The Ginger-Walking Dead House

Claire went w/ my mom & her cousins to a Gingerbread House-making Party a week or so ago.  Below are two shots of the Putch's zombie'fied creation:

Canned Heat Song'bombing (for lack of a better word) Alvin & the Chipmunks

I've been avoiding this blog like the plague -- which I'll eventually address & remedy by the new year -- but I wanted to share Canned Heat's "Christmas Boogie," which my Uncle Eddie shared w/ his EddieRadio listeners this morning.  Unfortunately, embedding of that video was disabled by the YouTube poster, so this'll have to do.  This surreal & really unexplainable combo from the '60s -- Alvin & the Chipmunks w/ Canned Heat -- will have to do. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

So, What's Been Going On?

Here's a quick list of what I've been up to the past couple of weeks:

Channukah -- Last Sunday was my mom's annual Channukah party at her apartment in the city. She & my aunt Golde cooked 100's of latkes while over 25 of us ate & hung out. It was a beautiful thing.

Presents-wise for the Putch, Just Dance 4 was the biggest hit.  She also dug her belgian waffle maker.  The other six nights of gifts... well-received, but won't be as memorable.

NYC Teaching Fellows -- As most of you know, I applied to become a Special Ed teacher through the NYC Teaching Fellows program at the end of November. So far, no word from them, which isn't really expected for another 3 or so weeks, but I did notice that the status of my Teaching Sample Planning Form I submitted before the interview has gone from "pending" to "complete." That just means my 5-minute lesson was reviewed. Nothing else.

Parents Association -- Holy jeez crap, this is just knocking the heck out of me. I have no other words at the time about that.

Old-Friends -- Catching-up w/ some & missing out on others.

Okie-doke, there's really a slew more that's been going on, but I've run out of time to type & have to get ready for our building's annual Holiday party -- it's starting in a bit.

Claire's New 'Do

Last night it took over an hour to comb through Claire's super-thick, very-long hair, so when she asked if she could get it cut like Ramona Flowers, I was pretty darn quick to say, "yes."

 

When we got to the salon after school today, they thought that she could donate her hair to Locks for Love, so Claire went for a little shorter of a 'do.  It turns out my little rock-n-roll chickareenie's bleached-&-dyed-pink hair can't be used in wigs for people in recovery, but it can be used to make bouys that help clean areas where there's been spillage of yucky stuff... or something like that.  I've got to look more into this.  (It's amazing what you can find on the Internet.)

 

Any old ways, I'm so proud of her regardless of where her old hair goes b/c it takes a very brave soul to make such a drastic change.  Below are two pictures -- back & front -- of her new 'do.  In the second, she's holding one of ten ponytails worth of hair that was cut off today.  And, yes, she's closing her eyes on purpose -- she wanted to make it look like she's blinking.  Gotta love the Putch.

 

 

Good Golly, Miss Molly, It's Almost 2013

I am so far behind in posting on this blog.  I definitely having been giving the love it deserves.  Maybe I'll add that on to my resolutions for 2013.  And, speaking about resolutions, I wonder how I did on this year's resolutions:

1. Be More Patient -- Having a 10-year-old daughter really put me to the test w/ this resolution, but I gotta say... yes, I am more patient these days.  So, score 1 for me.

2. Be a Little More Neater -- Ha.  That I put this on my list shows balls beyond galore.  I tried.  Honestly, I did, but dang my slobbish tendencies.  When push came to shove, my messy ways won over.

3.) Lose My Fat Ass -- Done.  It's not my 18-year-old tush -- heck, it's not even my 36-year-old tush -- but it's my tush & it's not as big as it was at the beginning of the year.  (And, yes, I realize this was not the most difficult to accomplish -- it was only 10 pounds & I always yo-yo, any old ways.)

So, two of our three ain't bad.  At least, according to Meat Loaf.  Though, if you asked Carl, he'd prolly still want me to work on #2.  Maybe I'll give being "a little more neater" in the next couple of weeks a whirl, but don't hold your breath.

Per Claire's Request: Les Miserables

Claire's latest request: Les Miserables, 25th Anniversary Production from, I think, Australia.  That I'm not sure of, so you'll have to watch n' check yourself.

I used to see "Les Miz" on Broadway all the time w/ my dad back in the early to mid '90s.  They would have $15 ticket offers in the nose-bleeds, which was fine for us b/c we've already seen it so often & the seats really weren't that bad.

Any old ways, I would play the original cast recording for Claire when she was a wee thing, but haven't in awhile.  Then, my dad played her "Castle in the Cloud" recently & now we're hooked again, which is a good thing b/c the movie adaptation is coming out later this month.

Till then... enjoy, Putch & all...

NYCTF Does Not Mess Around w/ Interviews

So, yesterday was my 4+ hour interview w/ the NYC Teaching Fellows program.  (For those who didn't know, I applied earlier this month to become a Special Education teacher through NYCTF -- check 'em out for more info.  It's pretty cool.)

I got there at 3:30pm.  We were s'posed to arrive at 4pm for a 4:15pm registration & 4:30pm start-time.  I wasn't the only early bird either... most folks were there before 4.

Any old ways, when told I had to take a math test, complete a written activity, give a 5-minute lesson, participate in a group activity & then do a one-on-one interview, I responded, (not verbatim), "you've got to put the pipe down b/c that ain't happening."  But, it did & you know what?  It was pretty darn cool & a bit fun.

I have no clue how I did on the math test.  It wasn't your basic elementary school math questions, but tricky ones where they give you a scenario & you've got to come up w/ answered basic on that (ie: If Ms. Fisher wanted to teach her kids some fraction problem & there's more than one answer possible, which of the below are correct...).  30 minutes for 23 questions.  I wonder if they give you the score.  I shoulda asked.

The written activity was based on a short video scenario of a not-so-behaving-well class during homeroom.  After watching the clip & reading the description of three kids, we had 7 minutes to craft our response to how we'd deal w/ each one's situation.  Once again, not sure how I did.  I submitted only a paragraph, but it was a powerful one.

After that we were split into groups & assigned classrooms to complete the interview process.  We had two "selectors" (NYCTF staff) who guided & assessed our way through.  The 5-minute lessons were more fun than torture, but leading up to it was painful b/c I was so nervous.  We took turns -- I was third to go up.  My lesson was on how to tell when the letter Y was being used as a consonant or as a vowel using the Magic of YUH.  It was geared towards 1st graders.  I think I did well, except for rushing through parts & not participating enough w/ the "students" to see if they were getting what I was teaching.  I did that here & there, but I shoulda done more.  Others also came in super-prepared w/ boards, handouts, etc.  I was armed w/ doggy stickers.

The group activity was brief & painless.  We had to just discuss the earlier scenario we watched & wrote about, then give a one-minute presentation on our long-term & short-term goals to achieve academic success.

Finally, came our one-on-one interviews.  Luckily, we had two selectors, so they split us up.  I was third again in line.  We went over the 5-minute lesson.  He gave me feedback -- nothing surprising -- & I had to do it over again.  Then we talked for a bit about different ways I would handle certain situations.

By 8:45pm, I was on my way home.  Very tired, but wired from the experience.

Ooh, before I hit "publish" let me just say the NYCTF candidates that I met yesterday were an amazing, groovy group of people.  They were so dedicated and chomping at the bit to be a high-needs teacher.  Just very neat.

All Frosted-Up w/ No Place to Go

I guess I gotta face it... Thanksgiving just ain't my holiday.  This year we stayed home again & missed my sisters.  We were close to going to Janine's w/ Bonni & all our families.  I even whipped-up a bunch of cupcakes for the occasion this morning, as seen below, but Claire got a fever & Carl was overtired from his trip to Atlantic City that he just returned from, so... well... you know.

Carl, Claire & I stayed true to our tradition of watching a movie together, at least.  This go-around: "Brave" -- not too shabby.  Dare I say, I even shed a few tears towards the end.  Gotta love a Princess flick where the mom isn't dead.

halloween cupcakes 2012

well, thanks to hurricane sandy, school was closed last week, so these puppies didn't get to see the light of day until today.  ladies & gentlemen, may i introduce this year's halloween cupcakes for claire's class...

(tho & stacey... i was thinking of you two while i was frosting.)

 

 



the ultimate mash-up: pink floyd & wizard of OZ

i remember trying to watch "the wizard of OZ" in sync w/ pink floyd's "dark side of the moon" back in the '90s w/ carl in our first apartment.  (i think the rule was to hit "play" on the lion's third roar, but i can be waaaay off.)

i was already online back then, but dang this video on youtube for not b/c it woulda really come in handy then.  at least it's here now for all of our psychedelic enjoyment.

ickle me, pickle me, tickle me, too

one of my favorite poems by shel silverstein that my sister can recite by memory... (i love you, gigi.)

Source: youtube.com via kitti on Pinterest

say it ain't so... tomorrow'll still be halloween, won't it?

i know public schools are still closed tomorrow due to frankenstorm/sandy, which stinks b/c it was going to be literacy day at 196 & all the kids were going to dress-up as their favorite book characters, but i digress... see, i hear little birdies saying that the mayor may postpone halloween to a later date now, too.

i already baked 45+ cookies n' cream cupcakes in festive orange baking cups w/ black bats & gosh by golly, these are getting eaten by children in celebration of halloween & that's that.

below is the "naked" version of the cupcakes.  i'm s'posed to go to tho's w/ stacey tomorrow & frost them to look like mummies.  we'll see what happens.  it may wind-up just being frosted, sugared & slapped w/ a halloween-inspired ring on top of it.  we'll see.



cookies n' cream cupcakes -- pre-decoratin'

[update, a little later in the evening: according to my friend preston ronald's post on facebook, mayor bloomberg announced that halloween is still on, though the parade's been postponed.]

worse news than sandy

so, just a couple hours after purchasing tickets to take my nephew wolf, carl gives me word that green day has postponed all concert dates till february, 2013.  our tickets were for january 16th at the barclay's center.  yep, that's my luck.  (& somebody please tell ticketmaster b/c i got my tix way after the news broke.)

any old ways, till they return & i'm able to score tix again, these few'll have to do for now:

troublemaker


let yourself go


oh love




aw, heck... here's the entire album of UNO!  thank you again, youtube, for all you have to offer us:

forest hills meets the frankenstorm

well, according to all news (& non-news) sources, we're pretty f'ed w/ the impending storm -- knee-high floods, uprooted trees, a hanging crane & one crumbled down building.  everything's closed along queens boulevard as far as i can see, except for feng's garden, which happens to serve some of the best chinese food in the neighborhood.  so i've got that going for me, which is nice.

based on OPFBP (other people's facebook pages), electricity is goin' out all over long island, new york city & jersey.  not too comforting a thought, though it is amusing that everyone's updating their statuses about it -- they still have "words for friends" to comfort them for as long as their battery'll allow.

curious to see what'll happen when sandy makes her direct hit on forest hills.  thankfully, so far, just the cable's been on the fritz here & there. i'm hoping that'll be it & things'll be back to normal by halloween.

if i don't post anytime soon, i've either lost electricity or am in the middle of procrastinating.  either way you slice it, here's to us all staying safe & dry.

happy (almost) birthday, joe

 

since i knew he was coming, i baked my father-in-law a cake.  cookies n' cream, to be exact.

 

joe's actual birthday is on halloween, which i think is so super-cool, but we celebrated at our apartment yesterday.

my favorite time of year

tonight was PS 196Q's annual halloween party.  it was bittersweet knowing this was our last one since claire's in 5th grade & moving on to middle school next year.

 

claire was a greek goddess this year.  no one imparticular.  could be athena.  could be... well, one of the others whose name slips my mind at this time.

 

i had a good time -- despite manning the school spirit sales table in the lobby & missing out on the festivities.  i heard it was fun downstairs in the cafeteria, even w/ the first hour of it being hot-as-heck w/out A/C.  i just love that our families didn't let that stop them from partying away.

 

& no, i'm not toxic waste... i'm a cupcake.

 

happy (almost) halloween.



My Greek Goddess & Patchy the Scarecrow

it's beginning to look a lot like cupcakes

Source: amazon.com via kitti on Pinterest

i'm already set w/ my trusty cupcake courier & hopefully by halloween next week my friend stacey'll have hers, too.  (tho's already set.  so are my sisters.)

any old ways, the first cupcake of the school season is going to be halloween-themed.  i'm gonna whip-up a batch this weekend for my father-in-law's birthday -- it's actually on halloween, but we're celebrating sunday -- so i'll see what transpires in the kitchen.  mummies... eyeballs... not sure which way to go, yet.

he's no chopped liver, my computer was on the fritz

 

Dear Milton,

 

This birthday message is coming to you a day late b/c of a facakta malware virus that hit my computer yesterday.  It's nothing personal & all's fine now, hence the following:

 

I can't believe you're a teenager.  It's just sick -- in a good way, of course.  I'm so proud of you for so many reasons.  You're creative, funny, caring &, I guess the best word for it is adventurous, too.

 

I wish you nothing but the best'est this year.  Whether it's family, school, camp... whatever, wherever... I hope you make the most of it.

 

I love you.

 

 

15 years later & he's still as cool to me as ever

Dear Wolf,

 

Here's to an incredible year filled w/ fun, friends & family. May nothing bother you too much & if so, don't let it stress you -- as your grandfather taught me, "it is what it is."  (Of course, I'm here for you, too, if ever you need me.)

 

Any old ways, I love you & so proud to call you "nephew."

 

-- Aunt Kitti.

 

(& why yes, nothing to do w/ anything, but I am using capital letters mixed in w/ the lowercase.  I figure it's time for a change.)

 

 

let us rejoice

getting in the mood for my nephew milton's bar mitzvah this weekend w/ a little help from dick dale:

waiting & hoping has paid-off for this foo fan

i've been checking youtube on a more than regular basis for foo fighters entire set at the global citizen festival & bingo-bango, thanks to user foofightersczk, i've got it right here for our viewing pleasure:



nice.

magical mystery tour on the big screen

i've already got plans for tuesday, october 2nd, so it looks like sunday, october 7th is the date for me to catch the beatles' "magical mystery tour" in a movie theater.  unfortunately, that theater is in huntington, which is a bit of a schlep, but it should be worth it.

thank you, somerandom90sguy

i'm unable to embed the videos that youtube user somerandom90sguy posted of the black keys entire set at the global citizen festival, BUT, i can share the URLs for you to check it out on youtube itself.

sooooo rockin' good.

PART I

PART II

PART III

PART IV

more from the global citizen festival 2012

it's the day after the global citizen festival in central park & i'm still on cloud 9.  it was that good & fun of a show.  forgot to mention that everyone in our section of pen 1 was totally cool.  no losers screaming in your ear or bumping you over, yet we were all dancin' & jumpin' to the music -- it was a beautiful thing.

still haven't seen any decent videos for the black keys, but i've shared one below after the foo ones that does the job.  thanks again to those that shared on youtube -- much appreciated.


best of you...



these days...


walk...


the black keys' gold on the ceiling & lonely boy...

rockin' to end poverty in central park

i just got back from the global citizen festival in central park w/ the black keys, foo fighters & neil young.  everyone was excellent.  (though i can't say that for sure about neil young, i'm just assuming b/c we actually left after the foo fighters -- it was getting late for us two ol' ladies.)  i can say the opening acts k'naan & especially, band of horses, were pretty darn snazzy. &  john legend was a pleasant enough surprise singing "imagine."

bonni & i got there at 2pm & hung around in pen 1 till the show started around 4:30pm or so.  the lines for the port-a-potties were insane -- thankfully, we didn't have to go.  the food & merchandise lines, just as crowded -- that we did partake in.  i guess you gotta expect that w/ 60,000 folks.

here's a snapshot of us when we first got settled in.  (we moved closer as the concert went on.)

any old ways, you just gotta love the internet b/c by the time i got home, i found these foo videos from this evening on youtube thanks to user "somerandom90sguy."  i'll check again tomorrow AM for more to share.

everlong... (bonni's favorite song)


times like these...


arlandria...


learn to fly...

breaking 9 days of silence to kvell a bit

sorry for the lack of posting, but in all honesty, i've been protecting you from what would've been a lot of kvetching.  i mean, A. LOT.

i'm going to steer clear of any parents association or parenting talk (leave that for twitter) & just focus on this saturday's global citizen festival in central park's great lawn.  i won two tickets by lottery, which is a beautiful thing b/c i'm not typically considered the "lucky" type.

i have to admit, i'm not really that blown over about neil young & crazy horse, 60,000 people & a forecast for showers (40% chance), but mammaloo-mammaloo, i cannot wait to see foo fighters & the black keys.  it should be an incredible show.  only concern is that it's scheduled to begin at 5pm, end at 9pm & there are also two other bands in the line-up.  curious how that'll play out.

the person getting the other ticket is bonni.  she sorta invited herself along, w/out even being familiar w/ the bands playing.  she has been listening ever since though.  gotta admire my little sister's gumption & integrity.

that's about it.  gonna do dishes & get back to my PA stuff.

is it really considered procrastinating when frozen yogurt is involved?

i should be starting finishing my "president's message" for the parents association's website b/c it's pretty outdated, but darn myself for instead wasting time posting here about ben & jerry's frozen greek strawberry shortcake yogurt.  it's yummy, not too fattening (at least if you don't scarf don't a whole pint in one sitting -- lesson learned on that one), it doesn't have that fake-strawberry taste & it's perfect for a gal like me who is newly-allergic to chocolate & trying to find as many non-cocoa alternatives that'll make her happy.  yep, i'm gonna get some now to inspire me.

now, if you've got any edible ideas to share, please do so & thanks.  & not to be torture, but i'm newly-allergic to tree nuts & caffeine, as well, so please don't suggest anything w/ those ingredients.  thanks, again.

bonni, whazabout your noodle kugel, actually?  can i have that recipe?

okay, back to P.A. business.  not sure how my saturday night wound-up like this -- well, yes, i do... nothing's on TV or on-demand & i promised to be a good P.A. president... so, it is what it is.  & yes, i will re-check the guide to see if i missed anything to watch in the background -- perhaps a cheesy movie on syfy.  i'm not in the mood for an edited version of "casino" on amc, or "ninja warrior" on G4, or any of the other stuff i'd typically watch at a time like this.

still gotta get the june minutes together & my outline for the first P.A. meeting this wednesday, 9/19 at 7:30pm.  btw, if you're a pal living in the forest hills area w/ a kid in P.S. 196Q, please come by to show your support.

can you tell that i'm dragging this post out way longer than need be?

alright, that's it for me.  over & out.

go, frozen yogurt.

BFF in CP/NYC

spent yesterday evening w/ carl in central park to see ben folds five in concert -- they just released their first album in over 10 years this past tuesday.

had a great time.  music was amazing.  weather was incredible.  i would just change the pack of 20-somethings infront of us who were too busy yammering & flirting w/ one another.  just plain ol' annoying.

any old ways, thanks to some of the other folks who were there, too, & shared their videos on youtube.  it's much appreciated to re-experience the music.  here're a few clips now:

brick...


song for the dumped... (not that good a recording, but i'm still sharing)


philosophy & army...

experience "black tie beach," youtube-style

improv everywhere's video of 2012's "black tie beach" mission is up on youtube & embedded below here.  there're a few, very-quick clips of me, claire & our friends, which is pretty neat.  (go, purple dresses.)



for my earlier posts about our participation in this very cool mission, please check out:

BLACK TIE BEACH 2012 & BACK TO BLACK TIE BEACH

& once again, thank you to charlie todd/improv everywhere.  BLACK TIE BEACH & the MP3 EXPERIMENT, which i still need to write & post about here one of these days, made my summer incredible.  looking forward to future missions.

i would be a good mother if...

... i took a photo of claire today on first day of fifth grade & posted it here on my blog or on facebook, but dang me b/c i did not get a shot of the putch on her last first day at PS 196Q.

then again, i was at school all day since 7:30am this morning to sell t-shirts & serve refreshments to the parents at drop-off & kindergarten pick-up.  (i did take one break for lunch on austin street & to seek the elusive "forest hills rooster" w/ my friend stacey, & we did meet a bunch of really neat parents at school, which was quite nice.  we're going back tomorrow AM to hawk more school spirit gear (ie: fancy-talk for "t-shirts") & w/ this PA president gig i've got going this school year on top of everything else i was doing before... heck, i think i actually am a darn good mother, regardless if i took that picture or not.

[update, just a bit later: i did a search for the "forest hills rooster" & it turns out that it may actually be a chicken, as reported by CBS local news.]

[update, just a tad bit later than the "rooster vs. chicken" update: i noticed a reporter at school this morning, so i did a search & found this DNAinfo article by nigel chiwaya about the first day of school, featuring PS 196Q.  cool beans & neat-o, eh?]

us & them

[open letter to bonni: you could've seen these photos from yesterday last night if you were on facebook.  alas, you're not, so here they are for your viewing pleasure.  it's kinda neat-o seeing us & them together like this.  i LOVE that they're both a year apart like we were.  & i hope they stay super-close.  (though w/ family, there's bound to be some ups n' downs.)  okie-doke, i could go on & on, but i'll stop now.  here are the pics.  i LOVE you.  & let's get a set of these w/ maddi & janine in 'em, too.]

 



us at the bronx zoo



them at umberto's

jealous guy... a couple more ways

thank you, steve tabb, for turning me on to these two versions of "jealous guy" that were missing from my original cover list of this song.  (thank you, too, to the kind folks who posted these videos on youtube.)

the black crowes


the faces

jealous guy... a whole lotta ways

"jealous guy" is a top-ten-maybe-even-five song of john lennon's that i truly dig.  what follows is the original version & a plethera of different renditions by aimee mann, bryan ferry/roxy music, the deftones, donny hathaway, joe cocker and lou reed.

(btw, thank you to the original posters of these videos on youtube.)

john lennon


aimee mann


bryan ferry/roxy music


the deftones

donny hathaway


joe cocker


lou reed

tom & jerry's greatest hits

these songs just make me so happy...

guess i can't have my cake...

cake played in brooklyn a couple of weeks ago, which i've been waiting for the longest time to happen, but i skipped it b/c i was tired after coming home from a trip to AC.

i've been kvetching ever since about it -- not here, just out loud to friends & family --  but have decided to stop & deal w/ this nonsense once & for all by posting a bunch of of their live performances on "letterman" (thank you, cakevevo) & simply moving on.

hopefully, they'll be back in the NYC area again real soon.  till then, i have this to get me by.

bound away...


short skirt/long jacket...


the distance...


frank sinatra...


wheels...


long time...


never there...

back to the black tie beach

more photos from yesterday's black tie beach event (the first batch is here).  thank you, yiching lin, for taking & posting these on flickr, except for the last one, which carl took on his phone. :)

as for the mission itself... it was a really cool experience & i'm glad that claire & i participated w/ our friends.  everyone was in such a great mood & having a more-than-good time frolicking (sp?) at the beach & in the ocean while wearing our fancy duds (note: my purple frilly dress was bought at the salvation army for $7.50... not too bad a bargain.)

i'm gonna shut down & call it a day, but in the meantime, i highly recommend you visit charlie todd's improv everywhere site & check out this & his other missions.

& to the young gentleman w/ the blue bucket who was dousing people from behind, including me & claire... i was the one who dunked you in the ocean & i'll be watching out for you in 2013, buddy-boy.

black tie beach 2012

i don't have time to yammer about yesterday's incredible time at the 3rd annual black tie beach event -- this year at coney island -- so thank you to ari scott for taking these photos & sharing them on flickr, so i can share them here (there was a link allowing me to do it, so please lemme know if this ain't kosher &'ll remove 'em).  & thank you to carl for taking some snapshots for us to share, as well.  it's much-appreciated.

as you can see by the photos, we had a seriously fun time having a regular ol' day at the beach in our (thrift store) best.  in a quick nutshell, hundreds of us dressed-up in black tie attire & descended on the coney island beach to have some fun in the sun amongst unknowing beach-goers.

(many thanks too to charlie todd from improv everwhere -- the man who has been creating & executing amazing "social experiments," such as this.  check out the link for more pictures from three other photographers at the beach & details of all their missions.)

[update, 8/20: you can view more photos here.]

want some?... psych.

another proud moment today when claire told me she wanted to show me something funny she found on youtube... eddie murphy's "ice cream" routine.  here's his entire show for her & you -- my two faithful followers -- to enjoy:

it doesn't need to be jerry's birthday to enjoy

though i did go to times square yesterday evening to watch "the grateful dead movie" in celebration of what would've been jerry garcia's 70th birthday, i say, any day's a good day to watch the movie.  thank you to vimeo for posting...

The Grateful Dead Movie from vimeo on Vimeo.

this is why we should all speak yiddish

a big favorite of my mom's side of the family.  benny bell was played a ton when i was growing-up.  i didn't speak yiddish myself back then, so they would translate for us kids.

here i am (again)

wow, a lot has gone on in the past 8 or so days.  i mean, so much goodness going on in my life w/ family, friends, etc. very much digging & appreciating it.  here're just a few highlights:

last sunday i participated in the mp3 experiment #9 on governor's island w/ my friend stacey & her family.  the official video'll be out in a couple of weeks.  my friend stacey's got the photos we took on her phone & camera.  when i get my hands on 'em, i'll share & write more about the experience.

this past thursday, i spent the afternoon w/ my great-aunt jita walking around the west 20's in & out of the rain.  we saw a few great exhibits, including one based on the marx brothers.  we also stumbled upon the salvation army & picked-up some neat items.

last night was tres cool.  so against my usual nature, i threw a lia sophia party at my friend amy's place in honor of my birthday that just passed.  a very amazing group of ladies -- most of whom didn't know each other -- got together & had a darn good time.  (think of lia sophia as the tupperware of jewelry parties.)  i can't thank amy enough for lending out her apartment for the event & running the whole thing.  & to all my friends & family who were able to make it -- & those who tried, but couldn't.  i'm so not a social creature, but these people can bring me out of my shell any time they'd like.  below is a picture of my birthday cupcake -- i made 18 of 'em for the party:

alright, i'm heading out w/ carl to get something to eat.  may it not be a really long time till i post again.


[update, 7/22: did not go out like originally planned.  instead we ordered in chinese, watched "batman begins" & then "the dark knight" on TV.]

insomnia

[found this in my "drafts" -- it was rather late when i wrote this a couple of nights ago & i completely forgot about it until now.]

claire's at camp.  carl's in TX.  i'm on my own & can't sleep, so i'm scouring the internet for items of interest, like this song that i used to sing to claire when she was a baby:


& there's no special meaning behind this one. i'm just tired & have the beatles on my mind b/c of the last song:



is this really appropriate for wee ones?  "mama, just killed a man... gun... head... trigger.  now he's dead."  yeah, not really, but i still like this & all those other rock n' roll lullabies.

one last thing about my birthday

here are some picture from "fuerza bruta" -- thanks for sending them to me, carl.  the two of us saw the show together on sunday night to celebrate my birthday.  just getting around to posting them now.  i guess 43 isn't going to be my year to stop procrastinating, eh?

baar baar din yeh aaye

tested carl's patience just a moment ago on the following:



due to it being my birthday, he was rather generous & let me play it twice before he walked out of the room & went to do dishes.  so, thank you, carl, for that, the card, the whitefish & everything else.  my birthday's rocking & it's not even the afternoon.

let your freak & american flag fly high today

happy 4th of july, y'all.

★ the black keys live ★

thank you, BBC radio, for sharing...

this jew can't wait for christmas

i am a huge quentin tarantino fan & haven't been this giddy w/ anticipation for a movie since i don't know when.  "django unchained," please don't disappoint.

missing eleanor

it's been one year since my mother-in-law eleanor passed away & we still miss her terribly.  below are a bunch of photos that didn't get scanned & shared awhile back that i promised my sister-in-law elisa i would post today...

saturday night cable goodness

i was thinking of going into the city tonight to hang around, but dang carl for finding "final destination 5" on HBO -- we're already sucked in & the kid's premonition hasn't even ended.  oh wait, now it has.

i'd be his girl monday through sunday

sure, he's no longer w/ the living & s'posedly he even didn't swing my way, but i've got such a crush on cary grant, especially in "his girl friday," which you can watch in its entirety below (rosalind russell's not too shabby in it either, i may add):

satur-matinee-day

gonna go to the 3pm showing  of "prometheus" at the midway w/ carl.  should be a fun one...



[update, 5:40'ish PM, when i said "should be a fun one..." i was hoping for at least a little goodness.  this was a WTF kind of movie that just didn't work for me.]

cejwin on my mind

i posted these photos onto facebook weeks back, but i totally took my time getting it on here to share w/ bonni.  we weren't allowed onto the aviv/aviva or charuvah campuses, etc., but we could use the NSSH, enter the canteen & walk 'round a bit.  you'll see.

so w/out further ado, may i present the snapshots i took during the recent cejwin reunion this past june 9th.  ooh, wait a sec, please note, as w/ facebook, i am keeping w/ the "what happens in port jervis stays in port jervis" pact & not posting actual people.  okay, now on to the pictures:

admin building.

canteen. (ain't the same w/out freida.)

howie bayowitz would hold our CIT meetings here when it was nice out.

the blue (then white w/ green trim) cabin to the left is my old bunk (twice over) in the '80s.
gosh, i miss hanging out behind that bunk.
the beige building is the old office.

the back of old aviva from old chavurah