tales from a far-land

Judaism Journal Entry: Week Four Make a list of Jewish guests, past or present, whom you would invite to your Sukkah.  Explain why you’d like to have them as guests. For my first ever Sukkot holiday, I would want to make the holiday somewhat traditional in nature so that I could experience all of the traditions and customs first.  I would want to get the get the full essence of the holiday before trying to replicate it in future years. However, before any guest invites could be extended, we would first need to build the sukkah.  For this endeavor, I would invite my father over to construct the structure.  He is one of the most meticulous and precise carpenters that I know.  This would guarantee that the sukkah would be stable enough to hold all of our guests, but it would also be recyclable, one that we would be able to use year after year.  After the sukkah is erected, we would then need to decorate it.  This, of course, would be ...

The beginning of the Jewish calendar is full of holidays.  At class on Tuesday evening, we learned about the "Festival of Booths" or Sukkot which started Wednesday evening this week.  Sukkot has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival.  During Sukkot, families traditionally build a sukkah (a hut) in their backyard to represent the temporary shelters in which the Jewish people lived while wandering in the desert for 40 years.  During the seven days of Sukkot, the mitzvah is to "dwell" within the sukkah which can be fulfilled by simply eating all of one's meals there.  Well, after learning all about Sukkot and its significance and customs, our class's Rabbi then tasked us to build our own sukkah out of Runts candy, frosting, graham crackers...

I am happy to report that Josh and I have made it through our first official "Days of Awe".  We attended the evening and day services of both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  We both fasted.  A huge kiddos to my husband who actually fasted *way* longer than you are required to just so he could "Break the Fast" with me. (Much thanks!)  After the entire ten day experience, I can honestly say that we found it insightful and inspiring.  As a newly attending congregant, there were several moments during the services that I was lost, especially during the Rosh Hashanah day service.  No one warned me that 95% of the service is all in Hebrew!  But even as I was struggling to follow the flow of the service, the Cantor would sing a song or blessing so beautifully that I would forget I had no idea what she was singing or even what it was about.  Our kids even participated in the High Holy Days.  As a family, we attended the Tot Service of Yom Kippur....

This past Labor Day, we spent the weekend with Josh's parents during their recent visit to Phoenix.  Much fun was had.  We celebrated Shabbat on Friday, visited the Arizona Science Center on Saturday and enjoyed a pool party on Sunday at Alisha's home. Our Saturday excursion to visit the Arizona Science Center was to experience the exhibit, Sesame Street Presents The Body.  The exhibit itself was very interactive and fun.  However, we were sorely disappointed that there were not Sesame Street characters roaming the exhibit.  In fact, there was only one character available to interact with, Cookie Monster.  He did not even make an appearance at the exhibit until an hour after opening time.  And then, when he did arrive, he was only available to kids who waited in a very long wait line to see him.  Sadly, our kids never visited with Cookie Monster that morning.  Aiden hanging out in Elmo's ...

To all of the grandparents in our life ... Happy Grandparents' Day! And for those loving remarks, she was rewarded with a half hour of television.  

As a last hurrah of the summer, we decided to take an extended weekend trip to Coronado, California, with our friends, the Richards.  They had extended an invite earlier this summer and we gladly accepted.  Who wouldn't want to escape to Coronado at the end of August!?!  We cannot thank them enough for the lodging, the hospitality and the good times had by all.  All four of the kids are very close in age and remarkably played very well together.  A daily trip to the beach was mandatory and absolutely beautiful. It was a very short walk from where we were staying and the kids exhausted themselves playing in the sand.  In fact, we never had to get in our car the entire time we were there.  Everything was in walking distance.  So relaxing and enjoyable.  What a memorable trip!  We cannot wait for our next Coronado vacation. Thank you again, Tommy, Yolanda, Tom and Becky!  We had such a great ti...

Happy Jewish New Year 5774!   May the New Year be sweet and fruitful for all.

Over a year ago, my Jewish learning journey began.  Josh and I attended a Humanistic Judaism course taught by Rabbi Adam Chalom in Scottsdale.  We both instantly connected with the Rabbi, their values and joined their local congregation as members.  Throughout the past year, we continued to learn much about Judaism.  We attended several Shabbat services on Friday night, celebrated many of the holidays separately and with the congregation, and we enrolled Madilyn in Sunlight Sunday school to teach her about Judaism from the child's perspective.  We found this to be a good experience for us, however, after the past year, I was yearning to learn more about Judaism and looking for a community of people for our family to have a deeper connection. Thus begins the next chapter of my Jewish journey.  This fall I have decided to take a religion course -- Introduction to Judaism .   For the next eighteen weeks, every Tuesday night, I will be learning...

This summer, we decided that the kids should take swimming lessons.  We both firmly believe that our kids need to be strong swimmers.  Sadly, Aiden's swim lessons never worked out due to our crazy summer schedules.  However, we did get Madi's lessons scheduled during mid-July.  The lessons were scheduled at six o'clock every weeknight for two weeks.  We figured that Madilyn would do really well since she *loves* to swim and her skills had been improving more every time she swam.  Well, we took her to lessons the first night and it was a fiasco.  As soon as Josh dropped her off with her swim instructor, she screamed and cried the entire class -- thirty minutes straight.  She would do the exercises that the instructor would ask her to perform, but the tears and cries continued.  We really thought that half way through the class, she would calm down and start enjoying the class.  Nope, she just continued to scream f...

Forty years ago, today, my parents were wed.  The year was 1973.  They were married at four o'clock in the afternoon.  The ceremony was held at The First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  The church was decorated with daisies and yellow roses.  The bridesmaids wore yellow halter dresses.  My aunt Angie sang "their" song, The Wedding Song by Paul Stookey .   The reception occurred at the Colorado Springs Country Club.  And the after party followed at the home of Rae and Frank Schuhmacher, my mother's parents.  It was a beautiful, magical day. Cutting the cake... Dad and Grandpa Frank The Bridesmaids -- Aunt Becky, Aunt Jerre, & Aunt Sue Mom and Uncle Terry Grandma Helen & Grandma Rae At the reception The beautiful bride What is even more magical is that my parents are still married forty years later.  I am so in awe of this accomplishme...

Last Saturday evening, Josh and I decided last minute that we wanted to have a date night.  We wanted to check out a restaurant we had heard some good things about and then go to the new  Wolverine movie.  Thankfully, my sister and parents agreed to watch the kids.  After we dropped off the kids, we headed over to Desert Ridge to try out the restaurant we had heard so much about.  It is called Sushi Station.   They call themselves a "revolving" sushi bar.  I would call it more of a conveyor belt sushi restaurant.  We were seated at a table and right next to the table is a conveyor belt.  As you sit, several different plates of sushi dishes are passing by you on the conveyor belt.  Whenever you see a dish that you would like to eat, you grab it, eat it and pile up your plates.  Every plate has a different color and price amount.  At the end of the meal, your plates are added up and that is the amount that you owe for you...

At the beginning of August, one of my clients had scheduled their annual health fair in Laughlin, Nevada, and requested my attendance to speak on health care reform and their employee benefit package.  So, of course, I agreed to attend.  At the same time, as a family, we were trying to plan our next trip to see Josh's grandparents in Laguna Woods to celebrate their anniversary.  So, once this business trip was scheduled, we decided to couple it with the trip to California and make a long weekend of it.  The trip to Laughlin was short -- we drove in on Thursday and left Friday afternoon after the health fair.  The health fair was at the Aquarius Hotel and Casino, so we stayed there on Thursday night.  Madilyn's expression when we walked into the casino was priceless.  I really wish that I had a video of it.  Her eyes opened very big and she looked right at me and exclaimed "Wow! I want to play that! (as she poin...

To one of my favorite couples, On this special day, I wanted to extend a little note expressing how grateful and lucky I am to have you in my life. When I married your grandson just over four years ago, you welcomed me into your lives with hugs and kisses and I became your grand-daughter.  For that, I am so truly thankful.  When my kids were born, you showered them with gifts, love and tenderness and they became your great-grandkids.  For that, they are truly blessed. When I call to chat, you always have a listening ear, a funny story to share or even a gripe of your own.  For this, I am happy. When I wanted to learn more about my husband's Jewish heritage, you taught me through Yiddish words, family stories and cultural traditions and foods.  With that knowledge, I feel connected to my husband's roots more than ever. Everyday at sundown, when your glasses are filled with wine, you toast each other and cement it with a kiss on the lips, it ...