Sameach b' Pringles

We all know that I did not grow up keeping kosher, and although there are very few foods that I truly miss eating, I'd say the two at the top of my list are Skittles and Sunchips.

Well! Wasn't I happily surprised when I used a coupon to buy 6 cans of Pringles and discovered multigrain Pringles with cheddar. They taste just like sunchips...only kosher! Hooray!


Now if only I could find kosher Skittles...

I'm a Gleek!

Somehow I joined the Glee bandwagon a bit late in the game, but once I discovered the show (near the end of the first season), I was hooked. It's like the show was designed with my interests in mind: teen dramas and musicals! What's not to love?!

When I discovered that the Glee Live tour was coming to my area, I decided that I just had to go. Unfortunately, my Glee compatriots at work had a previous engagement, and D was busy running in a charity run, so I went by myself. It was SO worth it.

I arrived before the doors opened (after taking car, train, and bus to finally arrive at the Izod center) and enjoyed observing the many different costumes I saw in the crowd. The crowd was largely filled with teenage girls, their parent or guardian, and gay men. I was part of the larger-than-expected minority of frum 30-somethings that I saw wandering around.

The opening act was the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, a group of dancer-acrobats who entertained for a while. They were good, but it was clear that nobody in the crowd was there to see them perform! As soon as they finished, some movie producers came on stage and announced that the concert was going to be filmed for the Glee 3-D movie coming to a theater near you this summer. They had the crowd do a few exercises that they filmed for the movie, and there were cameras and sound guys EVERYWHERE. Pretty cool.

The Glee show itself was nothing short of AWESOME!!! The cast, including Sue Sylvester, was all performing in character, and they performed nonstop for about 90 minutes, then finished with 4 encores. A real highlight was when Gwyneth Paltrow made a surprise appearance and performed Cee Lo with the cast. I was up, out of my seat, busting a move and screaming my head off. This, I have realized, is a great reason to go to a silly concert by yourself. Even if the lovely gentlemen next to me thought I was a lunatic, I will never see them again! The dancing and singing were fabulous. The energy was great. The whole night was just perfect (except for getting stuck in construction traffic on the West Side Highway and getting home after 1am).

There's something about Glee that just makes me truly happy and inspired. It may be a cheesy tv show, but it's feel-good and happy and fun. I can't wait til next year's concert!

The Happiest Mug Shot I've Ever Seen

Thank you CNN.com

A Proud Ima

Yesterday was a day full of nachas for this proud Ima.

First, I attended YS's graduation from his 3 year-old class. Unlike all past performances or events I have attended at his school, this time he actually participated fully, sang loudly and proudly, did all of the hand motions, and actually seemed to enjoy himself! I could tell that he was proud of himself, and of course I was beaming with pride. It was a big year academically for YS! He now knows all of his letters and how to write them, both in English and Hebrew. He knows much more parsha and probably knows more about some of the chagim than I do! When he colors, he stays within the lines! He has developed (or maybe just unearthed) a deep love and appreciation for learning, and it's wonderful to observe. He is truly saddened by the end of the school year, even though he will spend his summer playing and learning at his yeshiva's summer camp.

AM also amazed me yesterday! He said his longest sentence yet: "I want more water in my cup please." Atta boy! I was worried about him being able to communicate his needs now that he's starting camp in a week, but after last night, I'm a little less concerned.

What a good day to be their Ima!

So far so good!

The nay-sayers can say nay, but my new life as a couponer is AWESOME! Yes, it takes time. Yes, it takes preparation. But, in just two shopping trips (one to A&P, one to Harmon Beauty Supplies), I have already saved $88.68!

You may say nay. I say, "$88.68 IS A LOT OF MONEY!"

The whole experience was truly invigorating. First of all, we all know I love a good project (remember when I was going to teach myself ballet from the Encyclopedia?). This project is full of math and spreadsheets and binders and organization...basically all of the things I love the best. Second, when I got to A&P yesterday, a woman actually came up to me and asked, "Are you a coupon lady?" I was schepping nachas. Third, as I stood at the register, I got to feel fear and trepidation. What would happen? Would the dollars come off like I had anticipated? Would I accidentally overspend? Fourth, without snorting coke or shooting up heroin, I got to experience a great, natural high when the final total showed up on the screen. SUCCESS!

I did not buy stupid stuff we don't need or want. I bought cereal and salad dressing and ice cream. We all know how much I love ice cream! My children are not sleeping on top of piles of cat food (we have no cat). My clothing is not being put into storage to make space for contact lens solution (we don't wear glasses).

I have yet to leave the store with $900 worth of groceries that cost me $0.01, but I did save $88.68, and that's not too shabby!

A final plus: as I was looking over my receipt last night and cutting new coupons, YS was asking me questions, and I was able to give him a good lesson about saving money and being cost-conscious. It was a teachable moment!

I love my new hobby. :)

My Work Family

It's hard being away from my family all day while I'm at the office, so my partner-in-crime got me a little work family to keep on my desk.

For some reason the orange "Rachel" shmooshie-chicken-ball is balding. The AM shmooshie-chicken-ball isn't a chicken ball at all. It's actually a light-up ring (I tried to take a photo of it lighting up, but it didn't turn out).

These family members don't talk back. They don't run around trying to hit me - or each other. They don't wake me up at ungodly hours of the morning.

They also don't bring me delicious salmon avocado salads for dinner. They don't give me cute little slobbery kisses. They don't get excited when they see me each day.

I guess every family has its ups and downs.