30 Posts in 30 Days....check.

Today is the last day of NaBloPoMo...and I did it!

It's been quite a month!

What with the election...and being there....and celebrating birthday after birthday after birthday....

I hosted Haveil Havalim (wise to do so during November, wasn't it? Completely unplanned.)

Then suddenly it was Thanksgiving and I was posting about it.

It's hard to believe how quickly the month has gone by! See you in December for my Chanukah Countdown - exciting posts about Chanukah and a number of great giveaways....join me.

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Five Places I've Been This Week

Using the Hell out of your Digital Camera

Thanks to Angelina Jolie, having lots of kids is hip

Nice Jewish Guy - Calendar 2009

Making Your Own Homemade Oatmeal Packets

How to Peel and Cut a Butternut Squash

from my delicious - where have you been?

A Rant....about Turkey

Okay, so as you may know (hi to my 6 readers), I'm a vegetarian.

I don't eat turkey.

But that's not even what this is about.

I just don't get it.

Thanksgiving's biggest symbol is the turkey.

Not this one (although it does seem important to people):

(picture from Butterball.com)

But this one:












Can you please tell me how that cute little guy with the Pilgrim hat, the one that the kids color, make out of their handprints, act like (gobble gobble), read about and sing about....

...ends up on the dinner plate?

I'm quite sure that no one eats the other symbols of holidays. We don't eat the lulav and etrog. And I know that no one eats bunny on Easter (even though that one's not my holiday, I'm pretty sure about that.) We don't eat Uncle Sam on the 4th of July. We don't even really eat pumpkins so much on Halloween, we're much more about the candy.

So doesn't it seem a bit odd that we EAT the primary cute holiday symbol?

I'm just saying.

What's your Tuesday Torah?

Emotional Blogging....here I go...

Okay, so here I go again, it's November and it's time for NaBloPoMo (which always sounds faintly inappropriate to me when said aloud....but oh well.). So it begins. One month of daily posting. That was what got me into this mess fun in the first place - a challenge to blog daily for one month. In that case, it was August. Since then, I've really blogged almost daily. I did NaBloPoMo last year too, and found it to be quite fun to post every day.

And, it seems that it will make up for my non-blogging for the past month!

But....I blog without guilt.

But why is the title of this post "emotional blogging"? I plan to be very emotional in the next few days.

"As we stand at the crossroads of history..."

I can't seem to read the paper or watch the news or YouTube without a little tear in my eye. I am shaking with anticipation for Tuesday's expression of choice. Anticipation, fear, and a suppressed joy. Suppressed, because I am too scared to fully revel in what I hope will happen. This is not a political blog, I do not tell my readers what to do or think. I am an individual with individual beliefs and opinions.

But my emotional cup runneth over.

Today, we celebrated the Adult B'nai Mitzvah of 11 people (10 women, 1 man). Together, they stood on the bima of our congregation and read from the Torah. For each of them, it was a mountain, a hurdle, a milestone. Each of them shared it with family and friends. And I was there with them.

As they wept, I wept. (I told you, I'm awfully emotional these days!)

We are constantly at a crossroads in our lives. Constantly making choices that send us in one direction or another. Each moment we choose the path we will take.

This month in my household is the month of birthdays. Three of us have November celebrations, and each one is cause for such joy. Another year older, another year wiser. The beginning of a new year of discovery, growth and life. We celebrate each other and our delight in the simple pleasures of living.

I plan to cry a lot.

So join me on my November journey. I'll be here often, regularly, I promise....daily, I do believe.

May blessings runneth over.