Ruminations from the Temple

the one and only pic from this year I love Shavuot ...it's my favorite festival in the cycle. Oh sure, I love Hanukkah, and Pesach is great after all the prep is done, but Shavuot is just plain-ole fun for me. All my faves in one holiday; friends, study, yummy food and staying up all night - who doesn't love all that?? This year we studied each other - ha! Actually, we busted out the personality profiles again and dug deeper, getting to know one another better. Then we moved on to discussion about keeping Torah, following HaShem and how important it is to study ancient culture in relation to the Apostolic Scripture (New Testament). Come morning, we read Scripture together, more discussion ensued and man, it was great...until folks passed out! This year it was a double Shabbat, so there was no guilt of being lazy all day after our all-nighter! Wish I would have gotten more pics - like one of Laura coercing everyone to taste Limon-flavored potato chips and Netanya snipi

meet I-5YQ...the new droid This morning the sun is shining, there is mundane tasks on the do-list and G-d is still on the throne. It's a good day! I'm grateful for my Padawan; there is no way I could even begin to list them here. I'm grateful for such technology! I'm thrilled with my new laptop, and so grateful for Van at the Tacoma Best Buy. He was wonderful! I'm grateful to have found a good general practitioner for the kids...and close, too. I'm grateful for public places and the fact that you never know who will be in those places. I'm grateful for voice recorders and the chutzpah to record my own voice. I'm grateful for quiet mornings and music from Pandora . I'm grateful for Starbucks - what did we ever do without them? (...and Subway sandwich shops, too?) I'm grateful for real friendships and love. I'm so grateful for love. I'm grateful for sweet movies like Salmon Fishing on the Yemen . I'm grateful fo

Why do I think hardly anyone saw this movie ? I didn't hear anything about it, other than an obscure trailer long ago. Thankfully, Padawan kept it in mind and was watching for it to show up at the cheap theater. For a paltry $1 per ticket, we got a real treat. Ewan McGregor was very believable as Dr. Alfred Jones, a rather nerdy fisheries expert, who is thrust into a position of consultant on a far-fetched dream of bringing salmon to the Yemen. This is a wonderful and sweet chick-flick. What I liked: watching Ewan McGregor for 107 minutes. listening to Ewan McGregor for 107 minutes. watching the Sheikh, played by Arm Waked, for somewhat less than 107 minutes. the story was easy to watch, although pretty predictable. I loved the dry British humor! that it was a feel-good movie with excellent cinematography (there are some really great camera shots!) What I didn't like: Really, not much. It reminded me of films made in the 80s that were solely for the purpo

I awoke with you on my mind. No, you didn't know...no way that you could. But before my feet left the blankets for the chilly floor, I prayed for you. I prayed for a good day for you...a day filled with purpose and plan; a day where you could give love and feel love, a day where the smile of a child could warm your heart, and your returning smile would warm theirs, as well. I made my way to the coffeemaker with those words echoing in my head. Then, even as hot water steamed up my reflection, I couldn't help but to bring you to the Holy One yet again. I prayed that your tasks for this day went well, and that you had all the help you needed. I reminded the LORD of your heart, and how so many times you left your own needs unheeded. I then humbly requested continued health for you and your beloved - for this day and for tomorrow, even the many days still yet to come. As I stepped into my heels, I tried to put you out of mind, and freely admit I had some success - most subli

A spoon does not know the taste of soup, nor a learned fool the taste of wisdom.   As we all continue on this mysterious journey of our life, I am grateful. I am grateful for the wisdom of others. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my ideas and thoughts with others. I'm grateful for smiles, warm hugs and afternoons sitting in the sun on a pier. I'm grateful for technology and that I'm living in this time to enjoy it. I'm grateful to see and appreciate beauty around me. I'm grateful when it's time to go to bed and temporarily taste true rest. I'm grateful when it's time to arise to a new morning. I'm grateful for my bestie, who diligently tries to take care of me. I'm grateful for personality profiles, admission forms and opportunities to do it together. Words form the thread on which we string our experiences. ~Aldous Huxley I'm grateful for the opportunity to sing and praise our LORD despite my weakness. I

Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army. Am I the last one to see this movie ? Everyone was so excited to see it, even going to midnight showings of the action-packed superhero extravaganza. Great reviews and woohoos! on facebook absolutely drove me to see the movie. Thankfully, it was showing in non-3D, and I had free passes that I was saving for a good reason to go to the theater. So, everyone knows the story, right? Honestly, I don't know if I can tell you the story, other than Mace Windu...er, Fury goes against some mysterious council to put together the Avengers, a group of super-skilled warriors with PTSD to fight invaders that want to take over Earth. Yep, the stuff of comic books, for sure. Oops, sorry... graphic novels . What I liked: The heroes were fab! Black Widow, Captain America...Iron Man!!  Oh yes, Tony Stark - what a character! (Who said they don't create

Well, I'm positive that the writer of this pithy thought didn't have politicians in mind, but it sure fits. For me, just one appearance on David Letterman can blow a candidate in my mind, regardless of party affiliation. Come on...everyone knows they are only on the show for publicity and to win votes. Trying to come across that they are just the same as the average-joe-voter livin' large in the vinyl recliner with a beer in his hand and his dog snorin' in his lap is irksome, to say the least. As my son and I walked into the doctor's waiting room this morning, I was immediately assaulted with the mid-day talk show called The View. You may be familiar with it. Personally, I could care less about the show, their political agenda or the going hairstyle of the day. However, what caught my attention was their guest - none other than the President of the United States. I was so disgusted that I turned to my son and acidly asked, "doesn't the President have a

9: Hate 10: Waiting 11: Wheels 12: Fear 13: Pleasure 14: Forty-two 15: Wood 16: Ordinary matters 17: Time 18: Fire 19: White 20: Bird 21: Moon 22: Portrait 23: Fish tales 24: Crowd 25: The future 26: My toothbrush 27: Nude 28: Outlier 29: Lines 30: The Devil

As the sun streamed through my bedroom window this beautiful, spring Mother's Day morning, I laid in bed and wrote a whole blog post in my head. When that happens, I struggle to retain it long enough to find my way to a keyboard to record those quickly fading sentences and magical paragraph flow. Ah, the mind of a writer (of sorts)...a sieve. The first thing I thought of, of course, was my own mother. (A bunny trail thought tried to distract, calling attention to the fact that my beloved hubby really needed to call his own mother, but I managed to set that aside for the moment.) My mother, of blessed memory, was the consummate mother in that she always gave her all to caring for others, especially her children. Forever concerned about whether everyone was getting enough to eat, she was a fabulous cook. She absolutely missed her calling as a nurse, but my brother and I certainly reaped the benefits of her natural tendencies to care for the sick and needy. She taught, and model

ingredients: sand salt sunshine mix in: cameras family senses now include: beauty solitude birds when absorbed, add: sunglasses endless waves pocket treasures enjoy: a place to walk a place to breathe a place to observe a place to be serves 8

Postcard from Tacoma Community College It is necessary, then, to cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing  that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously.  And because all things have contributed to your advancement,  you should include all things in your gratitude. ~Wallace D. Wattles I am grateful. I am grateful that my LORD sees me, hears me and gently guides my steps. I will be eternally grateful that I can bless Him by loving others. I'm grateful to find a stereo for the homeshul that was in my price range and sounds great. I'm grateful for time with the Life Center choir...and for all the laughter! I'm grateful for cheap flash drives. I'm grateful for a day set aside for friends. I'm grateful for reading glasses, helpful college advisors and a sweet, new friend, Charity. I'm grateful that my daughter can use my hiking backpack (it was just collecting dust sitting in a drawer!). I'm grateful for La

What we have learned from others  becomes our own reflection. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Honestly, I never wanted to go back to school. My public high school experience was dismal despite a meager few academic bright spots. A couple of years out of high school, a friend convinced me that I needed to go to college, so I made a year-long effort in community college managing to glean enough skills to work as an office administrator. After proving to myself that I could pull straight As with a full load my last quarter, I figured I'd had enough and back to the workforce I went, with no degree. I never looked back. Office administrative, secretarial and support positions came and went until I found myself in the ultimate administrative job; wife and mother. I was thrilled that I had enough college credit accrued to qualify for homeschooling my children (according to the State of Washington), but still didn't yearn to step back into a classroom, myself. In fact, I was happy

With you, the Fourth, may it be. Well, it's Star Wars Day , May the 4th. I don't usually go for puns, but this one is catchy. Besides, Star Wars is my 'obsession', after all. I am very grateful for the Star Wars franchise or saga, whichever term you wish to use. It has afforded me wonderful entertainment, thought-provoking themes and awesome heroes, a costuming hobby that is an absolute blast, fabulous geeky friends who are some of the most interesting, fun-loving and accepting people I've ever met and a well-needed escape when my life got way too difficult to face all at once. I've taken a lot of crap for my so-called obsession, but they can take their religious judgment and just stick it . Ignorance is...well, ignorance. Their loss. I am eternally grateful to be out of a congregation, especially a small, narrow-minded, legalistic one. Some of the most mean-spirited, conniving and self-serving people I have ever met have been within the confines of a

Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it. ~Ernest Holmes 8: A stranger 9: Hate 10: Waiting 11: Wheels 12: Fear 13: Pleasure 14: Forty-two 15: Wood 16: Ordinary matters 17: Time 18: Fire 19: White 20: Bird 21: Moon 22: Portrait 23: Fish tales 24: Crowd 25: The future 26: My toothbrush 27: Nude 28: Outlier 29: Lines 30: The Devil

Everyone knows that relationships take work, right? Lots of hard work. But, in many cases, relationships can be sustained effectively by simply not offending the other party. Plodding along without real growth or deepening of intimacy is acceptable, even if not optimal. At the very least, both parties can count the relationship as a success merely by the fact that it has not ended on a bad note. In contrast, there are those that are hell-bent to commit relational suicide. Just as there are many unthinkable ways to end one's life, there are definitely bloody, painful and tragic ways to end friendship as well. In an effort to bring public awareness to an infrequently discussed and unnecessary tragedy, I have listed below some of the glaring symptoms of impending relational suicide. Hopefully, you don't recognize any of these tell-tale signs: Putting unrealistic expectations upon others or placing them on a pedestal. Twisting or taking pleasure in using the words of o