Playdate

In bloom

 

Park Avenue

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Central Park Reservior

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Bringing the outdoors in.

Spring is in full bloom!

The Kindest Cut

Pantene is partnered with the American Cancer Society for a program called Beautiful Lengths.  They take hair donations to make wigs for women with cancer - free of charge.  Pantene funds the wig making process, you supply the hair.  I did this for the first time a few years ago.  It makes sense for me because I get tired of my "look" and need a change every once in a while. 

So here's my BEFORE...

And here's the AFTER...

My 2 ponytails of  12" long hair will help but they need at least 6 ponytails for each wig.  So, I'm telling all my friends the message...help if you can!  Get the details on the requirements to make a donation.

   

Sign O' The Times?

So last week I said to a fellow blogger that I wouldn't be so worried about the economic crisis unless the Dow dropped below 10,000 points.  Eeeehhhh-hemmmm.  Who knew?  (I guess THEY should have known but that's a topic for another blogger.)  I'll try not to panic as I look at my IRA statements.

Check out this fun lapel pin from a local entrepenuer.  We have to be optimistic, no?

On the small scale of things on our "Main Street", our annual yard sale made a whopping....drum roll please....twenty five dollars!!!  People were just not interested in spending their cash.  I don't blame them.  On the bright side, I organized my mess into donate, keep and garbage piles.  You know, so I can create order with my junk.

Even though our stuff didn't sell, we were really hoping that Ethan and Owen's Hot Apple Cider and Donut stand would raise a fair amount of money for their schools.  I shelled out $20 for the cider, donuts and cups but sadly, they only made $3.75.  That's a grand total of $1.87 for each school. On the bright side, the boys only saw the profits and they were proud of the money they earned.

I guess we will all have to search for the bright side of things in the coming months/year(s).  A guest on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart mentioned that she went back to read the Fireside Chats from President Roosevelt to find comfort and guidance.  It's worth a shot.

The Harvest

Our little garden produced some great tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, peppers and herbs this summer.  Our zucchini plant grew very large but only produced two "fruit".  One was large but the one pictured above is just enormous.  So large, it could be mistaken for a gourd or freaky green pumpkin.  I put the first zucchini into a soup.  Kim chee ggi gae is a soup/stew made with old kim chee and anything else you can find.  And yes, this one was spicy! 

In Korea, one of the most important days of the year is centered around the harvest.  Chu sok is celebrated in autumn (its date changes every year because it is based on the lunar calendar) and it is most similar to Thanksgiving.  My parents are in Korea and they celebrated the holiday with our extended family.  In their absence, instead of honoring this tradition with the foods and festivities...we did nothing.  Because I forgot.  I'm a bad Korean.  If you'd like to read about what we all missed, click here.

There is a huge festival every year in Flushing Meadows Park.  It was held last weekend and I'm totally bummed we missed it.  I will definitely take the kids next year.  Because really, who doesn't love a good parade with delicious food?

Remembering September 11

Just my luck that September 11 falls on a Thursday, my day to post. I have no idea what to say, but it seems wrong to let the day go by without posting anything. Also seems a little wrong to just post the silly pictures of Hannah that I had planned, but post them I will. And I'll explain.

We have conflicting ways of remembering September 11 around here. Adam prefers not to work and wants to watch news coverage -- not memorial coverage -- and is always disappointed that nobody will replay footage from the day AS IT HAPPENED without having to comment on it from the perspective of five, six, seven ... year out. He wants to watch it "Ground Hog Day" style, start to finish as he watched it that day, seven years ago, but in the absence of that, he usually does watch the news for the bits of replay he can find scattered throughout the day.

Me: I want to watch no TV at all and carry on with my day as normally as possible. Like my husband, I despise the memorial aspect of the coverage. I have my own private September 11 memorial every time I see the city skyline and see what's missing, and the endless droning of commentators -- or even the somber roll call of victims -- gets in the way of my own introspection. Seeing the American flag at half mast I find very moving and is about as much public memorial as I can take.

I've been trying to figure out why I feel this way. I think -- think -- I may have put my finger on it today as I realized that what I wanted to do more than anything else was hug my children and be thankful for the life we have.

On September 11, 2001, I was working at the New Jersey Jewish News. I was the editor of the World News section of the paper. And Tuesday was the day that we put the paper to bed. What that meant was that I had to work. The whole day. Even late. I spent the day running back and forth between my office and the huge conference room where all the Federation employees were gathered watching CNN. There was no time to process; I could not just be a spectator. I had to track down and edit stories, coordinate with photographers ...

What working at the Jewish News and being the World News editor also meant was that it was one year into the Second Intifada and barely a week went by that my section of the newspaper wasn't filled with pictures and articles about the terrorist attacks happening everyday inside Israel. It was from that perspective that I was sure that this horrific event I was watching unfold was only the beginning.

Here I was just barely pregnant -- I had been sure of it for 7 days, though it would be another eight before I would get a positive pregnancy test -- thinking I would be giving birth to and raising a child in a country where every day or so, there would be small, random terrorists attacks: suicide bombers blowing themselves up in crowds, on buses, in restaurants, in places of great consequence and none, in cities big and small all across the country. As horrific as the images were streaming live through the TV screen, my fear for the future was so much worse.

The only place I could find quiet that day was in the bathroom stall. I would stay longer than strictly necessary for actually using the facilities, and I'd stand up, rest my head on the wall and put my hand on my abdomen. I promised Joseph (though I couldn't even conjure up an image of what my baby would look like or be) over and over that day that I would do my best to keep him safe and to help him be happy in this new uncertain world.

So, for me, September 11 has never been a day to sit and mourn or remember the dead (though there are plenty of scattered moments throughout the year that I do just that). I feel defiant on September 11. I feel grateful on September 11. It is my day to remember the thoughts I had on that day and recommit myself to my children, my family, my community, my country and our continued happiness and relative well-being.

With that, I'm going to go hug Miriam, finish making Hannah's "pretty dress" I promised her, get ready to go get my beautiful children from school, and wait eagerly for my husband to come home. And I'm going to post the pictures to celebrate Hannah's week of firsts, because she deserves her day, even if  -- or perhaps because -- it is September 11.

Peace and love to you all.

Love your neighbor as you love yourself ...

... or not. You know, up to you.

Saw this bumper sticker on the car in front of me at the McDonald's drive-thru in Waterloo, NY.

Aside from my general disdain for the expression of intolerance for differing viewpoints, I just don't think this is catchy enough for a bumper sticker. Pretty sure this is never going to win any votes for a rallying cry.

Another failing -- and even more crass -- entry in the same category might include this dandy I found on Cafe Press.

Would you call it ironic that of all the bumper stickers for or against keeping "Under God" in the pledge, the only ones that attacked "the other side"  -- and with profanity, no less -- were the ones in support of keeping the phrase in?

When life gives you lemons...

...rob a lemonade stand.

Lemonade is good.  But is it jail time good? 

Hey, you! Look at my BUTT! I'm a virgin!

OK, thank Mother Jones for pointing me in the direction of, yes, you guessed it: Abstinence Pants!

For just $16.99 you too can head to your nearest K-Mart and buy these comfy, cropped sweats that proclaim in big bold letters -- right next to your crotch and across your butt -- "True Love Waits."

Because, of course, if you want to remain chaste, what you want to do is draw the attention of teen boys right to your butt ... you know, to let them know, once and for all, that they won't be gettin' in your pants!

Notice there are no "his and hers" outfits. Just hers.

Had to get gas last night ...

HOLY !@#*&#@!

Who trusts Homeland Security not the F this up?

Seriously? I can't think of anything much more frightening than the scenario laid out in this Fox news article:  Dangerous Animal Virus on U.S. Mainland?

Homeland Security took over Foot and Mouth Disease research from the Department of Agriculture because bio-hazard risks now fall under their domain due to the potential terrorist threats. So Homeland Security and the White House want to move the research off the secluded island where it has been housed for more than 50 years and put it somewhere like Kansas or Georgia? What?

From the article:

Foot-and-mouth virus can be carried on a worker's breath or clothes, or vehicles leaving a lab, and is so contagious it has been confined to Plum Island, N.Y., for more than a half-century — far from commercial livestock. The existing lab is 100 miles northeast of New York City in the Long Island Sound, accessible only by ferry or helicopter. Researchers there who work with the live virus are not permitted to own animals at home that would be susceptible, and they must wait at least a week before attending outside events where such animals might perform, such as a circus.

Homeland Security and the White House say it will be safe because "containment procedures have improved." Exactly how have they improved if it can be carried on workers' breath? Why do we think we'd be better at containment than the British?

How many brain cells do these people have?

Ugh. Dear Lord, please let the Democrats win in November so we can be sure we get Bush's cronies out of these positions.