Don't Bagel a Model, Too Many Carbs!

I had an interesting encounter the other day. A jogger with a doggie passed by while I was walking with the children. We exchanged the usual neighborly hellos that makes me proud to live OOT (Out of Town). The kids started jabbering about the dog and she turned back and asked if we wanted to pet him.

Then came the bagel:

"I love how you look so stylish for a frum (observant) person, that's not usually the case," she tells me.

I could definitely name several things about my appearance that morning I was unhappy with, but I still appreciated the compliment.

Even better than unexpected compliments are unexpected compliments that lead to a whole conversation about orthodoxy, women in Judaism, women of other religions, oppression of women in the world.

I mentioned how even my loudmouthed, attention-seeking self isn't bothered by not being able to lead prayers, read from the torah, or any other public synagogue position. Even more I'm glad no one interrupts my prayer in synagogue to ask if I want an honor during the services. How do you men deal with that? It's so annoying!

We heard each other. Looking presentable or (even better) good can be a kiddush Hashem (elevation of G-d's name). A woman can be frum, well dressed, out going, normal and balanced and fit into a regular religious community. And observant or not, we are lucky to have the freedoms we have to be ourselves. Ok, so I try to be myself only better since there is always room for improvement.

I had an interesting encounter the other day. A jogger with a doggie passed by while I was walking with the children. We exchanged the usual neighborly hellos that makes me proud to live OOT (Out of Town). The kids started jabbering about the dog and she turned back and asked if we wanted to pet him.

Then came the bagel:

"I love how you look so stylish for a frum (observant) person, that's not usually the case," she tells me.

I could definitely name several things about my appearance that morning I was unhappy with, but I still appreciated the compliment.

Even better than unexpected compliments are unexpected compliments that lead to a whole conversation about orthodoxy, women in Judaism, women of other religions, oppression of women in the world.

I mentioned how even my loudmouthed, attention-seeking self isn't bothered by not being able to lead prayers, read from the torah, or any other public synagogue position. Even more I'm glad no one interrupts my prayer in synagogue to ask if I want an honor during the services. How do you men deal with that? It's so annoying!

We heard each other. Looking presentable or (even better) good can be a kiddush Hashem (elevation of G-d's name). A woman can be frum, well dressed, out going, normal and balanced and fit into a regular religious community. And observant or not, we are lucky to have the freedoms we have to be ourselves. Ok, so I try to be myself only better since there is always room for improvement.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Fun in an Elevator: NY state of mind

The elevator doors closed. The silence lasted only one brief moment.

"Well Mommy, what would happen?" my four year old persisted.

The small space was jam packed with a mix of professionals, vacationers, and our family, complete with two curious preschoolers. I was put on the spot.

I knew there was no avoiding answering her, the best I could do was mitigate the confusion I was about to unleash with as much information as I felt I could share.

"Um, I guess if the Statue of Liberty got into a knife fight with another statue, a bad one, she should probably win."

The exchanged glances around the elevator were amused and knowing Looks like I was blessed with fellow parents, or at least easy going folk.

Miraculously, this ended the several hour debate we'd had ever since we'd seen Lady Liberty from the ferry. Something about the Statue had spoken to my headstrong little one. She represented majesty, imagination, and wicked street fighting skills.

I think I'll have to share this post and a clip from Ghostbusters with this one when she's older.

The elevator doors closed. The silence lasted only one brief moment.

"Well Mommy, what would happen?" my four year old persisted.

The small space was jam packed with a mix of professionals, vacationers, and our family, complete with two curious preschoolers. I was put on the spot.

I knew there was no avoiding answering her, the best I could do was mitigate the confusion I was about to unleash with as much information as I felt I could share.

"Um, I guess if the Statue of Liberty got into a knife fight with another statue, a bad one, she should probably win."

The exchanged glances around the elevator were amused and knowing Looks like I was blessed with fellow parents, or at least easy going folk.

Miraculously, this ended the several hour debate we'd had ever since we'd seen Lady Liberty from the ferry. Something about the Statue had spoken to my headstrong little one. She represented majesty, imagination, and wicked street fighting skills.

I think I'll have to share this post and a clip from Ghostbusters with this one when she's older.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Driving Me Sane

As my husband continually reminds me, my thirtieth birthday is on the horizon. Given my "advanced" age many people are surprised to hear that I only recently got a driver's license. Almost thirteen years after my post driver's ed hiatus, I finally achieved what others my age take for granted.

I am very independent by nature so my pedestrian years were only hindered by how far public transportation or my cute shoes would take me. Once I had two kids in tow, that distance was considerably shortened. The heady freedom that comes from needing to go somewhere, leaving when it suits me, and getting there quickly is incredible!

When I think about the most exciting place I've taken myself there are several top contenders:

• Running out to the grocery for a time sensitive needed item. No more relying on hubsters' manly instincts, which sometimes end with him returning empty handed.
• The mikvah, nuf said.
• Getting the kids to school on time.

But today was the best of all. I took the kids to a park in the next neighborhood. One we'd gotten to with a good friend who shares her extra car seating and masochistic desire to travel out numbers 2:1 in favor of the rugrats. But the pleasure of taking them myself today was sweet. I was providing a simple, pleasurable treat to my children. Were they lacking before? Not with a park and library walking distance from home. Not for love, crafts, food, caring, and fun. Who doesn't love a little extra though? And I was able to do it myself. Even the rain on my parade couldn't rain on my parade.

I'm already hoping for a sunny day next week so we can hit all the hottest preschool fun spots more than 15 mins from home.

First I'm celebrating with a mommy's night out. I'll drive!

As my husband continually reminds me, my thirtieth birthday is on the horizon. Given my "advanced" age many people are surprised to hear that I only recently got a driver's license. Almost thirteen years after my post driver's ed hiatus, I finally achieved what others my age take for granted.

I am very independent by nature so my pedestrian years were only hindered by how far public transportation or my cute shoes would take me. Once I had two kids in tow, that distance was considerably shortened. The heady freedom that comes from needing to go somewhere, leaving when it suits me, and getting there quickly is incredible!

When I think about the most exciting place I've taken myself there are several top contenders:

• Running out to the grocery for a time sensitive needed item. No more relying on hubsters' manly instincts, which sometimes end with him returning empty handed.
• The mikvah, nuf said.
• Getting the kids to school on time.

But today was the best of all. I took the kids to a park in the next neighborhood. One we'd gotten to with a good friend who shares her extra car seating and masochistic desire to travel out numbers 2:1 in favor of the rugrats. But the pleasure of taking them myself today was sweet. I was providing a simple, pleasurable treat to my children. Were they lacking before? Not with a park and library walking distance from home. Not for love, crafts, food, caring, and fun. Who doesn't love a little extra though? And I was able to do it myself. Even the rain on my parade couldn't rain on my parade.

I'm already hoping for a sunny day next week so we can hit all the hottest preschool fun spots more than 15 mins from home.

First I'm celebrating with a mommy's night out. I'll drive!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Dogs Don't Fly: Death Defying Dog Gets 2nd Chance

I come across amazing news articles all the time thanks to friends on Twitter and Facebook and more on Google Reader. This article blew me away: Hungry eagle inadvertently swoops toy poodle away to better life

How many times have you thought to yourself "Life couldn't get any worse!" but then it does. How many times have you said "It'll never get better" but it does.

This poor little doggie lived in poor conditions as a stray. Couldn't get worse for a poor, defenseless creature, right? Hungry, tooth decay, foot problems. Then she's captured by an eagle then dropped from the sky. Broken ribs, scratches, petrified. Why do bad things happen to good doggies you ask? Well, the story has a happy ending. Her parachute-less skydiving drops her at a nursing home where nurses got her medical attention. She wouldn't have survived much longer on the streets and now she has a chance to be adopted, mended, loved.

Hashem takes care of his creatures great and small. We're supposed to pray for his help even as the sword (or eagle's talons) is at our neck because salvation can come in an instant.

This little doggie's life is a parable for human suffering. Sometimes the bad things that happen bring about the best. Sometimes things get worse before they get better. Sometimes when you think things will never change, they do. Yes it stinks in the mean time, it's scary, it hurts, it may be all you know. But in the blink of an eye it can all change.

The linked article includes ways to donate to help May (what staff named the miracle pooch) with medical expenses and adoption.

I come across amazing news articles all the time thanks to friends on Twitter and Facebook and more on Google Reader. This article blew me away: Hungry eagle inadvertently swoops toy poodle away to better life

How many times have you thought to yourself "Life couldn't get any worse!" but then it does. How many times have you said "It'll never get better" but it does.

This poor little doggie lived in poor conditions as a stray. Couldn't get worse for a poor, defenseless creature, right? Hungry, tooth decay, foot problems. Then she's captured by an eagle then dropped from the sky. Broken ribs, scratches, petrified. Why do bad things happen to good doggies you ask? Well, the story has a happy ending. Her parachute-less skydiving drops her at a nursing home where nurses got her medical attention. She wouldn't have survived much longer on the streets and now she has a chance to be adopted, mended, loved.

Hashem takes care of his creatures great and small. We're supposed to pray for his help even as the sword (or eagle's talons) is at our neck because salvation can come in an instant.

This little doggie's life is a parable for human suffering. Sometimes the bad things that happen bring about the best. Sometimes things get worse before they get better. Sometimes when you think things will never change, they do. Yes it stinks in the mean time, it's scary, it hurts, it may be all you know. But in the blink of an eye it can all change.

The linked article includes ways to donate to help May (what staff named the miracle pooch) with medical expenses and adoption.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Plagued during Passover

This year's celebration was much less eventful than the last. I cut 1/5 less fingers. All of our wall fixtures remained in place. And no one was poisoned. That I know of.

We had our flops to be sure. Note for next year: 1) resist hubster's persuasive tactics and do not attempt to make his mother's chocolate cake recipe. 2) Especially when missing some of the ingredients. 3) In case #1 is disregarded, do not attempt to remedy #2 with ill-conceived substitutions.

Some winners included the frozen meatloaf I revitalized with brisket juice. I figured, what couldn't be made better with brisket juice? The answer: NOTHING! It was the best meatloaf I've ever had. Ever.

The other winner was so cool, it will warrant it's own Droolworthy Doodads post. It was fantabulous! Stay tuned!

This year's celebration was much less eventful than the last. I cut 1/5 less fingers. All of our wall fixtures remained in place. And no one was poisoned. That I know of.

We had our flops to be sure. Note for next year: 1) resist hubster's persuasive tactics and do not attempt to make his mother's chocolate cake recipe. 2) Especially when missing some of the ingredients. 3) In case #1 is disregarded, do not attempt to remedy #2 with ill-conceived substitutions.

Some winners included the frozen meatloaf I revitalized with brisket juice. I figured, what couldn't be made better with brisket juice? The answer: NOTHING! It was the best meatloaf I've ever had. Ever.

The other winner was so cool, it will warrant it's own Droolworthy Doodads post. It was fantabulous! Stay tuned!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Pesach Cleaning thanks to Heloise

I don't know if anyone else remembers reading the "Hints from Heloise" column in the newspaper. As a voracious reader, practical thinker, and short-cut lover, I loved reading her tidbits starting from a young age.

I was so excited to see a copy of Heloise's Kitchen Hints at a thrift store and snapped it up without hesitating. It was more as a keepsake and was promptly tucked in with my cookbooks. I haven't taken a chance to really read through it.

Fastforward a few years and I find myself knee deep in Passover prep. My oven is a disaster thanks to hubsters' speciality "Chicken ala geyser." I tried my usual combo: baking soda paste, salt scrub, and a generous dash of elbow grease. I even tried using hubsters' elbow grease. I was so tempted to buy some Easy Off and well, get it off easy. But toxically. Then I remembered this little gem on the bookshelf. Of course she has a whole section on oven cleaning. The oven was covered in a paste of baking soda and left over night. The racks were plunked into the bathtub with soap and hot water to soak over night. I got some sleep.

Today, after more elbow grease, hubsters added vinegar to the oven mix. The man has seen me in action enough to know I mix them, but not enough to know it makes a volcano, but when I went into the kitchen it was all done! No steel wool, no easy off!

And the racks? Mostly everything wiped off easy peasey.Course for Passover "mostly" won't cut it so I did re-submerge and gave em a good scrubbing with a microfiber sponge. Viola!! They are even nicer than when we moved into this place! The tub does have a heinous ring around the tub, but my calculations show it'll be easier to remove than steel-wooling the racks would have been.

Hopefully there are enough people who have yet to tackle oven who can try these Hints from Heloise. If you are in the group that is partway through your Passover cooking in a spotless kitchen, I don't want to hear it unless there is a gift of chocolate to accompany your cleaner-than-thou proclamations.

If you want your very own Hints from Heloise book, a quick Google will show you where to buy one, whether vintage or new printing. Or you can hope for a blessed thrifting like I did!

Now, does Heloise have tips for dealing with suspicious noises coming from bored, Passover ignored children? If you see my kids covered with baking soda, you'll know why!

I don't know if anyone else remembers reading the "Hints from Heloise" column in the newspaper. As a voracious reader, practical thinker, and short-cut lover, I loved reading her tidbits starting from a young age.

I was so excited to see a copy of Heloise's Kitchen Hints at a thrift store and snapped it up without hesitating. It was more as a keepsake and was promptly tucked in with my cookbooks. I haven't taken a chance to really read through it.

Fastforward a few years and I find myself knee deep in Passover prep. My oven is a disaster thanks to hubsters' speciality "Chicken ala geyser." I tried my usual combo: baking soda paste, salt scrub, and a generous dash of elbow grease. I even tried using hubsters' elbow grease. I was so tempted to buy some Easy Off and well, get it off easy. But toxically. Then I remembered this little gem on the bookshelf. Of course she has a whole section on oven cleaning. The oven was covered in a paste of baking soda and left over night. The racks were plunked into the bathtub with soap and hot water to soak over night. I got some sleep.

Today, after more elbow grease, hubsters added vinegar to the oven mix. The man has seen me in action enough to know I mix them, but not enough to know it makes a volcano, but when I went into the kitchen it was all done! No steel wool, no easy off!

And the racks? Mostly everything wiped off easy peasey.Course for Passover "mostly" won't cut it so I did re-submerge and gave em a good scrubbing with a microfiber sponge. Viola!! They are even nicer than when we moved into this place! The tub does have a heinous ring around the tub, but my calculations show it'll be easier to remove than steel-wooling the racks would have been.

Hopefully there are enough people who have yet to tackle oven who can try these Hints from Heloise. If you are in the group that is partway through your Passover cooking in a spotless kitchen, I don't want to hear it unless there is a gift of chocolate to accompany your cleaner-than-thou proclamations.

If you want your very own Hints from Heloise book, a quick Google will show you where to buy one, whether vintage or new printing. Or you can hope for a blessed thrifting like I did!

Now, does Heloise have tips for dealing with suspicious noises coming from bored, Passover ignored children? If you see my kids covered with baking soda, you'll know why!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Vegetables are what Food eats

I'm working with a nutritionist to revamp my diet. Today was day one. The rules are pretty simple. No sugar, no carbs, no dairy. As many vegetables, eggs, beans, chicken, fish, and Ezekiel bread I can manage. As a Texan I was raised with the belief that vegetables were fabulous . . . for feeding up the animals we would later barbecue. My mom always made the requisite side green, and often a meal had a side salad, or as an appetizer. But never the whole meal. Until now.

So today is Day 1. I headed to Whole Foods and loaded up on organic fixings. I piled up an enormous salad for lunch. Arugala, butter lettuce, carrots, green beans, clover sprouts, tomatoes, broccoli slaw, half a chicken breast. After the preschoolers swarmed I still ate enough to feed all of Watership Down. And afterwards it was as if I had eaten nothing at all. Arg!

Pic from the Flickr stream of Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis

"You'll be hungry because you aren't filling up on empty calories," he said. "You can eat more salad, or a piece of fruit to mix things up."

So now I am envisioning a future where I'm splitting my time between washing and checking vegetables (for bugs) and grazing. Moo.

No more quick quesadillas or rice and beans for lunch. No oatmeal or cottage cheese for breakfast. No lattes, homemade or Starbucks. No snacking on cheese or grabbing a few pretzels. Can I do it? I'm not sure.

It reminds me of the first Pesach I tried to keep. My friend and I were aflame with the fervor only a newly minted Baal Teshuva (new returner to Judaism) can manage. We knew that we couldn't eat bread and grain products for the week. In the university dining service that left us with only the salad bar for nutrition. For three meals a day. After three days I called my rabbi and between bawling, sniffling, and tummy rumbling I announced that we were dying. It was unnatural to only eat salad 3 meals a day. I felt weak, hungry, and my fire was dimming with each leafy bite. I didn't know if I could continue. The rabbi and his wife came to the rescue within the hour with platters of chicken, potato kugel, and other real food. Our Pesach was saved, our flame simmered on.

But no one will be riding to my rescue now. I won't have religious conviction to keep me from cheating or quitting. I'm not sure if the monetary loss invested in the nutritionist & the specialty foods will be enough. Please G-d there will be some results. If I'm gonna be eating rabbit food, I'd better see a little more bounce in my step!

I'm working with a nutritionist to revamp my diet. Today was day one. The rules are pretty simple. No sugar, no carbs, no dairy. As many vegetables, eggs, beans, chicken, fish, and Ezekiel bread I can manage. As a Texan I was raised with the belief that vegetables were fabulous . . . for feeding up the animals we would later barbecue. My mom always made the requisite side green, and often a meal had a side salad, or as an appetizer. But never the whole meal. Until now.

So today is Day 1. I headed to Whole Foods and loaded up on organic fixings. I piled up an enormous salad for lunch. Arugala, butter lettuce, carrots, green beans, clover sprouts, tomatoes, broccoli slaw, half a chicken breast. After the preschoolers swarmed I still ate enough to feed all of Watership Down. And afterwards it was as if I had eaten nothing at all. Arg!

Pic from the Flickr stream of Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis

"You'll be hungry because you aren't filling up on empty calories," he said. "You can eat more salad, or a piece of fruit to mix things up."

So now I am envisioning a future where I'm splitting my time between washing and checking vegetables (for bugs) and grazing. Moo.

No more quick quesadillas or rice and beans for lunch. No oatmeal or cottage cheese for breakfast. No lattes, homemade or Starbucks. No snacking on cheese or grabbing a few pretzels. Can I do it? I'm not sure.

It reminds me of the first Pesach I tried to keep. My friend and I were aflame with the fervor only a newly minted Baal Teshuva (new returner to Judaism) can manage. We knew that we couldn't eat bread and grain products for the week. In the university dining service that left us with only the salad bar for nutrition. For three meals a day. After three days I called my rabbi and between bawling, sniffling, and tummy rumbling I announced that we were dying. It was unnatural to only eat salad 3 meals a day. I felt weak, hungry, and my fire was dimming with each leafy bite. I didn't know if I could continue. The rabbi and his wife came to the rescue within the hour with platters of chicken, potato kugel, and other real food. Our Pesach was saved, our flame simmered on.

But no one will be riding to my rescue now. I won't have religious conviction to keep me from cheating or quitting. I'm not sure if the monetary loss invested in the nutritionist & the specialty foods will be enough. Please G-d there will be some results. If I'm gonna be eating rabbit food, I'd better see a little more bounce in my step!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Losing sleep over 2nd Hand Worries

Have you ever had an enormous "Duh!?" moment when you figure out the cause of a problem was something obvious or at least fixable while you rushed around trying complicated solutions?

I just had a moment like that this week. After months of seeing doctors for pain and being diagnosed with arthritis while still comfortably on the foot of that big hill called "the late 20s," I've found a culprit to pin it on. Now there is more than one reason, take 15 years of dance damage, years of high heels to boost my 5'1'' height, slouching (sorry mom!), two births, and not enough lifting with the legs and anyone would be hurting at least a little. But for the amount of pain I've been in, there was more.

Four doctors and 6 months didn't bring an answer. I had a flash of brilliance one morning sitting in my bed. My bed which is really a mattress and box spring on the floor. A mattress and box spring we were given 2 years ago. Two years ago when my parents friends were redoing their bedroom furniture. Every piece of furniture in my bedroom is a hand-me-down. And apparently my back could handle a used dresser, but the used mattress had sprung it's last spring.

I don't think I've had a new mattress since I was a toddler and got my first bed (which is currently in the kiddos room). I don't know what a new mattress feels like! The definitive test came when I slept last night on the newest mattress in the house. A year old Ikea special. I woke up with a bit more bounce, and considering I'm not a morning person, that's not bad.

I buy second hand everything apart from undergarments & kitchen utensils. I think I'm going to be adding mattresses to that small list. The fact that something free, that didn't seem so bad had been causing so much trouble is disturbing. Wouldn't a bad mattress feel bad? I thought it would, how wrong I was! How can you gauge the life a second hand find has left in it? How can you be sure a bargain will be all it's cracked up to be? Unlike the salvation army finds languishing in my closet in the "seemed like a good idea at the time" section, this "treasure" was every man's trash.

Even scarier, I read an article (never Google while under duress) about obesity and poor sleep. I'm resisting the urge to throw out all the mattresses in the house and get new ones. This seems like overreacting, but when I tell you that the oldest mattress is at least 20 years old, and the others are of indeterminant age, you'll forgive my fervor.

First the bed bug scare, now back pain. I won't be discouraged from foraging, thrifting, or curb hunting, but I've definitely learned the hard way that sometimes you do have to look that gift horse in the mouth.

Have you ever had an enormous "Duh!?" moment when you figure out the cause of a problem was something obvious or at least fixable while you rushed around trying complicated solutions?

I just had a moment like that this week. After months of seeing doctors for pain and being diagnosed with arthritis while still comfortably on the foot of that big hill called "the late 20s," I've found a culprit to pin it on. Now there is more than one reason, take 15 years of dance damage, years of high heels to boost my 5'1'' height, slouching (sorry mom!), two births, and not enough lifting with the legs and anyone would be hurting at least a little. But for the amount of pain I've been in, there was more.

Four doctors and 6 months didn't bring an answer. I had a flash of brilliance one morning sitting in my bed. My bed which is really a mattress and box spring on the floor. A mattress and box spring we were given 2 years ago. Two years ago when my parents friends were redoing their bedroom furniture. Every piece of furniture in my bedroom is a hand-me-down. And apparently my back could handle a used dresser, but the used mattress had sprung it's last spring.

I don't think I've had a new mattress since I was a toddler and got my first bed (which is currently in the kiddos room). I don't know what a new mattress feels like! The definitive test came when I slept last night on the newest mattress in the house. A year old Ikea special. I woke up with a bit more bounce, and considering I'm not a morning person, that's not bad.

I buy second hand everything apart from undergarments & kitchen utensils. I think I'm going to be adding mattresses to that small list. The fact that something free, that didn't seem so bad had been causing so much trouble is disturbing. Wouldn't a bad mattress feel bad? I thought it would, how wrong I was! How can you gauge the life a second hand find has left in it? How can you be sure a bargain will be all it's cracked up to be? Unlike the salvation army finds languishing in my closet in the "seemed like a good idea at the time" section, this "treasure" was every man's trash.

Even scarier, I read an article (never Google while under duress) about obesity and poor sleep. I'm resisting the urge to throw out all the mattresses in the house and get new ones. This seems like overreacting, but when I tell you that the oldest mattress is at least 20 years old, and the others are of indeterminant age, you'll forgive my fervor.

First the bed bug scare, now back pain. I won't be discouraged from foraging, thrifting, or curb hunting, but I've definitely learned the hard way that sometimes you do have to look that gift horse in the mouth.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Being Prepared: Less Girl Scout, more MacGuyver

So I've generally learned from the fable of the grasshopper and the ant. I pack lunches the night before. I make lists AND check them twice. I have contingency plans coming out of my wazoo, plus plans for what to do in case of catastrophic wazoo failure, cuz you never know!

But this weekend has seen me unprepared and floundering not once, not twice, but three glorious bouts of "Why did I get myself into this situation!?"

The first was a common scenario in my kitchen. I am halfway through a recipe before I realize I don't have enough of a key ingredient. Well, lets just say I now know that my healthy chocolate muffins can be delicious even without full quantities of flax seed (oops), cocoa powder (doh!), and orange juice (for pete's sake!). I scrounged up substitutes and by the end was just flinging stuff in since they were so far from the recipe, why not? Thank G-d, it's apparently a forgiving recipe!

Next was this morning while dressing my children in their Purim costumes for the local carnival. Yes it's a week before Purim, but I was PREPARED! My mother had bought the kids costumes from the after-Halloween sales. See where I learn my preparedness? I didn't have to worry about looking for costumes, scrounging up bits and bobs. Until this morning when I realized RE had grown in the past 4mos and couldn't squeeze into his costume no matter how much squishing, praying, or cajoling I tried. Great. A well stocked dress up chest came to the rescue and he was more than happy with the results. The small costume will be donated to a smaller friend.

Then I grab my "costume." I don't really dress up for modesty reasons. I could go on a tangent about this, but I'm posting about my incompetence, something even modesty can't save me from. I had been saving a vintage jacket my mom handed down for just such an occasion. It's flashy enough for Purim without screaming "look at me I'm dressed up as a character." I tried it on, and it fit. Phew! Except . . . . that it was missing 2 buttons, in high profile places. So while my children were waiting in their coats & shoes (no small accomplishment as other mothers know), removed the remaining buttons and sewed all new buttons down the blasted beautiful thing.

Obviously my wailing "How did I get myself into this?" is easily answered with "By not preparing, duh!" but how much more prepared can I afford to be? Considering it's a week before Purim, a little unpreparedness now means we're already set for next week barring any unforseen accidents, emergencies, or mixups. Of course being the mother of preschoolers is all about the accidents, emergencies and mixups, so being able to tuck and roll or MacGuyver my way out is the answer. And I do love me some MacGuyver!

So I've generally learned from the fable of the grasshopper and the ant. I pack lunches the night before. I make lists AND check them twice. I have contingency plans coming out of my wazoo, plus plans for what to do in case of catastrophic wazoo failure, cuz you never know!

But this weekend has seen me unprepared and floundering not once, not twice, but three glorious bouts of "Why did I get myself into this situation!?"

The first was a common scenario in my kitchen. I am halfway through a recipe before I realize I don't have enough of a key ingredient. Well, lets just say I now know that my healthy chocolate muffins can be delicious even without full quantities of flax seed (oops), cocoa powder (doh!), and orange juice (for pete's sake!). I scrounged up substitutes and by the end was just flinging stuff in since they were so far from the recipe, why not? Thank G-d, it's apparently a forgiving recipe!

Next was this morning while dressing my children in their Purim costumes for the local carnival. Yes it's a week before Purim, but I was PREPARED! My mother had bought the kids costumes from the after-Halloween sales. See where I learn my preparedness? I didn't have to worry about looking for costumes, scrounging up bits and bobs. Until this morning when I realized RE had grown in the past 4mos and couldn't squeeze into his costume no matter how much squishing, praying, or cajoling I tried. Great. A well stocked dress up chest came to the rescue and he was more than happy with the results. The small costume will be donated to a smaller friend.

Then I grab my "costume." I don't really dress up for modesty reasons. I could go on a tangent about this, but I'm posting about my incompetence, something even modesty can't save me from. I had been saving a vintage jacket my mom handed down for just such an occasion. It's flashy enough for Purim without screaming "look at me I'm dressed up as a character." I tried it on, and it fit. Phew! Except . . . . that it was missing 2 buttons, in high profile places. So while my children were waiting in their coats & shoes (no small accomplishment as other mothers know), removed the remaining buttons and sewed all new buttons down the blasted beautiful thing.

Obviously my wailing "How did I get myself into this?" is easily answered with "By not preparing, duh!" but how much more prepared can I afford to be? Considering it's a week before Purim, a little unpreparedness now means we're already set for next week barring any unforseen accidents, emergencies, or mixups. Of course being the mother of preschoolers is all about the accidents, emergencies and mixups, so being able to tuck and roll or MacGuyver my way out is the answer. And I do love me some MacGuyver!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Job hunting for Moms, Facing the Illegal Question

I just finished reading Answering the Illegal Question - Manage Your Career in The Chronicle of Higher Education and it made me think of the time I was interviewing and was asked the looming question every mother fears: "How can you handle working when you have kids to raise?"

Like the author I was taken aback and my answer was a blur. I also wish I had called the interviewer on the illegality of such a question as well as the ridiculousness of the assumption.

In college I worked 3 jobs, took 21 credits a semester, competed nationally on the ballroom dance team, maintained the 3.0 necessary for my scholarship, helped run the campus Hillel, was an officer in the residence hall government, had an active social life and was a member of various student organizations. No one during that time questioned my abilities to balance my workload besides my advisor who had to sign off on the 21 credits since the limit was technically 18. No one asked how I'd juggle, how I'd find time for me, if my relationships would suffer.

Am I more busy now? I doubt it. Busy keeps me busy. Idle hands and all that. I'm my most competent with a looming deadline, get all my peripheral tasks done during the prerequisite procrastination time. Whether that's homework, powerpoint presentations,memos to the boss, school lunches, laundry, grocery shopping, or bill paying shouldn't matter.

Motherhood has slowed me down in some ways. My purse is enormous and huge and I can't do as much long division in my head. Does this make me less valuable as an employee? Thankfully not in most of the fields I'm qualified for!

Perhaps this is where the supermom syndrome stems from. We feel like we have to prove we can do it all because, by golly, they are asking.

Have you ever been questioned as a mother in the workplace? How did you handle it?

I just finished reading Answering the Illegal Question - Manage Your Career in The Chronicle of Higher Education and it made me think of the time I was interviewing and was asked the looming question every mother fears: "How can you handle working when you have kids to raise?"

Like the author I was taken aback and my answer was a blur. I also wish I had called the interviewer on the illegality of such a question as well as the ridiculousness of the assumption.

In college I worked 3 jobs, took 21 credits a semester, competed nationally on the ballroom dance team, maintained the 3.0 necessary for my scholarship, helped run the campus Hillel, was an officer in the residence hall government, had an active social life and was a member of various student organizations. No one during that time questioned my abilities to balance my workload besides my advisor who had to sign off on the 21 credits since the limit was technically 18. No one asked how I'd juggle, how I'd find time for me, if my relationships would suffer.

Am I more busy now? I doubt it. Busy keeps me busy. Idle hands and all that. I'm my most competent with a looming deadline, get all my peripheral tasks done during the prerequisite procrastination time. Whether that's homework, powerpoint presentations,memos to the boss, school lunches, laundry, grocery shopping, or bill paying shouldn't matter.

Motherhood has slowed me down in some ways. My purse is enormous and huge and I can't do as much long division in my head. Does this make me less valuable as an employee? Thankfully not in most of the fields I'm qualified for!

Perhaps this is where the supermom syndrome stems from. We feel like we have to prove we can do it all because, by golly, they are asking.

Have you ever been questioned as a mother in the workplace? How did you handle it?

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Great-tasting Healthy Chocolate Muffins

My kids love muffins. It doesn't really matter what they are made of, I think it's the portable size and makes them think of cupcakes.

If you thought my veggie muffins weren't dessert-y enough, have no fear. Take 2 of the sneaky baking genius! (cue evil laughter). I'd like to present: Irresistible Double Chocolate Muffins Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Here is the recipe with the modifications I made & notes

I doubled the original.

2 cups white flour

1.5 cups ground flax seed

1 cup quick oats

2 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

1 cup cocoa powder

chocolate chips (don't skimp, it makes sweetness & chocolaty-ness)

2 cups orange juice (to keep it dairy free, didn't really taste)

1 can (1.5 cups) pumpkin puree

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsps vanilla extract.

We did the dump and stir, I can see how it would have been easier to follow the directions and mix the dry and wet separately and then combine, but I was cooking with little helpers, and couldn't be bothered to use more than one bowl. :)

Fill the cupcake pans, liners, at least 3/4 full as they don't rise so much, but will get a nice little dome on top.

Bake 350 degrees F for 25mins.

Made 42 muffins. (small-medium sized)

They will definitely be made again!! Now I'll be serving these to guests tonight and will not mention their healthy alter egos.

UPDATE: These should have been refrigerated or frozen right away as I found the remaining half dozen with spots of mold this afternoon. They've been wrapped in foil for 4 days. Next time I'll plan ahead better.

My kids love muffins. It doesn't really matter what they are made of, I think it's the portable size and makes them think of cupcakes.

If you thought my veggie muffins weren't dessert-y enough, have no fear. Take 2 of the sneaky baking genius! (cue evil laughter). I'd like to present: Irresistible Double Chocolate Muffins Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Here is the recipe with the modifications I made & notes

I doubled the original.

2 cups white flour

1.5 cups ground flax seed

1 cup quick oats

2 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

1 cup cocoa powder

chocolate chips (don't skimp, it makes sweetness & chocolaty-ness)

2 cups orange juice (to keep it dairy free, didn't really taste)

1 can (1.5 cups) pumpkin puree

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsps vanilla extract.

We did the dump and stir, I can see how it would have been easier to follow the directions and mix the dry and wet separately and then combine, but I was cooking with little helpers, and couldn't be bothered to use more than one bowl. :)

Fill the cupcake pans, liners, at least 3/4 full as they don't rise so much, but will get a nice little dome on top.

Bake 350 degrees F for 25mins.

Made 42 muffins. (small-medium sized)

They will definitely be made again!! Now I'll be serving these to guests tonight and will not mention their healthy alter egos.

UPDATE: These should have been refrigerated or frozen right away as I found the remaining half dozen with spots of mold this afternoon. They've been wrapped in foil for 4 days. Next time I'll plan ahead better.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

More Wheat less white: Oatmeal bread

I've fallen in love with the Oatmeal Bread from the More with less cookbook. It's a delight to knead once you get over the pale pasty color. It tastes delicious!

Here is how I make it:

In a large bowl combine:

1 cup quick oats (regular work fine in a pinch)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp salt

2 T Smart Balance margarine

Stir in:

2 cups boiling water

Dissolve:

3 T yeast into

1/2 cup warm water

When the batter has cooled and is just warm, add the yeast/water mix and stir.

Add

4 cups whole wheat flour

1-2 cups white flour until dough is no longer sticky

Knead 10 mins.

Set to rise in covered, oiled bowl.

Punch down and shape into 4-5 loaves, braids, twists, what have you. Brush with egg & top with oatmeal & flaxseed. Bake at 350F for 25-30 mins.

I've fallen in love with the Oatmeal Bread from the More with less cookbook. It's a delight to knead once you get over the pale pasty color. It tastes delicious!

Here is how I make it:

In a large bowl combine:

1 cup quick oats (regular work fine in a pinch)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp salt

2 T Smart Balance margarine

Stir in:

2 cups boiling water

Dissolve:

3 T yeast into

1/2 cup warm water

When the batter has cooled and is just warm, add the yeast/water mix and stir.

Add

4 cups whole wheat flour

1-2 cups white flour until dough is no longer sticky

Knead 10 mins.

Set to rise in covered, oiled bowl.

Punch down and shape into 4-5 loaves, braids, twists, what have you. Brush with egg & top with oatmeal & flaxseed. Bake at 350F for 25-30 mins.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Foodie Flops: When things go wrong

I just finished reading this article over at The Kitchn:

Unexpected Results: 5 Reasons Why A Recipe Might Fail | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

I can definitely think of many mismeasured, half doubled, forgotten burnt, substitution errors, missing ingredients, and faulty equipment errors in all my years of cooking. But something I can't figure out is my homemade bread.

As long as I've been married I've been baking bread. When we lived over seas and I had to content with foreign ingredients, measurements and equipment in a rented apartment, I found a recipe that worked and stuck to it. Bubbie Irma's challah recipe came out wonderful every time. Occasionally I'd by from the delicious, cheap bakery in the local market, but more often I'd bake.

We had three and a half years of wedded, doughy bliss. Then we moved back to America. We lived with my parents while hubsters did the job hunt and I got to make use of my mother's superior kitchen and American grocery stores to show off my culinary prowess. Except not. Each batch was a flop. Didn't rise, didn't taste good, didn't cook through, or burnt. I gave up and switched back to store bought, blaming the water, the inferiority of American ingredients, whatever. Rhodes Dough was cheap, tasty, and easy, It tasted good even if it didn't rise.

I tried again when we moved to the East coast with similar results. Back to the Rhodes frozen Dough. Then we learned about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and made a point to cut it out wherever we could. I spoke about both the ease of Rhodes dough and our healthy diet to anyone with a modicum of interest until one day a friend sheepishly told me that Rhodes dough had HFCS in it! I was flabbergasted, why the heck would frozen dough need it?? I went cold turkey, leaving the last few frozen loaves to languish in prime freezer real estate and went back to baking.

And the loaves were good.

What had changed? Only my determination to bake from scratch! Here we are two years after surrendering to fresh bread-less America, I have triumphed! I've even branched out to a new favorite recipe, the Oatmeal bread from the cookbook More with Less. It's delicious and I've even been brave enough to tinker with it successfully, increasing the ratio of white to whole wheat.

Why does a recipe flop? Sometimes for the same reason a recipe works, regardless of our best (or worst) efforts!

I just finished reading this article over at The Kitchn:

Unexpected Results: 5 Reasons Why A Recipe Might Fail | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

I can definitely think of many mismeasured, half doubled, forgotten burnt, substitution errors, missing ingredients, and faulty equipment errors in all my years of cooking. But something I can't figure out is my homemade bread.

As long as I've been married I've been baking bread. When we lived over seas and I had to content with foreign ingredients, measurements and equipment in a rented apartment, I found a recipe that worked and stuck to it. Bubbie Irma's challah recipe came out wonderful every time. Occasionally I'd by from the delicious, cheap bakery in the local market, but more often I'd bake.

We had three and a half years of wedded, doughy bliss. Then we moved back to America. We lived with my parents while hubsters did the job hunt and I got to make use of my mother's superior kitchen and American grocery stores to show off my culinary prowess. Except not. Each batch was a flop. Didn't rise, didn't taste good, didn't cook through, or burnt. I gave up and switched back to store bought, blaming the water, the inferiority of American ingredients, whatever. Rhodes Dough was cheap, tasty, and easy, It tasted good even if it didn't rise.

I tried again when we moved to the East coast with similar results. Back to the Rhodes frozen Dough. Then we learned about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and made a point to cut it out wherever we could. I spoke about both the ease of Rhodes dough and our healthy diet to anyone with a modicum of interest until one day a friend sheepishly told me that Rhodes dough had HFCS in it! I was flabbergasted, why the heck would frozen dough need it?? I went cold turkey, leaving the last few frozen loaves to languish in prime freezer real estate and went back to baking.

And the loaves were good.

What had changed? Only my determination to bake from scratch! Here we are two years after surrendering to fresh bread-less America, I have triumphed! I've even branched out to a new favorite recipe, the Oatmeal bread from the cookbook More with Less. It's delicious and I've even been brave enough to tinker with it successfully, increasing the ratio of white to whole wheat.

Why does a recipe flop? Sometimes for the same reason a recipe works, regardless of our best (or worst) efforts!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Mad for Matbucha: A dip recipe

Other possible titles included: I dip, you dip, we dip.

Also called Turkish salad, Moroccan salsa (I made that one up), or tomato chutney, this stewed dish is great for topping fish, bread, pita, and spoons. Yum! It's also a great way to use up wilty, pathetic looking tomatoes and peppers!

As with all my cooking, I started by searching Google "matbucha recipe," looked at a few for ideas, then winged it (wung it?). I have tried to estimate measurements where possible, but live dangerously and ignore them!

MATBUCHA

dash of oil

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 red pepper diced

1/4 cup Sofrito

1 cup tomato sauce, optional (I used Trader Joes Marinara)

Heat oil in a non-copper pot. Sauté onions until soft, add garlic. When both are translucent add the remaining ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally until tomatoes burst from skins, probably close to 30mins. Serve warm or cold.

I now double the recipe because it's so delicious it disappears!

Other possible titles included: I dip, you dip, we dip.

Also called Turkish salad, Moroccan salsa (I made that one up), or tomato chutney, this stewed dish is great for topping fish, bread, pita, and spoons. Yum! It's also a great way to use up wilty, pathetic looking tomatoes and peppers!

As with all my cooking, I started by searching Google "matbucha recipe," looked at a few for ideas, then winged it (wung it?). I have tried to estimate measurements where possible, but live dangerously and ignore them!

MATBUCHA

dash of oil

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 red pepper diced

1/4 cup Sofrito

1 cup tomato sauce, optional (I used Trader Joes Marinara)

Heat oil in a non-copper pot. Sauté onions until soft, add garlic. When both are translucent add the remaining ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally until tomatoes burst from skins, probably close to 30mins. Serve warm or cold.

I now double the recipe because it's so delicious it disappears!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Ima, Tell me all about . . . the recipe for water

My 4yo is a Chatty Cathy to the extreme. Her recent "Tell me all about" was for the recipe for water.

I explained briefly, then as any good listener does, she repeated the highlights back to me:

"Hashem (G-d) takes two hydrans, one oxidigen, mixes it up. Makes water, puts it into a bottle, puts on the lid so, so tight so you need a mommy or a daddy to open it. Unless you are big enough and can open it yourself."

Yep, that's basically how it goes!

My 4yo is a Chatty Cathy to the extreme. Her recent "Tell me all about" was for the recipe for water.

I explained briefly, then as any good listener does, she repeated the highlights back to me:

"Hashem (G-d) takes two hydrans, one oxidigen, mixes it up. Makes water, puts it into a bottle, puts on the lid so, so tight so you need a mommy or a daddy to open it. Unless you are big enough and can open it yourself."

Yep, that's basically how it goes!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Baking Soda Hack: My miracle Cleaner

My 4yo is proudly giving me a tour of all the marker spots that freckle her dollie's plastic head. What does this make me think besides "I really have to keep those markers up higher"? I give a little thanks that I bought a 5lb bag of baking soda from the warehouse store.

I've used baking soda to remove permanent marker from:

• aforementioned dollie
• floor tiles
• fingers and fingernails
• plastic table

I also use it for scrubbing the bathroom sink, washing stubborn dishes, freshening unwashed hair, the grease fire in the oven (oops), and as a cheap facial exfoliator.

The 5lb bag is used to fill empty spice shakers in the kitchen and bathroom, high baking soda use areas. I'm probably barely halfway through after a year of heavy use!

My 4yo is proudly giving me a tour of all the marker spots that freckle her dollie's plastic head. What does this make me think besides "I really have to keep those markers up higher"? I give a little thanks that I bought a 5lb bag of baking soda from the warehouse store.

I've used baking soda to remove permanent marker from:

• aforementioned dollie
• floor tiles
• fingers and fingernails
• plastic table

I also use it for scrubbing the bathroom sink, washing stubborn dishes, freshening unwashed hair, the grease fire in the oven (oops), and as a cheap facial exfoliator.

The 5lb bag is used to fill empty spice shakers in the kitchen and bathroom, high baking soda use areas. I'm probably barely halfway through after a year of heavy use!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Product review: Google Notebook Chrome OS - The First Week

It's officially been one week since I opened the box and let a Chrome Notebook (CR-48) into my life. Overall, it's my sense of duty as a tester that's keeping me using it.

UPDATED

Here's what I love:
* It's light
It may be too big to shove into my purse, but I could throw it into a bigger purse or backpack and shlep without throwing out my back.

* The battery life is great!

(full disclosure, my other laptop has a batterylife of 18mins, I could use it to time a matzah factory)
I ran a test of it, running 2-3 tabs plus streaming Pandora and I went from 100% to 50% in 4hrs.

* It's so fast!

From sleep to awake in 5-10secs, from shut down to start up in a scant few minutes. Compared to my 2 year old dinosaur, it's a cheetah. Websites load quickly.Hulu videos load quickly. No frustrations in that arena.

* It's Chrome

As a Chrome user I know where everything is and feel comfortable using all the usual Chrome features like search from the address bar and other navigation. The addons work the same, the settings are in the same place, it's home.

* 2 year contract for Verizon 3G, 100MB/mos for free!
Great for using on the go. 100MB is not much at all, but there is an option to pay for unlimited if I want (which I don't thanks to the problems listed in the bottom of this post).

And it would only be fair for full disclosure that I include the things that make me want to tear my hair out. Now I love Google, I know this is a beta, but I sure wish it was all roses and smooches!

Here's why I can't use it day to day:

* I can't install the programs I use for work, so I can't use the laptop for work.
I understand the power and pull of the move to cloud computing, but this only works when everyone is on board. I use Salesforce for work as a database admin, as far as I know there is no way to take data from a Google doc and run through ID matching or upload into the SF database.

* As of yet there is no way to watch Netflix Watch Instantly videos, so I can't use the laptop for play
Hulu works and Amazon video works, but Netflix is a big chunk of my video streaming usage. It's a known problem since Netflix uses MS Silverlight and Chrome depends on HTML5. Will there be a fix, workaround, or change? Who knows.

* More bad Buzz: The speakers work 50% percent of the time
There is no hardware branding to be seen on the machine. This means I have no where to go for hardware trouble shooting. Could I fix it if my Linux skills were dusted off? Maybe. I've looked around and there are many communities for Chrome OS users that have popped up with forums, but this isn't an official fix. I found the Linux terminal by hitting ctl+atl+t, but it has limited functionality.

* The minimalist touchpad makes right clicking the bane of my existence. Again less than 50% success rate

Thanks to the anonymous poster my right clicking woes are over! Instead of trying to finagle the two fingered click I can now hit alt+touchpad! Thanks!

I'm used to the 2 button touchpad. The CR-48 has just one big touchpad with click enabled, minimal scrolling, and a tricky 2 finger right click. I am either a spaz, impatient, or just your normal user, but I can't get the blasted thing to work. This comes up a bazillion times a day while I try to open a link in a new tab, spell check, etc. I'm hoping this will resolve the same way the touchscreen newness did, with time and practice.

* the SD card reader doesn't work.
As in, if you put an SD card in, it does NOTHING! I'm not alone in this, as my surfing has shown, but why is it there? A place holder or a test to see what I do when confronted with a problem as a beta tester. No idea.

* Missing buttons

I don't mind that they replaced the capslock button with a search button. Like Google mentions in their manual, only commenters on YouTube NEED CAPSLOCK TO MAKE THEIR POINT. The rest of us can caps shift. But the Home, End, and Page Up and Down buttons, just make navigating lots of text easier. There is a bit of alt+touchpad action and there are scrollbars on the pages, but still something I miss.

I can imagine that there will be software updates and fixes for some of the problems, but what about the hardware issues? If this is a laptop I get to keep, and the 2yr Verizon contract implies long term use, will it keep pace with what's out there? What will the CR-48 look like when it goes on sale for general consumption? I"m guessing pretty different than what I'm typing on now.

It's officially been one week since I opened the box and let a Chrome Notebook (CR-48) into my life. Overall, it's my sense of duty as a tester that's keeping me using it.

UPDATED

Here's what I love:
* It's light
It may be too big to shove into my purse, but I could throw it into a bigger purse or backpack and shlep without throwing out my back.

* The battery life is great!

(full disclosure, my other laptop has a batterylife of 18mins, I could use it to time a matzah factory)
I ran a test of it, running 2-3 tabs plus streaming Pandora and I went from 100% to 50% in 4hrs.

* It's so fast!

From sleep to awake in 5-10secs, from shut down to start up in a scant few minutes. Compared to my 2 year old dinosaur, it's a cheetah. Websites load quickly.Hulu videos load quickly. No frustrations in that arena.

* It's Chrome

As a Chrome user I know where everything is and feel comfortable using all the usual Chrome features like search from the address bar and other navigation. The addons work the same, the settings are in the same place, it's home.

* 2 year contract for Verizon 3G, 100MB/mos for free!
Great for using on the go. 100MB is not much at all, but there is an option to pay for unlimited if I want (which I don't thanks to the problems listed in the bottom of this post).

And it would only be fair for full disclosure that I include the things that make me want to tear my hair out. Now I love Google, I know this is a beta, but I sure wish it was all roses and smooches!

Here's why I can't use it day to day:

* I can't install the programs I use for work, so I can't use the laptop for work.
I understand the power and pull of the move to cloud computing, but this only works when everyone is on board. I use Salesforce for work as a database admin, as far as I know there is no way to take data from a Google doc and run through ID matching or upload into the SF database.

* As of yet there is no way to watch Netflix Watch Instantly videos, so I can't use the laptop for play
Hulu works and Amazon video works, but Netflix is a big chunk of my video streaming usage. It's a known problem since Netflix uses MS Silverlight and Chrome depends on HTML5. Will there be a fix, workaround, or change? Who knows.

* More bad Buzz: The speakers work 50% percent of the time
There is no hardware branding to be seen on the machine. This means I have no where to go for hardware trouble shooting. Could I fix it if my Linux skills were dusted off? Maybe. I've looked around and there are many communities for Chrome OS users that have popped up with forums, but this isn't an official fix. I found the Linux terminal by hitting ctl+atl+t, but it has limited functionality.

* The minimalist touchpad makes right clicking the bane of my existence. Again less than 50% success rate

Thanks to the anonymous poster my right clicking woes are over! Instead of trying to finagle the two fingered click I can now hit alt+touchpad! Thanks!

I'm used to the 2 button touchpad. The CR-48 has just one big touchpad with click enabled, minimal scrolling, and a tricky 2 finger right click. I am either a spaz, impatient, or just your normal user, but I can't get the blasted thing to work. This comes up a bazillion times a day while I try to open a link in a new tab, spell check, etc. I'm hoping this will resolve the same way the touchscreen newness did, with time and practice.

* the SD card reader doesn't work.
As in, if you put an SD card in, it does NOTHING! I'm not alone in this, as my surfing has shown, but why is it there? A place holder or a test to see what I do when confronted with a problem as a beta tester. No idea.

* Missing buttons

I don't mind that they replaced the capslock button with a search button. Like Google mentions in their manual, only commenters on YouTube NEED CAPSLOCK TO MAKE THEIR POINT. The rest of us can caps shift. But the Home, End, and Page Up and Down buttons, just make navigating lots of text easier. There is a bit of alt+touchpad action and there are scrollbars on the pages, but still something I miss.

I can imagine that there will be software updates and fixes for some of the problems, but what about the hardware issues? If this is a laptop I get to keep, and the 2yr Verizon contract implies long term use, will it keep pace with what's out there? What will the CR-48 look like when it goes on sale for general consumption? I"m guessing pretty different than what I'm typing on now.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

2 Little Kittens have lost their mittens

How know if you are both overly lazy and overly crafty? When you find yourself halfway through winter with 3 mismatched kids' gloves and you can't be bothered to shop to replace them, so you sit down to make some new ones.

I can't bear to face the hunt for winter accessories in a retail world that is already unloading swimsuits. It's painful to think about.

Here is the pattern I was given by the local Crochet Guild just picked bits of mystery yarn that vaguely match the kids' coats. One red pair and one variegated pink pair. Well, by pair I mean balls of yarn, one of which is attached to a partial cuff already.

*** Updated to add pics of the finished products:

How know if you are both overly lazy and overly crafty? When you find yourself halfway through winter with 3 mismatched kids' gloves and you can't be bothered to shop to replace them, so you sit down to make some new ones.

I can't bear to face the hunt for winter accessories in a retail world that is already unloading swimsuits. It's painful to think about.

Here is the pattern I was given by the local Crochet Guild just picked bits of mystery yarn that vaguely match the kids' coats. One red pair and one variegated pink pair. Well, by pair I mean balls of yarn, one of which is attached to a partial cuff already.

*** Updated to add pics of the finished products:

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Product review: Google Notebook Chrome OS - First impressions

I've been meaning to blog about the many samples that come my way for only the cost of spam. I've signed up for everything from oatmeal, to makeup, to dog food, and more. Each package is a a mini surprise as the 4-6wks delivery time ensures I've completely forgotten clicking on the "try for free" button.

The box that was waiting on my doorstep this past Friday was bigger even than the 3.5lbs of free Purina (thanks Purina!) and seemed more like an Amazon.com purchase.

"What did you buy?" My fiscally minded hubsters asked, not amused.

"Nothing! Really!" I said, trying to wrack my brain just in case. "Probably only something we needed in any case." The perfect defense for shopping.

"You bought more mouse traps??" Hubsters gestured to the inner box that showed an elaborate diagram of a mouse and a disassembled rocketship.

Puzzled we stared for a bit longer, until we saw the packing slip. It was a Google Chrome OS notebook, and I was a lucky tester. The screaming, jumping, dancing, and whooping baffled the children and sent my downstairs neighbor running up to make sure we weren't seriously injured.

I was busy cooking for shabbos, so like any good wife, I let hubsters have the pleasure of the first test drive. Good thing too, since my perusing of other reviews says that one must connect to a secure network connection from the guest account and then set up the user account, which hubsters did by default as he was the guest, and I was the triumphant user/Googler.

The notebook is sleek, black matte, and minimalist.

It's light, as it should be. There is only one USB port, one video out, one headphone jack, an SD card reader and the power jack.

Well it was sleek, black, matte and minimalist until I tricked it out using the included decal kit. Now it looks a bit like something a middle schooler would use, but my excitement at my new toy overrode any sense of style and restraint my inner decorator would have tried to establish.

There is no software loaded into the system beyond the Chrome OS. It is built around cloud computing. Want to make a document? Use Google Docs. Want to play music? Stream some. There is an option to download apps from the Chrome Web Store. Some are addons to Chrome similar to the ones that work with the Chrome Browser, some are web apps like Tweetdeck, and others are basically bookmarks to webpages, while handy are not the same as an app. There is everything from browser games that pop down from the toolbar, to photo editing, basically anything you'd expect in an app store.

The idea, as laid out in the intro page, is that if your current laptop were hit with a steam roller, you'd lose everything. If a google machine gets hit with a steam roller, no biggie, just log into another google machine and it's like the steam roller was one bad dream, all your setting exist in the cloud and nothing is lost.

I quickly tricked out with some basic necessities. Web Of Trust to vet the links as I surf and protect my machine, bookmarks to my usual places, an add on for blogger, one for sharing across my social networks, and Tweetdeck. Now I've been using the desktop app for a long time now and the web based one took a lot of tweaking and fiddling to approximate the settings and features I'd been enjoying thus far. I wish it had just "poof" imported my settings, but such is life.

I will be posting more about my experiences in a series to keep the length down to just below War and Peace and "too long didn't read," I know ya'll appreciate it!

I've been meaning to blog about the many samples that come my way for only the cost of spam. I've signed up for everything from oatmeal, to makeup, to dog food, and more. Each package is a a mini surprise as the 4-6wks delivery time ensures I've completely forgotten clicking on the "try for free" button.

The box that was waiting on my doorstep this past Friday was bigger even than the 3.5lbs of free Purina (thanks Purina!) and seemed more like an Amazon.com purchase.

"What did you buy?" My fiscally minded hubsters asked, not amused.

"Nothing! Really!" I said, trying to wrack my brain just in case. "Probably only something we needed in any case." The perfect defense for shopping.

"You bought more mouse traps??" Hubsters gestured to the inner box that showed an elaborate diagram of a mouse and a disassembled rocketship.

Puzzled we stared for a bit longer, until we saw the packing slip. It was a Google Chrome OS notebook, and I was a lucky tester. The screaming, jumping, dancing, and whooping baffled the children and sent my downstairs neighbor running up to make sure we weren't seriously injured.

I was busy cooking for shabbos, so like any good wife, I let hubsters have the pleasure of the first test drive. Good thing too, since my perusing of other reviews says that one must connect to a secure network connection from the guest account and then set up the user account, which hubsters did by default as he was the guest, and I was the triumphant user/Googler.

The notebook is sleek, black matte, and minimalist.

It's light, as it should be. There is only one USB port, one video out, one headphone jack, an SD card reader and the power jack.

Well it was sleek, black, matte and minimalist until I tricked it out using the included decal kit. Now it looks a bit like something a middle schooler would use, but my excitement at my new toy overrode any sense of style and restraint my inner decorator would have tried to establish.

There is no software loaded into the system beyond the Chrome OS. It is built around cloud computing. Want to make a document? Use Google Docs. Want to play music? Stream some. There is an option to download apps from the Chrome Web Store. Some are addons to Chrome similar to the ones that work with the Chrome Browser, some are web apps like Tweetdeck, and others are basically bookmarks to webpages, while handy are not the same as an app. There is everything from browser games that pop down from the toolbar, to photo editing, basically anything you'd expect in an app store.

The idea, as laid out in the intro page, is that if your current laptop were hit with a steam roller, you'd lose everything. If a google machine gets hit with a steam roller, no biggie, just log into another google machine and it's like the steam roller was one bad dream, all your setting exist in the cloud and nothing is lost.

I quickly tricked out with some basic necessities. Web Of Trust to vet the links as I surf and protect my machine, bookmarks to my usual places, an add on for blogger, one for sharing across my social networks, and Tweetdeck. Now I've been using the desktop app for a long time now and the web based one took a lot of tweaking and fiddling to approximate the settings and features I'd been enjoying thus far. I wish it had just "poof" imported my settings, but such is life.

I will be posting more about my experiences in a series to keep the length down to just below War and Peace and "too long didn't read," I know ya'll appreciate it!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Tea for two, and two for tea . . . alone!

I know there are plenty of opportunities for a Jewish person to have a culture clash with secular or non-Jewish people. Fodder could come from a variety of lingo (oy vey!), food (gefilte fish), cultural (matchmakers!), geographical (you're from ___ you must know Sara Cohen!), physical (the shnoz), emotional (if you called more often you'd understand).

This week I had one I'd never experienced before. The Baffled Barista. See, the poor guy was just making me some tea (Grande non-fat please!) when there was a hub-bub from the break room. We'd been joking about something funny that had happened in line while I was ordering, so in an atmosphere of joviality he shared that a coworker was celebrating the news that she was expecting.

<<>>

What was he expecting me to say? I have no idea :) Something between indifference to polite smiling. Instead he got the Jewish mother treatment. Poor barista didn't know what hit him.

"Wow! Congratulations!" I beamed. I had known enough not to say mazal tov, my usual reaction to hearing news like this.

He looked shocked. "It's not mine, it's a coworkers."

"We all celebrate news like that. It's part of the Starbucks family celebration, right?" I fumbled.

He gave me his most strategic "you're a crazy lady but I'm in food service so I'm used to dealing with loonies" smile. Oy vey indeed.

See, every celebration in the Jewish people is something we share. If my mom's hair stylist's third cousin's half sister's dog had puppies, I'd say "Mazal tov!" and my excitement would only increase as the proximity of the celebration approached me personally. So my best friend's future engagement would require an ear shattering squeal, lots of jumping, and at least 3 more laugh lines to every person who informed me of the news, from the future-bride herself to any one of the 252 facebook friends we have in common.

We share simchas (celebrations) because we all have a piece of it. We've prayed for the blessing for ourselves and those we know, and at the end of the prayer is usually "and all of the people of Israel." So any time someone has something good, we've prayed for it at one time or another. We've put in the effort, the shared excitement is the reward. At a wedding, bris, engagement, we wish Mazal tov to everyone attending, not just the immediate participants. It's the sense of community we all feel for each other.

I feel bad for putting the poor guy on the spot when he was just trying to slog through his caffeinated shift. Maybe it was mostly because he was male, and a female would have reacted differently safe in the knowledge that I couldn't be mistaking paternity.

I also feel a little bad that there is such detachment from one another that the congratulations can't spill over. In hindsight I remembered the appropriate response "She must be so happy." The singular over the plural.

I know there are plenty of opportunities for a Jewish person to have a culture clash with secular or non-Jewish people. Fodder could come from a variety of lingo (oy vey!), food (gefilte fish), cultural (matchmakers!), geographical (you're from ___ you must know Sara Cohen!), physical (the shnoz), emotional (if you called more often you'd understand).

This week I had one I'd never experienced before. The Baffled Barista. See, the poor guy was just making me some tea (Grande non-fat please!) when there was a hub-bub from the break room. We'd been joking about something funny that had happened in line while I was ordering, so in an atmosphere of joviality he shared that a coworker was celebrating the news that she was expecting.

<<>>

What was he expecting me to say? I have no idea :) Something between indifference to polite smiling. Instead he got the Jewish mother treatment. Poor barista didn't know what hit him.

"Wow! Congratulations!" I beamed. I had known enough not to say mazal tov, my usual reaction to hearing news like this.

He looked shocked. "It's not mine, it's a coworkers."

"We all celebrate news like that. It's part of the Starbucks family celebration, right?" I fumbled.

He gave me his most strategic "you're a crazy lady but I'm in food service so I'm used to dealing with loonies" smile. Oy vey indeed.

See, every celebration in the Jewish people is something we share. If my mom's hair stylist's third cousin's half sister's dog had puppies, I'd say "Mazal tov!" and my excitement would only increase as the proximity of the celebration approached me personally. So my best friend's future engagement would require an ear shattering squeal, lots of jumping, and at least 3 more laugh lines to every person who informed me of the news, from the future-bride herself to any one of the 252 facebook friends we have in common.

We share simchas (celebrations) because we all have a piece of it. We've prayed for the blessing for ourselves and those we know, and at the end of the prayer is usually "and all of the people of Israel." So any time someone has something good, we've prayed for it at one time or another. We've put in the effort, the shared excitement is the reward. At a wedding, bris, engagement, we wish Mazal tov to everyone attending, not just the immediate participants. It's the sense of community we all feel for each other.

I feel bad for putting the poor guy on the spot when he was just trying to slog through his caffeinated shift. Maybe it was mostly because he was male, and a female would have reacted differently safe in the knowledge that I couldn't be mistaking paternity.

I also feel a little bad that there is such detachment from one another that the congratulations can't spill over. In hindsight I remembered the appropriate response "She must be so happy." The singular over the plural.

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest