Category Archives looking back

My new second grader

Dear NHL,

September seems like such a long time ago. You went into school at the start of 1st grade and were nervous. You had a new backpack that seemed so big at the time. You did not know your teacher and were anxious to see your friends.

Looking a little worried

Fast forward to June, last Thursday to be exact. That afternoon it was official, you are now a second grader! It is hard to believe that you are finished with the first grader and moving on up in elementary school. You have learned so much in the last year and have made us so proud. In the last year you have read well over 200 books and counting. That scared little boy that you see above on the first day of school is no longer here. You are so much more confident now. Here you are on the last day of school as you learned who your 2nd grader teacher will likely be.

New Second Grader

That last bit of my little boy is gone since you have grown up so much this year. I really hope you know how much I love you. I am so excited that you will be going to camp this summer. I think you will have a lot of fun running, playing and exploring all that they have to offer. Of course, the days that you are not at camp, JSL and I will have adventures with you. We will do crafts, bowl, go to the park, swim, dance, sing and be silly together. I want your summers to be as memorable as I recall mine being.

Love,

Mommy

_______________________________________

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TechyDad and Moi – 9 years ago today

Dear TechyDad,

Let me begin by saying that I am so lucky to have you as my husband. Not every woman can say that they have a husband that cooks dinner almost every night, loves to play and teach the kids all things geeky, work as my webmaster for free, likes to grocery shop and is an all around amazing person, but I can! I know I do not say it enough, but thank you for being you. Sure we may hit a nerve with the other one from time to time, but that is to be expected when you have been married for nine years and counting. 
 11 Under the chuppah

It is hard to believe that nine years ago today we walked into the synagogue unmarried and left as husband and wife. The year of preparations were a whirlwind for a day that I would love to have back. The day that I became your wife was magical, but so much was a blur. If I could get that time back I would love it. I would have paid more attention to the little thing. Like the goofy smile when you signed our ketubah or look on your face when I came down the aisle to join you under the chuppah. Sure I can see these in photos, but I wish I had savored the moment a bit more. Of course, you know the truth. I was a little distracted during our actual ceremony. Underneath my layers of dress, I was doing the "gotta go" dance. Apparently my teacher bladder failed me that day. 
 16 - Our first dance

I wish I could remember more little details about our first dance as husband and life. Instead, I what sticks out in my head more are the images from thinking we were going to be killed during the Hora when raised up in the chairs. The expression on my face captured by the photographer says it all.

15  Help me . . . I'm going to die!

Of course, I would never want to go back in time if it meant that things would change. So much has happened over the last nine years. We have both grown up together. Sure we are both still kids at heart, but we have added a lot of responsibilities. Together we have two beautiful little boys, a house of our own and hopes/dreams/goals that we are both working toward.

21 - JL has trouble with his kippah while cutting cake

May we always remember the good times, learn from the tough times and help each other to focus on the things that matter most – our time together and with our family. 

C'est Moi with TechyDad

I love you with all of my heart and look forward to the rest of our lives together.

Love,

Your Angel Forever

P.S. For a walk down memory lane you can check out more wedding photos here.

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Off to a wedding we go

Yesterday morning, we packed up the car. In the back seat was a very excited three year old singing his own little song. In a sweet little voice, he was saying, "I goin’ to a wedding – a wedding!"  – over and over. He really had no clue what to expect. To be honest, neither did NHL since the only wedding he has been to was my brother’s just over five years ago.

When I was little, I remember heading out to western NY for long weekends. We would stay at a hotel and go to visit my mother’s first cousin MB and her family. As the only girl in the group of kids, I learned to play with the boys. Here I am in the middle of RB and JB. Not sure where my brother was at this moment (probably too little for the swings).

Cousins in the 80's

Fast forward 20+ years and we are all grown up now. I was the first of the bunch married almost nine years ago. Here I am today with my husband, you know TechyDad.

C'est Moi with TechyDad

JB was married in December to LB (another teacher in the family). Sadly, we were not able to go to their wedding across the country. I had a nice time chatting with LB several times and look forward to seeing them again soon.

JB and his wife LB

Yesterday, it was RB’s wedding that we went to. He and KB are now husband and wife. Here is a photo of the newly married couple just before they cut their wedding cake.

RB and his beautiful new bride KB

We had a fabulous time and there is so much to share. Here is one photo of my little guys having a blast at the wedding festivities.

My boys were party animals

Thank you again to cousins MB and LB for inviting our entire family to be party of this special occasion. Mazel tov again on both of your boys being married!

TheAngelForever

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Burst water pipe blues

Monday morning, I was feeling rather ambitious. I was moving out the clothing that NHL had outgrown, switching out JSL’s fall items for summer and heading down to the basement for laundry/get the next size items for summer. Minutes later, things in my little world were changing. To give you a sense, this was how I felt this morning:

Eeyore kind of day coffee

Thank you Keurig machine at Mom and Dad’s house. You are definitely my hero today! Now, back to yesterday.

When I went downstairs, I saw water on the ground. Let me rephrase that, I saw a lot of  water! Over 3/4 of the basement floor was wet. It was not deep, but I could hear water rushing. This was not in the usual spot. I immediately screamed for TechyDad to come. Much to our horror we quickly found the culprit. There was geyser of water from a pipe in the back corner of the basement.

I was freaked out and knew it was not good. I called my father and he had someone come over to help us try to stop the flow. Nada – so we called the city. They were at the house in about an hour. By this time, I was already gone. I took NHL to school and went to my parents house since we had no running water.

They eventually came and told TechyDad that it was a pipe running to our main service line and we would likely need to replace that entire line. My heart sank when I heard this. This would be beyond expensive and require a huge section of our yard to be dug up.

To make a long story short, two people came to look. The first plumber I called said they would be there in 2-3 hours. Then, my father mentioned another person to call. He was there in 20 minutes. He gave us a price. I had to get back to him after I heard from our insurance company to see if anything would be covered. Nada on that (mixed feelings after the roof fiasco just a month ago). I told him that we had another plumber coming and not to be insulted. The other plumber came and gave us a better price. The catch – they could not do the work until Thursday at the earliest and he told us we could not wait. So we went ahead, signed a contract with the first person. That check hurt to write.

The saga continued. When they turned the main water off, the water kept flowing. Yes, the river in my basement was still going and going to the drain on the other end. TechyDad went to clean up some with the wet/dry vac and saw more of a mess. As he was sucking water up, more was coming. He called the water department again. Different stories were given, the potential for our bill was getting larger by the minute. I was in tears hearing the story over the phone. Lucky for us, the two men went into the basement and they found something. There was a covered sewer pipe right next to problem pipe. Thanks to TechyDad cleaning that area, they were able to see it and removed the spot and it shot right down there

Below is a view of the leaking pipe area this morning. Looks SO much better than yesterday, but who knows what will happen today as the work progresses.

The culprit - 24 hours later

Fast forward to this morning. After 2 hours of sleep, I took JSL to the doctor and then went to our house. The power company, telephone company and numerous other had come to check in so they would know where it was safe to dig. There were several large vehicles parked outside our house. Before I knew it, this was the scene:

The mess at our house

I left the house since it was raining and was told they would call if anything was needed. Now, I wait and see. With any luck, they will be able to fix it and restore the water. The box outside may also need to be replaced will will add a significant amount of additional spending on this project.

On that note, I am off to rest while waiting to hopefully hear some good news about the dig site in my front yard. Once again, I wish that dull moment would come soon.

TheAngelForever

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Sex and the City 2 Soundtrack

In the summer of 2004, TechyDad and I decided that we really wanted to check out a show that had been on HBO and was ending. Everyone seemed to watch the show and loved it. All of the television shows at the time were talking about how the series would wrap up. That summer, TechyDad and I started to rent DVDs of Sex in the City one at at a time and eventually caught up with the end of the series. We quickly watched all of the adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Some nights, we would watch an entire DVD and I would go out the following day to secure the next DVD to watch.

To say that we were hooked would be an understatement. When it was over, we waited to see what would happen next. Would Carrie and Big come back in a movie with the rest of the girls? Then they did and once again this summer the girls are back on the big screen in Sex and the City 2 (released May 27th). While I may not be a fan of their fashions for myself (love the shoes – but no way they would work for me), I adore the hip and fun music that has been featured in the show and movies.

Sex and the City 2 Soundtrack

Recently, I was asked by One2One Network to review the new Sex and the City 2 soundtrack (available in stores May 25th). I jumped at the opportunity to listen and hear what I hope to soon witness when I get to see the movie on the big screen.

More about Sex and the City 2 Soundtrack:

The soundtrack features a brand-new duet "Love is Your Color" by Grammy and Academy Award® winner Jennifer Hudson, along with global superstar, multi-platinum recording artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee Leona Lewis.  

Other highlights from this ‘getting-ready-to-go-out’ soundtrack include a new song by platinum-selling  CeeLo and International superstar Dido also contributes an exclusive new track. Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe, Tony and Academy Award® winner Liza Minnelli covers Beyonce’s chart-topper “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” and 12-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys performs her own extraordinary new version of the Blondie classic “Rapture”.

The soundtrack also features the stars of Sex and the City 2, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon, performing the Helen Reddy classic “I Am Woman.”

 Sex and the City 2

Tracklisting

1. Alicia Keys “Rapture”
2. Dido “Everything to Lose”
3. Cee Lo “Language of Love”
4. Erykah Badu “Window Seat”
5. Natacha Atlas “Kidda”
6. Michael McGregor “Euphrates Dream”
7. Liza Minnelli “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
8. Ricki-Lee "Can’t Touch It"
9. Alicia Keys "Emire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"
10. Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis "Love Is Your Color"
11. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim  Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon “I Am Woman”
12. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “If Ever I Would Leave You”
13. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “Sunrise, Sunset”
14. Sex and the City Men’s Choir “Till There Was You”
15.  Shayna Steele, Jordan Ballard, Kamilah Marshall “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”
16.  Liza Minnelli with Billy Stritch “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”
17.  Cyndi Lauper “True Colors”
18.  Aaron Zigman “Divas and Dunes”

More information can be found on the Sex in the City 2 Facebook page and you can also find out how to win a phone call from Sarah Jessica Parker here.

SATC Desert

My thoughts:

I have not been able to see Sex in the City 2 yet. I can not wait to have a night out and be able to see it with TechyDad since he liked the series as much as I did. Listening to the soundtrack has given me a sneak peek into the movie. I can imagine Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda strutting their stuff to the music. Of course, it also makes me even more anxious to see the film.

The music on the CD is an eclectic mixture. The sounds range from hip and today, to a middle eastern beat. You definitely can see the girls walking in the desert as pictured above while listening to songs like "Kidda" and "Euphrates Dream" as a few examples. One of the songs that I was most curious about was Liza Minnelli singing Beyonce’s "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)". Thanks to being a self proclaimed Gleek, this song is now a sentimental favorite of mine. After seeing Ms. Minnelli on Joy Behar’s show one evening, I ran the the CD that had just arrived in the mail. TechyDad wanted to know what I was doing. I explained that I HAD to hear this song immediately. The song is "interesting" to say the least. Not bad, but a completely different spin to Beyonce. Now I am even more curious to see this scene from the movie!

One song that sticks out in my mind was "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" by Alicia Keys. The heart and soul, power and lyrics made it a song that I would like to hear over and over. There was also something special about the duet "Love is Your Color" with Jennifer Hudson and Leona Lewis. I can not put my finger on it, but it had a calming nature and was beautifully sung by the two artists. A sentimental favorite was  "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper is a sentimental favorite of mine. As a child of the 80’s, this song has always been there and I love how it continues to spread its wings with new projects like Sex in the City 2. A fun son on the CD was when Parker, Cattrall, Davis and Nixon sing "I Am Woman" together. I have a strange feeling this will be a ladies night out karaoke favorite (BlogHer ’10 anyone?!).

I really like this CD and will probably appreciate it even more once I get to see Sex in the City 2 in the theaters. So tell me, have you seen the movie yet? If you have, what do you think?

 

TheAngelForever

Disclosure: Thanks to One2One Network, I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.

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