Mood:
I love peanut butter!
This was actually on Saturday, but why not keep celebrating it? Even though I love it, a little can go a long way. I especially like the crunchy kind. Feels more 'real' if I can crunch down on a peanut bit. The smooth stuff, to me, might only be good in baked goods.
This is my wallpaper for March. As it says, it's Hibird from Hitman Reborn. He's Hibari's bird. Most of the time he's with Hibari, unless told to leave, which isn't often. Thought it was cute, funny, and spring-like. The sakura flowers are kind of funny, since Hibari has an aversion to them. Ever since he first fought Mukuro, he's kind of been afraid of them. Wonder what he'd do if Hibird actually gave those to Hibari...
My Italy calendar features Tuscany this month. We're back up a bit towards the north. There's some info on the region and its history. The main pic's of a church called San Biagio just outside the city of Montepulciano. Looks pretty cool.
My Jewish calendar features 3 megillot (plural for megillah, lit. 'scroll') or Esther scrolls. The main one has an anonymous maker, made out of parchment and wood, from the Netherlands; 1700-1750. It's rather interesting looking. There are some illustrations where they look like they may be acting out some of the parts in the story. And, there are weird looking animals encircling the text. Another one had an anonymous maker, made out of silver and parchment; 1700-1750. (They don't mention where it was from. Maybe it's from the Netherlands, too?) It looks kind of like a mini fancy Torah. (Not all of them look like that.) The last megillah was also made anonymously, made out of parchment, ivory, and silk; 1800-1850. (The place isn't listed for this one, so maybe it's also from the Netherlands?) It's really tiny looking, has only one 'roller', and has very tiny print. Kind of cool looking ones. And, really old. That makes them even more interesting.
We read the megillah on Purim. It's the story of Esther. We're told to recite it every Purim. Only since it's supposed to be a fun holiday, people act it out, do things when certain names are mentioned, if just read they might do it in a certain accent, etc. It's very interactive. That itself can be a lot of fun. Purim is on the 16th, and Shushan Purim is the next day. In cities that were walled at the time of Joshua, Purim is celebrated the day after. (Some interpret it loosely to mean all walled cities.) Shushan (the city in the story) was a walled city, and according to the megillah, deliverance from the massacre wasn't complete until the next day. People living in Jerusalem celebrate it then. (They're one of the few we know for sure was a walled city back then.) I decided that I might want to go to the 'Anatevka' or Fiddler on the Roof-themed one. It sounds like it'd be fun! They're going to recite it in Russian accents, have a Russian 'peasant' lunch, they've asked people to dress up according to the theme, there's an art show, and more. I'm not sure what I'll wear, though...
Today is the first day of the 2nd month of Adar or Adar II. (There are 2 months of Adar during a leap year.) Pesach or Passover is a month after Purim. Crazy that it's coming up so quickly!
The month-long holidays are: National Celery Month, National Noodle Month, National Peanut Month, National Frozen Food Month, Bell Peppers and Broccoli Month, Berries and Cherries Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, National Craft Month. Some are important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. Lots of awesome food ones! Cool, I'm Irish-American! Good to connect with people's heritages. Crafts can be fun. I'm not too into them, but once in a while they can be fun to do.
Couldn't sleep very well last night.
So, I got up even earlier than I'd like to. I think I was wide awake at 4:30, and tried to make myself go back to sleep. I couldn't, and just decided to get up. Funny, because I ended up going to bed slightly later than I'd like. But, that was mainly because my grandpa called, and we hadn't talked for a long time. Plus, it was 3 hours later over there, but he decided to call us anyways. So, I would have felt guilty if I hadn't talked to him.
Tried a new restaurant called Elmer's last night. It replaced a not so great or so-so one (Taprock). And, before that there was another restaurant that everyone seemed to like. (Mitzel's.) And, I have some pretty fond memories of it.
(It looked different back then.) There was a huge fire that basically destroyed everything, and after it was remodeled, the so-so restaurant went in. This place was much better. They used the same layout, the seats were the same, and the menu's design looked similar. But, they had some much more exciting sounding stuff. They had German pancakes, omelets, crepes, cinnamon bun French toast, lots of burgers, fish and chips, steaks, etc. I had their ranch house burger. It had a pretty thick patty, cheddar, an onion ring, BBQ sauce, lettuce, their 'special' burger sauce mixed in with the lettuce, and a crispy bun. It was very good.
There was a really big pickle and some fries on the side. The fries actually had flavor, and were a decent cut. Very good all around.
I decided to sign into Plenty of Fish and Jewcier a few days ago. I hadn't been on either for a long time. Its been the longest time since I've signed in to Jewcier. Had to actually reactivate it.
I mainly wanted to check out the revamped version of it. Anyways, as soon as I signed into both, I had a ton of guys saying they wanted to meet me or were messaging me. (There's a button on POF that says Meet Me under a person's pic. If someone clicks it, you get an automated message saying someone wants to meet you.) It was weird, because the last time I signed in, I barely had anyone message/want to meet me. I'm not really used to it. I wonder what changed...
Although, I kind of understand Jewcier being different since they've changed their system a bit. It still surprised me. Also, there were some decent looking guys who messaged me this time. Most of those messages were through Jewcier, so they're Jewish too. Yay!
One said on his profile that he's trying to come up with as many recipes for banana bread as he can, and that maybe someone could taste-test it for him. He'll cook other things for them too. Yay, someone who likes to cook, too! That'd be awesome!
But, I might gain weight...Anyways, should be interesting to look into these.
Did more of that oc writing meme. I feel like I'm really getting into them. Funny that one of the questions was about a zombie apocalypse. There aren't that many zombies in their world, but they exist. And the question was aimed at just a few of the demons. They don't really care. So to them it was kind of a boring question. It's fun for me though to write about these 'situtations'.
The dinner party one was interesting, too. I think I'm close to finishing this meme.
Studied more kanji through JapaneseClass' site. Did pretty well this time. Had some pretty long combos. (The more questions you get correct in a row, the higher the combo.) Made it to the front page. If you gain enough points in one day, you're added to the top ranked scorers for the day.
On Saturday, I had my own little afternoon Shabbat service. I hadn't done that in a long time. It felt kind of nice.
Also, read the portion or parsha. It's the last one for Exodus.
Later, I also had my own Havdalah service. I haven't done Havdalah at home since Mom did it occasionally. And, that was years ago.
It's the concluding service or ceremony for Shabbat. A lot of people just do it at home. It's a little dangerous if you're by yourself, because of how big the candle's flame can get. It's a special braided candle. Usually pretty colorful. I used the one I got from Tzfat or Safed. It was from a candle shop where they actually make some of the stuff in front of their customers. I got a rather large one from them. I also used a spice box Mom made a long time ago. Still smelled awesome! We didn't have regular grape juice, so I used some sparkling grape/raspberry juice. (It's like a fancy French spritzer we got from Costco a while ago.) Havdalah is one of my fave services/ceremonies. It's beautiful, when with others it brings them closer together, and it feels cozy or homey too. It's supposed to be bittersweet, because it's the end of Shabbat, but the beginning of another possibly joy-filled or good week.
It's a short ceremony, too.
I installed the newest version of Spybot Search & Destroy. Thought I'd see how my system was doing. I had over 48,000 temp files, and over 500 'threats'.
Got rid of them, and things are running much smoother. My computer isn't 'thinking' so hard. Also, decided to install the newest version of Panda Cloud. It's a great antivirus thing, where most of it is stored in the cloud. It monitors computers from all over the world at once. When a new virus is found, it updates itself and takes care of it right away. It's pretty awesome. It has things Spybot S&D doesn't have, and vice versa. So, it's good to have both. It's running even smoother now. I checked, and apparently it freed up 3 more gb. Crazy! That's about the same amount I cleared out a few months ago. So, all together I've freed up around 6 gb. That's a lot.
deviantART fave: Pizza Cake I did not make this! An awesome looking cake made to look like a pizza. The toppings are made out of chocolate, fruit jelly, and icing. It looks amazing. I love those sweets that look like actual dishes. They're cool and very creative, especially when done right.
Mood:
Wow! It's already the 2nd day. We didn't put up a sukkah this year, but the weather has been a bit odd, so not the best time to sit in it anyways. Couldn't attend the synagogue's Sukkot thing Wednesday night. I might be able to go to a singles' sushi night under a sukkah on Monday. So, there's a possibility I'll have at least one opportunity to be inside one.
Sukkot's a harvest holiday that lasts for 8 days. Sukkot is the plural form of sukkah or 'booth'. A sukkah is a temporary structure, reminding us of the temporary dwellings our ancestors lived in for 40 years in the desert. We usually at least eat all our meals inside it. People are encouraged to spend as much time as they can in it. Some even sleep in it, kind of like they're camping. I want to try that in the future sometime...The most amount of 'walls' you can have covered is 3 out of the 4. (Can't have it entirely 'walled' off.) We usually have a wooden frame around ours, and cover 3 of the walls with a wooden lattice. Usually, we have a 'roof' made out of some plant materials, like large tree branches with leaves. (One year we had corn stalks on top, as well.) It can't be entirely covered on top, since you have to be able to see the stars. A lot of people decorate it with dried fall vegetables, artwork, fruits, vines, flowers, pine cones, etc. It can be a lot of fun.
After this holiday, there's another one called Simchat Torah. It marks the conclusion of one and the beginning of another annual cycle of readings from the Torah. (It lit. means "Rejoicing in the Torah".) Another great holiday. There's dancing, singing, candy, schnapps for adults, it's unraveled across the room, etc.
I felt really horrendous late Tuesday night, while we were at Shari's after the support group meeting.Suddenly, I had massive pain in the upper left part of my back, stomach was kind of fiery, and weird sharp pains on my sides. I tried to act like nothing was going on while I was there. It felt like it was only getting worse by the time we got home, but I really thought I could 'sleep' it off. I felt better once I was in bed. Still felt horrible in the morning, though.
So, that morning I had to cancel my therapy appointment, and didn't go to a support group I was hoping to go to. (One that really would have been very relevant to my viewpoint. The others help, but there aren't that many allies in those groups.) I slept in for a while. Felt slightly better, but not the best. Now, I'm feeling much better.Still have a slightly weird metallic aftertaste in my mouth, but the 'fire' has died down, and the sharp pains are gone. Head still slightly foggy, but it's better than it was. I don't really know what I had, maybe it was some sort of weird bug.It felt slightly like the flu, at least the head stuff and feeling very nauseous. (Had a huge urge to throw up most of the time, as well.)
One good thing I might go to is that Jewish singles' sushi night on Monday. Sounds very interesting. Get to learn how to make sushi while inside a sukkah, and might get to know some other Jews at least. It'd be really nice if I get together with someone through it, but it'll still be nice if I just end up seeing other Jews my age and make some friends.
I should probably go to more of these Jewish singles' nights. I guess I'll check it out first. The online dating thing hasn't really panned out for me...So many weird guys on the free sites. (Plus, not very many of them are Jewish. Not a requirement, but it'd be a huge plus for me. And, makes things easier.) Can't afford the other sites.
Yom Kippur was pretty good. I didn't really like the guest rabbi too much. He seemed very timid, quiet, nervous, etc. It was hard to hear him at times, because of how quiet he was. I understood his viewpoints, but didn't particularly agree with them. Which is fine, but something seemed off. Oh well, it was nice to see someone new at least.
After some debating with myself, I decided to stay for all the day stuff. I only observed the yoga stuff from afar, since not only is it not my thing, I wasn't in the proper clothes for it. I ate my lunch outside at a picnic table in the synagogue's garden, which I didn't realize was there before. I was worried I would bother people, but I didn't. I'm exempt from fasting, because I have meds I absolutely have to take. (And those meds have to be with meals.) They say if someone like me does fast, it's considered a sin. I still feel a bit guilty about it, though. It was beautiful outside. Took a walk down to a plant nursery after lunch, and looked at the interesting plants and garden sculptures they had. I'm surprised there were 2 discussion groups. Usually, it's just one, but we talk about the topic until it's exhausted. This time it was oddly done. The break-the-fast had really weird food. The desserts especially. But, at least there was something. Havdalah was weird, too. The rabbi did a 'silent' one. Part of what I like about havdalah is the singing.Got to chat more with people I don't normally see. That was nice.
I was planning to do 85 sit-ups twice a day this week. When I felt sick, I decided to give it a rest until I felt better. Wouldn't want to make myself actually throw up, or pass out halfway, or do something weird.
Wanted some comfort food, so I haven't really been following my way of eating since I got sick either. I figure it's ok for a short period of time. As long as I get back to it as soon as I feel better. Haven't walked much either. I might do one of my walks tonight. We'll see...Have to get back into it.
Mood:
By A Friend in London. This was Denmark's entry for the Eurovision 2011 contest. It placed 5th. Kind of a nice motivating song. It's in English, so it's kind of easy to understand what it's about. The band formed in 2005, and all 4 guys were in boarding school together. They're big in Canada, too.
The last couple of days have been cooler than they predicted.
We were expected to be in the high 70s. We ended up being low 70s/high 60s. Wahoo! Hope it warms up again.
I was going to make brownies, that were from a mix, for Friday night. But, we ended up going to the market so late, I didn't have time. So sad.But, we got some chocolate donuts, so it's not too bad.
Also, had a pre-made roasted chicken, some bok choy Mom cooked up in a sauce, and a really good pre-made Asian sesame noodle salad. Good stuff.
Mom didn't feel well enough to go to services yesterday. But, we did go to the congregation's annual picnic. The only problem I really had was how noisy it was. Made it very difficult to talk to people.
Most of the noise was from the kids.
There wasn't really any main dishes. Just salads and a huge table of desserts. We had brought Mom's coleslaw. It was a huge hit. Practically gone by the time we were putting things together to leave.
There was a lot of strange food. Most of the kids went for the dessert table for their 'dinner'. So, most of it was gone by the time the adults got to it.There was an interesting no sugar added apple pie, a strange looking angel food cake with goopy stuff on it, chocolate chip cookies (tasted really odd), 2 or 3 types of brownies, a weird looking blueberry and lemon curd torte, and some other things. Nice to see people, though.
Oh, and we got to celebrate Havdalah with everyone, too.
Played some more of the Sims 2 yesterday as well. My sim, based on Russia from Hetalia, has reached almost all of his fitness points. Just one more left. He looks incredibly buff. To the point it's hilarious.I wonder what he'll need after he gets promoted again? More logic points maybe? Already working on that, though. When he finally is making it big, I'll allow him to marry someone and mess with his house more. I can take as much time as I want with that, as long as I have the fountain of youth. I did mess with a few things. Gave him a better refrigerator, stove, toilet, a chess board, and a couple of other things.
Finished Majo Saiban or Witch Trial. It was pretty intense right up until the last minute. I had a suspicion that it was her who set everything up. Wasn't exactly sure, what with all the twists. Very good mystery drama.I'm still curious as to what 'Ms. White' was going to do after she found out her husband was the one who bribed/threatened the jury. And, what he was going to do. He looked pissed when he knew she found out. Also, did they do anything to Kaori while she was at the hospital at the end? They kept telling Toru that they would if he talked. A lot of loose ends. Not the best ending.So, next Saturday I'll start another drama. Looked at the new ones for the season on dramacrazy, and a lot of them look pretty good.
Went through some of the recommended manga threads on mangafox. On my own, I wasn't finding much. I'm pretty new to manga still.
It's just what I've been reading, so far, has been really long on-going mangas. And, when you catch up to a manga's updates, and they only do it once every month or 2, you want something in between.So, now I have a good possible manga list. Some I've watched the anime version, but didn't know there was a manga version. Some I've heard about only through a drama, but didn't know it was also a manga. And, the rest I've never heard before, but they sound like they'd be really good. And very original. So, I can't wait to try these!
deviantART faves: Dark Scythe Cafe Cupcakes Lesson 1.1.b. Iris I did not make these! First, a really cool drawing of an oc. Second, cupcakes made to look like cafe tables. Really creative. Third, this is from one of my friends. He's learning Chinese art, and this was one of the assignments. It looks pretty cool. We're also good friends on jpopasia.
Mood:
Strawberries are awesome!Too bad I don't have strawberries to help celebrate. Strawberries have always calmed me down. Maybe because the first time I had one, someone gave me it to cheer me up after I scrapped up my knee. It's also National Kahlua Day. Nice. Although, I can only have the cream pie or cake flavors of it. Too bad I don't have that either.
It was pretty cold throughout most of the weekend. Today was strange. It was cold enough to see really large snow flakes, but they didn't stick. It looked almost like hail. Most of the snow we had from before has melted. Which is nice. Especially for my parents who are coming home late tonight.Rosie has become very clingy. So, I wonder what she'll do when they're back.Tasha has come out of her basket more often, too.
For Shabbat dinner I made the panko breaded fish, mashed potatoes (with chives and garlic), and green beans. It was all very good!
Also, found like 1/3 of a loaf of a frozen challah. So, that was good. I don't need much, if it's just me. Also, had some sparkling apple cider. Kind of made it even more 'special'. The half a chocolate muffin was still really good! Saturday night I just had some of the leftover tuna casserole. Still tasty! Tonight, I had burritos. So, all in all, really good meals.
I had my own Shabbat services. Actually got to sleep in. Good, since it's our day of rest.Used an old prayer book, and read from my Tanakh. The portion this time was just about building the sanctuary (or really first temple?), how it was done, and what it looked like. A lot of things made out of gold, silver, and copper. Interesting, but not much goes on. Some people find it funny that they used dolphin skins. Funny, because there wasn't much water around them. They were in the desert after all.Rosie kept trying to eat the tzitzit on my tallit. Kind of annoying.
I also did Havdalah on my own. Used my candle from Tzfat for the first time. When lit, it's like a bonfire. Felt almost like I was going to burn the house down.I forget about Havdalah a lot of the time. It's sad.I like our homemade 'spice box'. Really more like jar. Kind of funny to try and hold the candle and grape juice by yourself. Also, to say the prayers and sing. Oh, well. I was happy to do it.
I played a little of the Sims 2 yesterday. Still with Hong Kong and Taiwan, inspired by Hetalia. They're trying to have a baby. I wonder what it would look like? They're also advancing in their careers pretty quickly. Maybe quicker than the previous family.Taiwan's now a nurse, and Hong Kong's a business exec. Interesting. I don't think those were the careers they wanted.
But, they got them. It's always fun to see what they do next. They're not always predictable. Strange 'events' happen. Soon I hope to have them earn enough money so they can move to a different looking house. That should be fun.
I got a couple more awesome songs. So, look for those on upcoming posts.Juui Dolittle had a few twists this time. Makes it kind of exciting. Asuka's going to get serious and try to become an animal nurse. Hanabishi actually admitted on his show that he can't operate because of the trauma he suffered. I hope it doesn't totally ruin his career. I like him a lot.It ruined Domon's plans though.
Tokyo Wankei has just become so complicated, intense, and angsty. Not sure if I like that.The main part, that I kind of suspected, was Ryosuke and Mika are actually siblings. Which, normally wouldn't be my thing, but their situation's so strange. It's not like they knew they were related. It was all by chance. There's only a couple more episodes, so I'll see how it turns out.
Finished typing up entries for my online travel journal. I'll probably post the link tomorrow. There's not much to it at the moment. Hope to add pics, and maybe some smilies. Looks boring without.But, I guess people can read it if they want to.
Also, saw a list of anime coming out in the Spring season. Gintama is confirmed to continue in April! It better be good. Considering its been a year. The list had a lot of other good looking anime shows, too. More to add to the list.
deviantART faves: Sim Character Map UPDATED OC Style Meme To Live and to Dream Good Morning.. Froyo Uh Oh Influence Map Template Mind Your Sugar Levels Razzberri I did not make these! First, a map of all the characters from all the sim dating games an artist I watch has done. I think I've played every one. Her humor's awesome. The map is so intricate, though. Some characters have made appearances in more than one game. Second, a meme to practice your oc in different styles. Like, futuristic, modern steampunk, etc. Sounds like an interesting one. Third, an amazing pic of a woman wearing a dress. Her expression's interesting too. The dress is pretty. Fourth, a pic of some cake and coffee. Looks really good. Fifth, a cute drawing of frozen yogurt swirls. What happens when you try to do it for the first time. I've had that happen too. Sixth, a cool meme about what influences you as an artist. I might fill it in someday. Seventh, a funny drawing of Gintoki from Gintama. Fits his personality. Eighth, a cute drawing of someone's avatar from Gaia. Haven't seen too many good drawings from that Gaia group, so it was nice.
Youtube:
Himitsu or Secret by Suga Shikao:
Daijoubu by Majik Monkey. A more laid back, happy sounding song from them:
Awesome shamisen performance:
A funny fan-made trailer for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei:
A live performance of 19 Sai or 19 years old by Suga Shikao. I think this version may sound the best. I love the violins:
