My husband and I just wrapped up a funny evening with comedian Joel Chasnoff. He's a friend of ours (long story) and he recently wrote a book about his experience in a combat unit in the Israeli army. He was in San Antonio yesterday (or maybe even today) and had some free time so we offered to put together an event for him to promote his book.
My husband found a nice hip coffee shop that gave us space (for free!) (in their driveway!) (outside!) and about 20 people showed up. It was a nice crowd! It actually ended up being a reunion of Washington University in St. Louis people (my alma mater), NASA employees, all of our friends - all in one crowd!
The book reading was quite nice and there were lots of questions afterwards, and a lot of shmoozing. We came home late for our curfew.
Find Joel's comedy clips on YouTube, and I encourage you to buy his book! It is laugh-out-loud funny and a different take on the Israeli army than you expect.
And the best part? We came home and my mom (who was with the kids) announced that our daughter PEED in her potty - not once, but THREE TIMES tonight. Which is nothing short of amazing because to date, she has yet to do it ONCE, but tonight she did it THREE TIMES. I cannot wait to stop buying diapers.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Grocery Game: Round 1
Heard of the Grocery Game? I was just introduced to it a few weeks ago. A friend of mine was using the free trial because her friend saved around $1000 over 3 months using this online resource. After saving coupons for a few weeks, I finally signed up for the free 28-day trial yesterday.
Here is how the Game works: A list is generated of all of the grocery deals, by store, that can be had for the week. The deals are advertised deals and un-advertised deals, and who knew, the best deals are Sunday - Tuesday. The magic of the Game is with the coupons; the List tells you which coupons to use to combine with the grocery sales so that you end up paying super low prices, or sometimes you get the item for free!
Can't beat that.
I'm just skeptical that there isn't so much for us on these lists; we don't buy nonkosher meat or cheeses, we don't buy a lot of packaged products, and we don't buy snacks. But - with a free trial, I have nothing to lose.
So Round 1 was today with the kids (not the best idea). I picked my store and with coupons in hand, I saved a total of 32% on my bill. And yes, these are all items that we need. Most of the savings are from toiletries, and there were a couple of items I bought not on sale (turkey meat, grapes), but almost everything else had some coupon or sale attached to it.
Stay tuned.
Here is how the Game works: A list is generated of all of the grocery deals, by store, that can be had for the week. The deals are advertised deals and un-advertised deals, and who knew, the best deals are Sunday - Tuesday. The magic of the Game is with the coupons; the List tells you which coupons to use to combine with the grocery sales so that you end up paying super low prices, or sometimes you get the item for free!
Can't beat that.
I'm just skeptical that there isn't so much for us on these lists; we don't buy nonkosher meat or cheeses, we don't buy a lot of packaged products, and we don't buy snacks. But - with a free trial, I have nothing to lose.
So Round 1 was today with the kids (not the best idea). I picked my store and with coupons in hand, I saved a total of 32% on my bill. And yes, these are all items that we need. Most of the savings are from toiletries, and there were a couple of items I bought not on sale (turkey meat, grapes), but almost everything else had some coupon or sale attached to it.
Stay tuned.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Strawberries!
As you're probably aware, it's strawberry season. Which I love, since it's one of my favorite berries. So yesterday, for the second year in a row, we went strawberry picking.
Dear daughter was really excited about picking the strawberries; she says the word in a funny way that makes it just that much better. She got her own bucket and a set of instructions from Dad and off they went, down the row, picking shiny, red strawberries.
I followed behind with Cargo #2 in the stroller, who totally wanted to get in the dirt and was frustrated that he was strapped in.
After about 15 minutes, Dear Daughter wanted to be with me and so ended her strawberry-picking adventure. We made our way to the shady tree where there was a large wagon on which to sit and a swing set. And our snacks to eat.
We spent the rest of our time waiting for Dad to finish picking strawberries while we enjoyed the shade. Dad picked two bucket-fulls. I chatted with a couple who came to the farm 55 years ago to pick; they didn't know that people still pick every weekend. I watched a dad get pretty close to the end of his rope as he wasn't able to tear his little son away from the little red two-door car...for maybe 20 minutes, the dad called, "Hennnnnnry.....Hennnnnry - don't you want to go pick strawberries? Look, mommy is picking berries.....lets go....Hennnnnnry..." And the kid would get out of the car, close the door, the dad would breathe a sigh of relief, the kid would stand outside the car and say something unintelligible about continuing to play with the car. Watching the relief on the dad's face as the kid got out of the car, hopeful that they can now go, and then have all hopes be dashed as the kid got back into the car....was too painfully funny.
Afterwards, we went into the market and picked up a bunch of farm-fresh veggies. We only bought local produce, since I'm pretty sure I can get Florida green beans at my local store.
Dear dad and I were up until 1 am or so making jam with our strawberries....yes, jam. Which we tasted this morning. And it is very very tasty.
Dear daughter was really excited about picking the strawberries; she says the word in a funny way that makes it just that much better. She got her own bucket and a set of instructions from Dad and off they went, down the row, picking shiny, red strawberries.
I followed behind with Cargo #2 in the stroller, who totally wanted to get in the dirt and was frustrated that he was strapped in.
After about 15 minutes, Dear Daughter wanted to be with me and so ended her strawberry-picking adventure. We made our way to the shady tree where there was a large wagon on which to sit and a swing set. And our snacks to eat.
We spent the rest of our time waiting for Dad to finish picking strawberries while we enjoyed the shade. Dad picked two bucket-fulls. I chatted with a couple who came to the farm 55 years ago to pick; they didn't know that people still pick every weekend. I watched a dad get pretty close to the end of his rope as he wasn't able to tear his little son away from the little red two-door car...for maybe 20 minutes, the dad called, "Hennnnnnry.....Hennnnnry - don't you want to go pick strawberries? Look, mommy is picking berries.....lets go....Hennnnnnry..." And the kid would get out of the car, close the door, the dad would breathe a sigh of relief, the kid would stand outside the car and say something unintelligible about continuing to play with the car. Watching the relief on the dad's face as the kid got out of the car, hopeful that they can now go, and then have all hopes be dashed as the kid got back into the car....was too painfully funny.
Afterwards, we went into the market and picked up a bunch of farm-fresh veggies. We only bought local produce, since I'm pretty sure I can get Florida green beans at my local store.
Dear dad and I were up until 1 am or so making jam with our strawberries....yes, jam. Which we tasted this morning. And it is very very tasty.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Happy birthday Israel!
Israel is 62 years young. In its 62 years it has become one of the most powerful, innovative countries on Earth, and it's incredibly beautiful too. I'm excited about what the next 62 years will bring. I am proud to be a Zionist!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Someone's upcoming birthday
I just received the "Your 11-month old: Week 3" email from BabyCenter regarding my baby boy. It hit me like punch in the stomach that my little baby is turning 1 very soon.
I am not ready for that yet. I haven't taken enough photos, not enough videos, and we haven't even gone to JC Penney for formal photos. I haven't kissed his little baby toes enough, and I honestly don't think I've enjoyed his babyhood enough to be able to let go and transition into toddler-hood.
Big sigh. Where have those baby days gone...
I am not ready for that yet. I haven't taken enough photos, not enough videos, and we haven't even gone to JC Penney for formal photos. I haven't kissed his little baby toes enough, and I honestly don't think I've enjoyed his babyhood enough to be able to let go and transition into toddler-hood.
Big sigh. Where have those baby days gone...
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The first time is the hardest
I won't mince words here: I forgot to pick up my daughter from school today.
The caregiver who picks her up every day has been reminding me for a week that she will be unable to pick up the little girl due to a prior commitment. Each time I assured her that it's not a problem; between me, my husband, and my parents, someone will fetch her.
The problem was that the task of communicating that need to someone - anyone! - literally, 100% slipped. my. mind.
Until my cell phone rang at 12:41 pm today and the teacher calmly told me that Yael is still at school, and are there plans for her to be picked up or should she nap at school?
I was so mortified I almost fell over.
Fortunately my mom was available and swooped in to pick her up. I called the teacher back and with all of her experience she could tell I was about to lose it on the phone. She tried to calm me down. I called my husband and told him I get the "worst mommy of the day" award, and he tried to calm me down. My mom called from the car with said daughter in tow, and she tried to calm me down.
I need a drink...did I say that out loud? I didn't articulate what type of drink...
The caregiver who picks her up every day has been reminding me for a week that she will be unable to pick up the little girl due to a prior commitment. Each time I assured her that it's not a problem; between me, my husband, and my parents, someone will fetch her.
The problem was that the task of communicating that need to someone - anyone! - literally, 100% slipped. my. mind.
Until my cell phone rang at 12:41 pm today and the teacher calmly told me that Yael is still at school, and are there plans for her to be picked up or should she nap at school?
I was so mortified I almost fell over.
Fortunately my mom was available and swooped in to pick her up. I called the teacher back and with all of her experience she could tell I was about to lose it on the phone. She tried to calm me down. I called my husband and told him I get the "worst mommy of the day" award, and he tried to calm me down. My mom called from the car with said daughter in tow, and she tried to calm me down.
I need a drink...did I say that out loud? I didn't articulate what type of drink...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Lost Cheese: A Story
I know it's been a long time since my last post. I'm sorry. I got busy. But I've thought about you often; I haven't abandoned you in my mind.
I do want to share with you why the 2nd days of Pesach will stand out my memory.
The Sunday in the middle of Pesach, my husband made matzah pizza - very tasty - with our large block of mozzarella cheese. We were planning on using the rest of the cheese on Tuesday morning to prepare mazta lasagna - very tasty - for lunch with friends.
On Monday night, as we were cleaning up the kitchen, my husband was staring into the fridge. He turned to me and asked, "Where's the mozzarella cheese?"
One of the oddest questions of my life.
So, slowly, I gingerly replied, "Is it not in the fridge?" Apparently, it was not.
Hm. Now this was surely an interesting problem.
With Pesach being Pesach, there were limited hiding spots for this cheese. Our cabinets were taped off and it was not in the fridge. We looked at the trash can. I ventured, "Perhaps you threw it away?" It was a possibility, not a great one, but one nonetheless. We are talking about an enormous hunk of cheese. This amount of cheese, you remember. I think it sparks your tactile memory.
Not so with my husband.
In the morning, my husband emptied the trash and actually sifted through it. No cheese. Now this was becoming even more interesting.
(Since we discovered this problem Monday night, it gave us time to think of an alternative entree. Which ended up being disasterous. We were saved by the alternate to the alternative entree. Thank goodness we bought lots of eggs on Sunday.)
Being the domestic goddess-wannabe that I am, I usually have a solution for challenges. This one left me hanging. We decided that given enough time, the cheese would start to smell and we'd sniff it out. Not the ideal solution, but what can we do? We knew the cheese didn't wander into the bedrooms, and not into the cars, and not into the taped-off cabinets. It just wasn't visible to the naked eye.
We lost our cheese.
The ending to the story is that I found the cheese yesterday - an entire week it was gone missing. I found it in the aluminum foil/baggie drawer. When I pulled it out of the drawer, my husband looked at me and said, "Obviously. Because I put it in a baggie when I was done making the pizzas and I must have put it all back in." Without realizing he was holding a giant block of cheese.
This is how I found cream cheese in the pantry. And ice cream in the fridge.
I do want to share with you why the 2nd days of Pesach will stand out my memory.
The Sunday in the middle of Pesach, my husband made matzah pizza - very tasty - with our large block of mozzarella cheese. We were planning on using the rest of the cheese on Tuesday morning to prepare mazta lasagna - very tasty - for lunch with friends.
On Monday night, as we were cleaning up the kitchen, my husband was staring into the fridge. He turned to me and asked, "Where's the mozzarella cheese?"
One of the oddest questions of my life.
So, slowly, I gingerly replied, "Is it not in the fridge?" Apparently, it was not.
Hm. Now this was surely an interesting problem.
With Pesach being Pesach, there were limited hiding spots for this cheese. Our cabinets were taped off and it was not in the fridge. We looked at the trash can. I ventured, "Perhaps you threw it away?" It was a possibility, not a great one, but one nonetheless. We are talking about an enormous hunk of cheese. This amount of cheese, you remember. I think it sparks your tactile memory.
Not so with my husband.
In the morning, my husband emptied the trash and actually sifted through it. No cheese. Now this was becoming even more interesting.
(Since we discovered this problem Monday night, it gave us time to think of an alternative entree. Which ended up being disasterous. We were saved by the alternate to the alternative entree. Thank goodness we bought lots of eggs on Sunday.)
Being the domestic goddess-wannabe that I am, I usually have a solution for challenges. This one left me hanging. We decided that given enough time, the cheese would start to smell and we'd sniff it out. Not the ideal solution, but what can we do? We knew the cheese didn't wander into the bedrooms, and not into the cars, and not into the taped-off cabinets. It just wasn't visible to the naked eye.
We lost our cheese.
The ending to the story is that I found the cheese yesterday - an entire week it was gone missing. I found it in the aluminum foil/baggie drawer. When I pulled it out of the drawer, my husband looked at me and said, "Obviously. Because I put it in a baggie when I was done making the pizzas and I must have put it all back in." Without realizing he was holding a giant block of cheese.
This is how I found cream cheese in the pantry. And ice cream in the fridge.
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