays. it's not just because it's the end of the week and i'm off, with no school or work. it's because of all the preparations for shabbos and in anticipation of the weekend, which begins today.

i used to get up late on fridays because i didnt have to get up for school or work but then i realized it's so much nicer to wake up early and be available to help out my mom and do some preparations for shabbos. it gives me a sense of accomplishment.. like, look what I made! wow, i did that!

i think that is something i really enjoy- being able to accomplish something and look back at it, even years later, and be like, "wow! i really did something" or "i really made a difference" or "look what i went through and who/what i became." i think everyone gets that satisfaction from accomplishing something. especially if it took real effort on their part. 

i'm really excited for this shabbos! i've been tired all week. i haven't had a chance to catch up on my sleep because of purim and everything and it's been a busy couple of weeks. so i'm hoping i'll get a chance to get some zzzzzzs and enjoy the company that we're having :) it's gonna be fun!

now on a completely different subject:

i got a reference call for a shidduch for a friend of mine. this woman who called me knew no information about my friend, except her name (and i guess her references, cuz she had my number). so i told her to ask me questions (because that's the only way i'll talk about a girl... i hate it when people say, "so tell me about so-and-so..." and i'm like "um..... can you please ask me some specific questions?!") so what im really wondering is how did this woman get my friend's name and references. i mean, if she had the references then she probably would have her shidduch resume also and then all the other basic info would be on there too. except maybe she got the numbers from someone else, and why wouldn't that person share the resume with her?? anybody got a clue?

Purim

B"H i had THE best Purim EVER!

I think it was so great because it was really inspirational and spiritual but also really fun. I went to a Tehillim group at chatzos on Purim night, davened vasikin this morning, heard megillah, gave out mishloach manos (at home, to my friends, etc), prepared for seudah and had seudah with family and friends. it was amazing! i hope you all had as great a Purim as i did!!

Just want to wish everyone a Freilichen Purim and I hope you all enjoy the fun! It's a little busy around here but IY"H after Purim I'll be back...

ok i gotta admit, im a real girl!  i saw this quote on a classmate's looseleaf in high school, and i've never forgotten it since.  it's so 'me.'

Dreams

a year ago, in an art class, i learned something unbelievable: some people dream in black and white. i was shocked! i had always thought that all people dream in color. my teacher polled the class and we discovered that one student (my friend!!) dreams in monochrome. she couldn't imagine dreaming in color. i myself dream in color; all dreams are exactly like real life, except, of course, they're dreams. 

so i decided to do some research, as this is a topic truly fascinating to me, and this is what i discovered:

- Psychology researchers have discovered that if you grew up on black and white TV you are more likely to dream in monochrome than people who have watched color TV all their lives. 

- A psychology student did a survey of 60 people, half over 55 and half under 25. Only 4.4% of the under-25s dreamed in monochrome.

- Even more fascinating, before black and white TV, research has shown that people dreamed in color!

- According to research, most people dream in both color AND monochrome, but some only dream in monochrome.

Do you dream in color? Or just black and white? Do you also find this fascinating? Share your thoughts, opinions, comments, etc.

ps. if you don't know whether you dream in color or not, sleep on it, and try to remember in the morning!!