A-Z Meme

I've been seeing this around...
So here's my run at it- I tag Steg and Orthomom.

Accent:
Newscaster standard...seriously! I grew up in the Midwest and I've lived in several different parts of the country.

Booze:
Sure once in a while.
I favor vodka for hard liquor.
For beer I like something tasty like Killian's, Bass Ale, or Guiness.
I also enjoy a mild glass of wine here and there.

Chore I Hate:
Washing Dishes.

Dogs:
None.

Essential Electronics:
Mp3 player with outrageously large studio type headphones
Home computer
Cell Phone

Favorite Perfume/Cologne:
I'm not much of a perfume person - maybe Clinque "happy" or VS "Pink"

Gold & Silver:
My wedding ring is gold. I have some silver and onxy earrings somewhere, I'm not much of a jewelry person either.

Hometown:
I was born in NY but grew up in the Midwest.

Insomnia:
Nope. I can sleep anytime anywhere unless I'm under extreme stress.

Job Title:
Data Entry Monkey (but not for long I hope!)

Kids:
2 daughters

Living Arrangements:
Modest house, filled with books and papers that seem to multiply as soon as I get them sorted and stashed away. We've also got a bunch of nice (but not my taste) second hand furniture from some relatives. I tell people we've refurnished in Early Uncle.

Most Admired Trait:
A combination of patience and ambition.

Number of speed dials in your cell phone (look how I cleaned up this meme so nicely!)
23

Overnight Hospital Stays:
Two babies three nights total.

Phobia:
I'm afraid of failing

Quote:
"Life is too short to cover your furniture with plastic."

Religion:
Jewish

Siblings:
Just one!

Time I Usually Wake Up:
5:30 then I hit snooze repeatly till six.

Unusual Talent:
I can imitate Alvin and the Chimpmunks singing "Christmas Time"
It's dead on too!

Vegetable I Refuse To Eat:
Yellow Squash (in soup form)

Worst Habit:
Getting too emotional before I think things through.

X-ray's:
YOu know my MIL in law is very proud of the fact that she never allows the dentist to X ray her teeth. I think that's pretty stupid, unless you want your teeth to rot from the inside out and not find out until it's too late. Wear the lead vest and suck it up woman.

Yummy Foods I Make:
I make a lot of great stuff.
You can find my challah recipe on the Shabbos cooking blog.

Zodiac Sign:
Libra

A Spring Poem

Today I attempted, on my lunch break, to draw a tree in a garden near my office.
But an hour is much too short a time in which to capture a beautiful willow in all it's springtime glory and to eat a turkey sandwich as well.
So, for today, I will have to be content with having stared, with purpose, at something truely beautiful.
And this unexpected poem, with which I have been somehow rewarded just for the effort.

In the style of....

I once took a painting class in which we were asked to create an original painting "in the style" of a well known master.
Mine was a painting of a bridge in Amsterdam (based on a photo) in the style of Monet - it came out pretty well and is currently hanging in my living room. On the heels of that ancient success I present the following Shifra update in the style of a fifth-grade composition. Enjoy!

MY PESACH (PASSOVER) VACATION
By Shifra Q - Grade 5

This year I had a very interesting Pesach. We drove to my in-laws for the first days. It was a long trip 2/3 of the way across the country!!! We bought the kids cheap MP3 players as an early afikomen present which kept them pretty chilled out for at least part of the trip. We also saw a lot of cows on the way. My husband did a lot of the driving and when I drove he snored a lot. It was funny.

At my in-laws house it was very crowded. There were a lot of relatives there but not much food. My mother in law is not a good cook and she does not like to waste food either so she doesn't make too much to eat. She bought ten pounds of potatoes for the whole holiday and was pretty mad when I made the six remaining pounds into latkes to feed to everyone. My sister in law ran to the neighbors quick to get more because everyone has plenty of potatoes on pesach (except for my mother in law of course!)

The weather was nice and sunny the whole time and I shot about a million free-throws and lay-ups in my in-laws driveway just to get out of that crowded place!

While I was there I needed to visit the mikvah (swimming pool) and I had to tell my brother in law so he could drive me there. That was weird, but not as weird as my husband accidently walking into the bathroom when my sister in law was changing!!
That was quite a night. The whole thing was super weird I'll have to write more about that later on.

When we got home I cooked lots and lots to make up for all the bad food I didn't eat over the first days. I also checked my messages and got two calls about job interviews!! That was good news!!!! I also worked Monday and Tuesday that was not fun. My job stinks like old gym socks.

This Shabbos was also good. I ate about 1/2 a challah, it was so yummy!

OK I think that is everything that happened on my Pesach vacation. It was pretty good.

THE END

Pre-Pesach Coffee Run

Hand drawn cartoons don't usually look too good in blogger but here's one based on an exchange between me and my husband.

Comments on Comments

Dear Shifra,

My bathroom blog is under attack by nasty trolls. I have no problem with comments which debate the issues but when these "visitors" attack me and other commentors personally it makes me want to start waving my wand moderating the comments. Is that wimpy or is it the right thing to do?

Hermione Granger


Dear Hermione,

I'm sorry to hear about your troll problem. I honestly can't imagine what motivates people to be so nasty.
Here are my feelings on comment moderation:
I think of my blog as my personal space - sort of like an apartment in the city, or a beach house if you will. By posting my blog up on the internet it's as if I've opened the doors to whoever would like to attend my little house party. Normally I find the type of people interested in the party I'm throwing are thoughtful and respectful and often come with drinks and snacks (or good ideas) to make the party even better.
However, with such an open door policy, once in a while I might get some sort of deranged lunatic who drops by just to make a mess of things. Perhaps he curses at my guests or falls asleep in my bathtub... Well, I wouldn't tolerate that in real life, and I certainly won't tolerate it on my blog either.

Sure, a few rude or lude comments are ok here or there to keep things interesting by when your blog is truly under seige you have to take the reins. So moderate away Hermione, wave your wand and make those nasty comments dissapear, and if your wand gets "accidently" shoved up
a troll's nose so much the better.