A writer and a tropical muse. A funky Lubavitcher who enjoys watching the weather, hurricanes, listening to music while enjoying life with a sense of humor and trying to make sense of it all!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Mazel Tov :) Bobbi is Engaged
Well... suddenly I'm speechless lol.
My boyfriend.... no my fiance and I got engaged yesterday and we are having a party later this week called a L'Chaim which means everyone wishes you a L'Chaim (toast) and a mazel tov and people stop in and my sister in law has not stopped baking in the last 24 hours ;)
So...guessing I am going to have to change my profile as I have found love and happiness and he made it through the Hurricane Season AND the Miami Dolphin Football Season and the 24/7 365 Day a Year Season of the Meyer Family which is pretty amazing. And, so is he..
And, I will at sometime this year be trading in the Florida Hurricane Season for the North Carolina Hurricane Season :) and seasons... like Spring!
And... that's it :) for this morning as I have to go to work and be a Kallah (jewish term.. bride to be/bride) and suddenly I feel about 19 and like one of the girls at the college discussing dates for a wedding and when the L'Chaim will be.
I'll post some pics later in the week from the party and this is soo cool. More info later but.... he went to my alma mater F.I.U. even though I didn't know him and we have been dating for the last year and I'm suddenly shy..
I'm a little quiet suddenly, just smiling.. and happy so be happy for me and be happy for yourselves and life and Eevdo Es Hashem B'Simcha which translates...
Serve the Lord With Joy which means... give a smile, get a smile... give love!
The video on top is well..the song is stuck in my mind and anyone who has ever studied tap.. namely ME ...will appreciate it ;) Nothing like a good time step. Whenever my best friend from childhood and I were nervous or silly Linda and I would do time steps and tap and giggle... so I am tapping now :)
Except... the wedding will sound more like this below.. ya know ;)
This is funny...but so, so, so true...and it sucks to be born around Chanukah to paraphrase the song because... you only get one present and get told things like "well, since it's your birthday and Chanukah... I got you a really nice present!"
Gee...thank you Mother... does that mean if it wasn't my birthday I'd get something from the dollar store? ;)
Giggling... it's so true. Then again...the world is decorated just for your birthday, the nights are lit up with the menorah and all the magazines on the stands remind you it's the YEAR IN REVIEW ;)
So... I don't mind..not really but when my mother handed my brother a $25 check for Chanukah and then she gave me mine and it was a $25 check that said, "Happy Chanukah and Happy Birthday"
:)
There is an old Jewish saying that on your birthday you can give a blessing to others so I bless everyone here reading this that all your wishes and dreams come true.
As for me... the Dolphins beat the Jets.. you know one of the things I am wishing for this year...besides world peace and happiness ;)
Besos and Blessings.. Bobbi Ps..going to work but gonna party tonight.. and hopefully all week ;)
Dolphins IN Play Offs - Division Champs! Sunny Day Are Here Again...
Not much more to add :)
8th Day of Chanukah! Happy Chanukah!
Sunny days, play off days.. post season games and the Dolphins are back!
They are back and better than ever.
And, as much as I LOVE the song for the old Fins..these Fins need their own video, their own song... Chad Pennington speaking softly, Joey Porter speaking loudly and the very beautiful duo of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Great Coach!
Unreal..if this is not the team of the year who is and if this is not the coach of the year...who is?
Dolphins Beat Jets.. Win the Division.. Playoff Bound
:)
In the most amazing turn around in football history that I can remember or be witness to the Miami Dolphins who barely won a game last year ... won their division and tickets for the playoffs go on sale tomorrow!
Not the wild card like I said back in October was possible but we friggin won the division.
And, what drama... no game was so exciting as watching Pennington return to the place where he won so many games and face the quarterback they chose to replace him.
My son was right.. the Jets gave up a winning franchise quarterback to take a chance with a fading star and they made a bad decision. But, that silver lining was all Miami's as he became a Miami Dolphin, delegated to a team that would have been considered to have a good year if we won 5 or 6 games... and instead he helped the new coach and his new team mates play an almost picture perfect season! Calm, cool and collected... as professional as it gets he played an incredible season.
And... it all game down to that last game... where as football fate would have it he had to face the man who replaced him one more time... one last time... and he played beautifully as he did all year.
Favre who I have always liked had a bad game, 3 interceptions and a lack luster performance that ended in two final free fall all attempts at a miracle.
The Dolphins didn't rely on miracles. They played steady football, strong defense, strong special teams, good offense and made few mistakes and in the end for all of the excitement over Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and Joey Porter it was Chad Pennington's game..and he won it!
Great coaching! Great playing! Great Caesars Ghost!! WE WON :)
Love it.. wild, so great.. so beautiful!
Happy Chanukah Miami!
Bobbi...in football wonderland ..alive and well and watching her Miami Dolhpins go to the Friggin' Playoffs!
Sunday 7th Day Chanukah - Volcano In the Caribbean
Good morning from my computer to yours...
It is the 7th day of Chanukah and I am hoping to get Gelt from my kids :) Hey, could happen! I have two more chocolate coins, one for today and one for tomorrow. Hoping not to eat too much at the Chanukah Party this evening..
And, planning on watching the Dolphins play the Jets this afternoon and hoping they win, really hoping here.. would be the cheapest, easiest, best Chanukah present I could get. After the gelt of course ;) (gelt = money)
Anyways... since the Caribbean is quiet meteorologically today I thought I would write about what is not quiet in the Caribbean and that is Soufriere Hills Volcano and the region around the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Does everything think this is normal that every day there is minor earthquake activity in and around VI and PR? I don't think so..and do think it's worth watching. Not sure if they are connected but they are in the same basin, same part of the world and same small little Caribbean Ring of Fire.
Great article on the Caribbean Trench:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico_Trench
Know that even when there are no hurricanes you can still check out their great site:
http://www.caribwx.com/latest.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28392226/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081219092044.htm (detail oriented great story)
http://www.sknvibes.com/News/NewsDetails.cfm/7924 "Director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory Dr. Nicolas Fournier recommended to the NDPRAC that the hazard level be moved to Level Four because of the increased lava extrusions, rock-falls and pyroclastic flows on the north and north-west areas of the dome."
Old but still valid site from 2005 about possibilities of Tsunami in Carib: http://puertorico-herald.org/issues2/2005/vol09n34/Tsunami.html
Views from Space and Photography: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=30203
Wiki forever please remember to contribute to Wikipedia with your charity as they are in need of money and it is a library that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year..how great is that? And, it's non-denominational!!
"The song and album are named for the then-dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat in the British West Indies where Buffett recorded the album in May 1979 at AIR Studios. The studio was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and Soufrière Hills erupted again in 1995"
Lyrics Now, I don’t know, I don’t know where I’m a gonna go when the volcano blow Let me say it now I don’t know, I don’t know where I’m a gonna go when the volcano blow
Ground, she movin’ under me Tidal waves out on the sea Sulfur smoke up in the sky Pretty soon we learn to fly
Chorus I don’t know, I don’t know where I’m a gonna go when the volcano blow Let me hear you now I don’t know, I don’t know where I’m a gonna go when the volcano blow
My girl quickly say to me "Mon you better watch your feet" Lava come down soft and hot "You better lava me now or lava me not
Chorus
No time to count what I’m worth cause I just left the planet Earth Where I go I hope there’s rum Not to worry mon soon come
Chorus
But I don’t want to land in New York City I don’t want to land in Mexico I don’t want to land on no Three Mile Island I don’t want to see my skin a-glow
Don’t want to land in Comanche Sky Park or in Nashville, Tennessee I don’t want to land in no San Juan airport or the Yukon Territory
Don’t want to land no San Diego Don’t want to land in no Buzzards Bay I don’t want to land on no Ayatollah I got nothin’ more to say
Chorus
When you live in a Jimmy Buffett world you can go anywhere... every place is a place to start when you go from the heart ;)
Go where your heart takes you... and have a beautiful day..
must have been the same year as Xanadu lol....
so...if you are in the South Florida area and you are not going to the Meyer/Schwartz Family Chanukah Party this evening feel free to go on over to Gulfstream Racetrack in Hallandale and have one wonderful Chanukah Party. Enjoy the concert..
As for me.. from my window on the world to yours.. I am going out shopping in the deep blue sunshine of Miami in December and buy some last minute presents, get some exercise, give thanks for FINALLY feeling better and almost myself again. And.. looking forward to the rest of the week as it's my birthday week and my boyfriend is coming to town and gonna party ;) You heard it here first ;) And... it's the start of a whole near year.. 2009 ..how friggin cool is that?
Happy Holidays.... A Gift For You All.. A Special Song called Chasoif
Okay, winter tried to come to Miami yesterday when it began raining finally. A gray sort of cloud cover moved in from the Ocean, a sort of windy, wintery marine layer and it began to rain. It looked wintery and it was definitely wet but besides stranding me on Lincoln Road when I went out in search of Starbucks and strong coffee.. it wasn't much compared to what most of you are going through up north and across the country. It is still training in so it may rain some more today. It might snow in Greece my brother said. Where ever you are this morning.. hope you are happy, healthy and enjoying your much deserved day off. Whether you are enjoying the 4th day of Chanukah or Christmas... I hope you will enjoy this very special song below. And, well if you are Wiccan.. just enjoy your breakfast in bed this morning and enjoy the weather.
This is a song that was put together by a diverse group of people in the Jewish Music World in honor of the people who were brutally murdered in Mumbai, India. My son Sruly had an idea, an inspiration, a need to *DO* something and he got together with some of the most talented people he is friends with who gave of their time and energy during a very busy time of year to produce this beautiful song. It is free here and online on many Jewish sites across the country, across the world. Listen to it, enjoy it, may it bring you some comfort as only music can and inspire you to donate to one of the several charities set up for the families of the people who were murdered and to rebuild the Chabad House in Mumbai.
Enjoy... even if you don't understand Hebrew.. it is the most beautiful melody and music moves you whether you understand the words or not.. it speaks to the soul.
Have a beautiful day where ever you find yourself today,
Besos and Blessings.. Bobbi
Ps..the story of how this song came together is on the website below.
http://www.vosizneias.com/
www.shmais.com has a link as well... as many other sites do today. www.chabadindia.com
Seattle's Green Decision Keeps Them In the White ... Day 3 Chanukah
I wanted to mention a story that across many parts of America we have not heard much about and is really very timely in that it is about an American city that has decided to hold by certain green standards and worrying on the ecological system of Puget Sound decided not to salt the roads. Was this a purely ecological decision or possible a financial one? Not sure but it looks like the Ice Age has come to the world of Puget Sound and hope the salmon are appreciative.
Green Decision but it has left Seattle with a White Dilemma.
You see Seattle is not really used to snow. Because of it's odd climatological history it is prone to rain.. much like Miami even though it is so far north. There are many places to read about this on the Internet but trust me Virgina.. Seattle does not get snow like this often. And...usually it melts faster.
They don't have the snow plows that Chicago or Minnesota does and because they are one of those areas in America that tries to live more in concert with their ecological beliefs ...they have decided not to salt. The city has worked overtime trying to keep the main roads open but that has left people living out in the suburbs, up in the hills or out in the country stranded for days. Some people have not had mail for a week now... no Christmas Cards, no bills, no Chanukah Gelt from Aunt Miriam.. nada, nothing. They are snowed in. Even after Wilma when we were without electric and telephone we were able to get the mail going.
Was this a good decision or a bad one? Time will tell ...but people will remember the end days of 2008 as a time when Seattle's decision to live by their Green policies kept them in a white, white world of winter with more snow on the way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotopia
Great book... one of the best ever written on America. If you have ANY interest in geography, weather, history, politics or economics get a copy and read it today. As true today as it was when it was written back in the early 80s.
So... I just want you all to know that even though you may bitch about the snow, the ice and the cold frigid winds... some people are snowed in and running out of things to bake, things to make and are tired of waking up to roads that are unable to be plowed and who cannot get down into town to celebrate the holidays.
And, for those of us in Miami who are arguing over why the AC has to be on SOO cold in our buildings that seem to have archaic air conditioners that do not have thermostats.. the Air Conditioning wars go on. I am keeping leggings at work now. I put them on when cold along with my Postville socks and then when I go out to Lincoln Road to get coffee, lunch or to shop.. I take them all off. It's like some South Beach Strip ... how windy will it be outside? Are the clouds out or is the sun out? Such problems we have in the land of the eternal summer far across the country from a city that is living in a white world of winter and sticking to their green policies.
Then again... there is a town in Iowa that has dumped donated, old garlic salt on their roads figuring I suppose that will help preserve them and season them just a little bit longer.
As for Chanukah... a very special menorah lighting took place at the Statue of Liberty last night. People came from all over to watch the menorah be lit.. just as they have come from all over the world to live in this great, beautiful country we call America. From Sea to Shining sea.. it is the land of liberty, home of the Brave...
Another event I wanted to add in here... weather should be beautiful if you are in the Miami area..check it out. Venetian Islands... one of the most beautiful areas down here, emerald islands strung like a necklace in the beautiful Biscayne Bay.
Saw this at Publix on Purdy Avenue... if you live on South Beach..check it out and enjoy.
Moon Bounce, Rides, Dreidels and Doughnuts..
Hey..if you live in the Miami Area you may as well enjoy the sunshine.
Sitting here this morning listening to the birds sing and wondering when it is going to cool off noticeably in the Miami area. I have to go to work, figure out what to wear and what to make for dinner tonight. Possibly Southern Fried Chicken or Veggie Latkes.. just not sure.
But, been watching pics of ice and snow up north and even our meager cool front is barely going to lower the temps round here. Which is good.. seeing as tourists will come down, spend money and pump some energy into the economy and it wouldn't be fair for them to spend all that money and not be able to go to the beach.. right?
We'll see. I have a feeling winter has one strong punch for Miami later this season.
So... just wanted to post a few pictures to remind us we are all one, whether watching the snow fall through decorated windows or under the sun staring up at the big menorah made of shells on South Beach, we are all one enjoying the same beautiful holiday even if our weather is as diverse as we are as people.
Find your favorite city and see what kind of menorah they are lighting..
www.accuweather.com to find out the weather in your area.
And, if you live in the Miami-South Beach area and want to enjoy a spectacular night of Chanukah Fun... check out this event coming up on Sunday Night. If you have never been to the Jewish Museum on South Beach you are really missing something.. it is an amazing place. It tells the story of Jews in the Florida area over time with photos and exhibits. Seeing as how my great-grandparents lived in Key West, Quincy and Tampa before Miami became civilized enough for people to actually live here all year round... it has a special place in my heart as it tells the story of my heritage both Floridian and Jewish.
Be well..stay warm or don't stay too warm depending on the weather where ever you are..
Besos and Happy Chanukah!
Bobbi
www.chabadinsouthbeach.com
and Wednesday night is a party at Chabad of FIU :)
In the rain or snow... it's Chanukah and we light the menorah no matter what kind of weather sort of like the U.S. Post Office. Above is San Francisco.. below is Paris.
Chanukah is a time of miracles and to remember miracles. It is a holiday of light. It's a holiday that pulls people together, families, friends and communities.
On the darkest, longest nights of the year we light up the darkness.
People give presents or money to their children as is their custom but sometimes our children give presents to us that light up our lives. Such was a present I received tonight, out of the blue that took me a bit out of the darkness that I have been fighting since the murders of so many people in Mumbai, India. Close to 200 people were killed in the attacks including six people who were targeted in the Chabad House who were brutally tortured and then killed.
It's hard going into a holiday of happiness such as Chanukah when your heart is heavy and to be happy and celebrate in the way we normally do when nothing this year is normal. And, yet... I light the menorah or watch my kids light the menorah and we spend time together and I remember all the times I lit with my baby brothers and my parents when I was a child.
And, we go online and look at pictures from menorahs being lit in all parts of the world. In Frankfort where my ex-husband's family was from many years ago ...there is a menorah lit again. In South Korea, for the first time a menorah was lit in public. In Spain, where Jewish women and men were burned at the stake for being Jews and anything Jewish went underground for centuries there is a menorah burning tonight in public. In Greece, in Paris and everywhere across the globe it is Chanukah and menorahs are burning, people are celebrating and it is a holiday that commemorates how we moved on even when things were bleak after the Great Temple was destroyed, a small, vial of pure oil was found and able to be lit and burned for eight nights.
It is in fact a holiday that celebrates being a survivor, of being able to go after tragedy and rebuild and to remember.
My daughter Miriam gave me a gift card last night from one of my favorite stores ;) and I gave another daughter a silver bracelet tonight. My son Levi is out looking for presents for my brother Ronnie while I mailed another one out to my brother Jay. We give, we receive, we give... we share love and memories. I ate potato latkes tonight with my daughters as we lit the menorah as my sons are out at various parties.
I received one of the best presents I could ever receive tonight from a son far away. He gave me inspiration, hope and gratitude that he found a way to do something special that needed to be done that could help others. Sometimes, our children surprise us and even when we think we are beyond being surprised or amazed...they do it again and again. Awesome. I'll post on it later this week but I just wanted to say that Thank God for children... they are our future, they are our destiny. They build on what we do, surpass it and keep going.
They are like the little oil that survived the Temple's destruction ... they make miracles happen.
This is a picture of a survivor, little Moshe Holzberg who was found by his parent's side, covered in blood crying and who was saved by his caring babysitter Sandra who ran out of the destroyed Chabad House in Mumbai. Around the world, we saw pictures of him crying in her arms on CNN and FOX, we heard him sobbing for his mother at the funeral service. We are thankful for the miracle of his survival and yet we have had such sad visuals stuck in our mind.
Here is a picture of little Moshe lighting a menorah for the first time in his grandparents home in Israel. It is a beautiful picture, sweet but bittersweet, compelling and beautiful.
May he only remember happiness...and may his life never be touched by such sadness again. May we all be blessed with miracles and happiness and light that lights up the darkest of nights.
I give thanks tonight for the blessing of this child's survival and for my own children who inspire me constantly with their deeds of goodness and kindness.
Happy Chanukah... Serve the Lord with Joy!
Do Acts of Goodness and Kindness and Give to the Charity of your choice. Where I am giving tonight... www.chabadindia.com
On the 1st Day Of Chanukah... Chilly Across the Nation
Only one thing you can do about it.. grab some Absolute Vodka, find some friends, fry some latkes and light a menorah and be happy.
I'm going to work. Taking my meds. Done trying to figure out when my family can get together for a Chanukah get together when there are so many people involved and not enough days in Chanukah for it all and I am wheezy still and my brother is woozy after running into a sliding glass door at his friend's house last night at their Chanukah party. Lord..all that money and the mansion in Boca and he couldn't put some little Snoopy and Woodstock stickers on the sliding glass doors??
So..enjoy this potpourri of online Chanukah shtick and remember to give gelt (money) to your kids, chocolate gelt to your friends and charity to those who need.
Love and Kisses... Bobbi, wishing she had a video of the party that her brother went to last night to post instead ;)
Chad Pennington in an interview, "don't think I've been any colder in my entire life.
The boys from Florida went up to the frigid cold of Kansas City and played their heart out, did not give up and won the game. A long drive in the second half helped to stop the see-saw scoring in the first half. And, the
38-31
http://blogs.herald.com/random_evidence/
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/
And now... Chad Pennington goes back to New York in a scenario only football could write. He faces the team that let him go so he could come to Miami and help the Miami Dolphins turn their team around into a team competing for a place in the Playoffs.. and he will have to face the player who replaced him.
You can't write drama this good.. this is why football is one of the most fascinating games in the world.
On October 5th, 2008 I wrote in my blog that I didn't see why it wasn't possible that the team that put the Wild Cat formation back into play couldn't compete for a wild card slot.
"They do to me... they look like the Dolphins I always loved and always will. Love comes again this year in 2008 and wondering how many games we will win and what our impossible chances are for even making it into the Wild Card Slot using the Wild Cat Formation :)
Who knows? Sometimes dreams do come true ;) if you only believe..."
Somebody get those boys back in the Miami sunshine and help them thaw out ;)
Wow, we won. Gosh victory is sweet and just sitting here smiling!
Winter, Snow, Miami Not Cold, Chanukah, Football, Misc. Musings
I suppose I should feel guilty. It's warm in Miami. Warm and sunny, no snow. Jalousie windows and screens and blue sunny skies outside.
I had to debate opening the windows, because I didn't want it to warm up too much! Honest! Just a really beautiful day in Miami.
Watching snow scenes from across the country and I'm in a tank top and soft gauzy gypsy sort of skirt with a fan blowing on me.
But, it's just as well because as much as I would love to be in New York right now I am getting over a bad, bout of bronchitis.
Sitting in bed, newspaper all around me, hazelnut coffee next to me and watching Meet the Press!
So, aside from making lists and taking my meds and waiting for the Dolphin Game to begin I am sifting through pictures sent me online by friends who are watching the snow come down.
I have to admit Condoleeza Rice has aged well. She looks pretty good. Wonder if she will play the piano more now? Is this like becoming an "empty nester" ??? LOL. We all move on.
So, I am watching weather..watching football and thinking on Chanukah which is coming faster than a speeding train ..choo, choo, choo. Achoo! ;)
Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. I barely feel ready. The week has been a blur for me devoid of time, holiday speculation or much of anything aside from being lost in a fog of memories flooding back and forth in my mind as I took a "time out" and let myself heal. Maybe, that's what was most valuable in ways. Giving up the sense that I could control everything, that I could push myself and do it. Remembering how really, totally, productive I was creatively when I took prednisone all the time when young. I'd giggle but then it would make me cough. Funny how some meds like perfumes can bring back such memories. I asked the doctor if I could have marax jokingly, he asked what it was.. I told him I was on it a lot as a child..and then they took it off the market. LOL.
Seriously, whatcha gonna do with all that snow up north? Make snowballs? Snowmen?
"'You can go there and let the cold affect you,'' London said. ``Or you can go there, deal with it, suck it up, come back to the 80-degree weather and enjoy a Mai Tai on the beach.''
For Dolphins historians who recall many a dismal December when Miami's postseason hopes were ruined, it might not be so easy to accept London's laid-back approach to handling a projected kickoff temperature of 17 degrees. That's dangerously close to the 14-degree day in Foxboro, Mass., for the Dolphins' coldest-ever game, Dec. 11, 1977, against the New England.
The Dolphins have been a poor cold-weather team in recent years, and we're not just talking about last year's 1-15 debacle. Since 1996, Miami has posted winning records in December just twice. And only once since 1986 has Miami gone undefeated during that month. Key losses in December most recently ruined Dolphins seasons in 2002 and 2003."
Sigh :(
Well, time will tell..any given sunday and all that jazz.
What do I want? I'm easy... starbucks card, victoria secrets card, barnes and noble card.. a ticket to NY for January .. ummmm peace, good will to man. A bag of Verona coffee? A trip to Verona or Venice :) Provence maybe? Does Jimmy Buffett or Willie Nelso have a new CD? A berth in the playoffs for the Dolphins!
Really wanted to go to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York this winter but I'm stuck on virtual trips online and talking to my kids on gmail video.
As for my younger kids..they are so good, so easy.. so "whatever, don't spend the money" and they get a lot of presents from older syblings (hint to Levi if you are reading this Rivky wants a laptop or a car..) and I'll make latkes, and Southern Fried Chicken for dinner (we fry things in oil, I am Southern!) and my boyfriend knows what I want but will I get it? Hmmmmnnnn?? Time will telleth..
A possible suggestion: If you have grandchilren or children you would like to buy a Jewish Kids Magazine for..for Chanukah, here's a link and a cute song found on the wonderful youtube :) it's like a weekly reader for Jewish Kids.
You know..say you are Baptist or Catholic and you're partner in the firm is Jewish, he has this cute 7 and 9 year old and you know they have dreidels out the wazoo and you can't think what to get them that they might enjoy and have a bit of an educational twist to encourage their reading and learning about the world and their heritage...
And, it's FREE! How easy is that. You sign the kid up, put in their names..and they get the newsletter/magazine and you can't beat that :)
If you want to buy a great CD for someone Jewish or for yourself.. you know go to Burger King and get those potato pancakes they make for breakfast instead of fries ;) and buy some apple sauce and a little bag of chocolate gold coins and sit down by the fire and pretendeth you are Jewish... throw this into the CD player and let them rock your world!
okay, I knew them since they were little... but telling you the Marcus boys rocked and brought the house down last night in Queens... order online ;) and enjoy.. L'Chaim!
Seattle has been blanketed in more snow than they have seen in a one day snow total in years... the crazy winter of 1978 I believe. I have two friends living there, they have been posting pictures on Facebook all day.
Something about 1978 keeps playing in my head over and over, nagging me.. That winter season 78/79 was one of the strongest across the country. Chicago was snowed in for days. Miami even saw snow. Areas used to a light dusting were swamped with snow, even in the swamps down South.
Are we looking for a replay of that winter or a crazier sequel?
We have seen snow in New Orleans, Houston, Las Vegas, Malibu and now Seattle a place known more for rain than snow is blanketed and they are having "Snow Days" which are days to go out and play in the snow...sort of how kids in Florida play football in the flooded streets after a strong wet, tropical storm without worrying that a snake in the water might slither by.
If the weather temps stay low most of the country may have a real White Christmas; Chanukah for sure as it begins Saturday Night.
A good in depth article explaining how snow storms work and why some are stronger than others is linked below.
Note that all the global warming people trying to explain how having two cold winters is part of global warming. There is a theory for everything but it's all part of the cycles of how the earth regulates itself and it has been going on since before blogging began, before television began, before records were kept by some early cave man with lines dug into his cave for how many snow days they had that year.
1979...a winter filled with snow across Southern California..
I'm wondering on weather patterns, hurricanes that hit that year and the next and how any of this may correlate down the line.
I'm wondering if South Florida has a chance for snow this winter? Some freak flurries in Florida, now that would seem a sign, a part of the plan...
Going to try and go back to bed, fell asleep early.
Great video of snow falling from 2006 in Seattle posted below. If you don't know what it's like to watch it fall and cover the city... enjoy. You know people in Tampa, Miami and places south of the snow line. Key West would look pretty in snow, almost like a New England winter wonderland.
When I was in Postville last winter with my brother and the snow began to come down, the first real stick to the ground snow of the year it covered the ground totally in less than a half an hour. Friday as witnessed by the picture below.. no snow. By Saturday Night it looked like Siberia.. honest. Layered in layers... so different from Miami.
Snow..happens fast sometimes. I was bundled up freezing and now snow.. then, blanketed white. Great memory, my brother Ronnie and I ran outside watching it fall like we were suddenly inside a snow globe.
I remember living in L.A. in that winter and snow was falling in the Torrance area, up in Rolling Hills. It was something to remember as it rarely happens unlike Postville or Chicago or New York which is expecting the snow storm to move east this weekend.
Story below is what I saw when I went online tonight that made me realize it's going to get crazier before it gets "normal" again this winter.
Alternate Side Parking Rules Are Suspended on Friday Author: Techie Category: PSA
The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) in conjunction with the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) today announced the suspension of Alternate Side Parking (ASP) regulations citywide for Friday, December 19 to facilitate snow removal. However, parking meters will remain in effect throughout the City.
For updated information, visit the DOT Web site at www.nyc.gov/dot or call 311.
Click here for the 2008 Alternate Side Parking Regulations Suspension Calendar
In the news of the strange but true... a town in Iowa is using a large donation from Tone Spices of garlic salt to help melt the snow "Italian Seasoning" style I suppose. Sort of "green" isn't it? Rather than dump it in the dump they are making all the people in the suburbs of Des Moines hanker after a good pizza or loaf of garlic bread I guess. One wonders if business is up in the pizza shops...*
Snow.... it won't be long before before we bathe in snow... :)
Smiling... going to bed, really. How is one supposed to have a sleep pattern while taking all this asthma medicine? I swear I feel 16 again.. last time I felt this sick and it was one COLD December in Miami.. I remember.
Home sick, watching youtube. Hey it's blocked at work... so may as well enjoy.
Remembering the moments of my life. My best friends, boy friends, all the men I've loved and the moments that made me smile and make my world truly rock. :)
So, forgive me for being off topic weather wise but I am confined to bed and not much to do but video chat and listen to youtube and sip drinks and take my meds which are making me VERY hyper ...
As for weather... it's snowing in Seattle and no NOT going there ;)
Did you know you can play on youtube ALL day... really.
one of the best song and dance scenes in history by a man in a musical..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mNDHTfdn1A
best song in the world, better than McArthur Park lol
i was young, made a big impression :) great, great song..dusty
best chase scene in a movie...
Emotionally healed. No not Healey lol.
Giggling.. We all get older but Peter gets better ;)
For the Red Sox and Fenway Park even beautiful in the winter wearing icicles
"cheer up sleepy jean oh what can it mean to a daydream believer and a homecoming queen..."
Ditching homecoming for a drive in was better than the last scene in The Graduate and the first time I ever heard American Pie .... thank you Joseph..
To my Superman ;) (love the red shirt Clark) "you picked me up and put me on solid ground.."
love this under appreciated song
Jimmy and the way I remember him at THE FLICK :)
Moving on...
As my boyfriend says, even a broken watch is right twice a day :)
where my mind goes these days...
weather, love and music
;) Sick but thankful for such a wonderful world...
Awesome Weather Pics - Death From Storm Probs Shown Below
Hi, very under the weather today but wanted to post this link. Not sure on the data of how people die in various states, but the 8 pics shown of severe weather are worth taking a look at. Gist: If you live in Kansas you can die of a tornado faster than Tampa where you would get zapped from a lightning bolt. Sort of a duh but telling you the pics are unreal great pics.
Oh... Hawaii... volcanoes could get you. Pick your weather disaster!
Otherwise, trying to get better and not. Don't like staying home, don't like feeling weak and there is no one left I haven't thought of to add to my Facebook.
Sick in Bed Tuesday, Snow in NY and Wish I Was There
Okay, so I am trying to rest and take care of myself and listen to the doctor's orders. He's a good doctor, we like to try to at least try and listen to him. Well, I don't have a lot of alternatives. He took xrays, he made me sit in his office and uses the nebulizer I like I was a child. It helped. He decided I probably don't have pneumonia but just have asthmatic bronchitis. Yeah, he could have asked my childhood pediatrician. I was raised with asthmatic bronchitis. I was the only 6 year old who could spell it properly.
Anyway...winter has arrived across the nation.
What does that mean exactly? It snows up north. This displaces all of the sick snowbirds that come to Miami on Jet Blue and immediately infect Miamians who live in Sunny Miami and were previously germ free! We are lucky we aren't like the Mayans who lived not too far away or we'd be extinct, dead from germs from snowbirds coughing in our faces.
So, here I am wishing I was in New York, but am stuck in bed in Miami wishing I could do a retrograde migration. Just for a few days, I want to go in NY, see my kids, walk around Crown Heights, eat a bagel on Kingston and sip hot coffee and sit in 770 and I could probably do this in one day.. No, too many kids to see there these days. There's a cold remedy that I could actually find if I was in Apple Drugs and then say hi to friends. See my grandchildren. Ha Ha.. I am a Bubby afterall! And, my baby grandson is getting bigger fast and would like to see in person although the computer camera is nice...
But, it's snowing. That I know. Dina sent me a pic. Oldest son changed his facebook status and there are pictures up online. Dina's snow below..
So... I'm doing a virtual trip and a virtual hook up to New York while I lie in bed sipping Cold Time Tea and trying to get well enough to manage work tomorrow. I'm wheezing less, I'm coughing less. God Bless Prednisone. God Bless my over protective, proactive doctor who gives good advice and medicine.
Today is a special holiday in Chabad called Yud Tes Kislev. It is called the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidim. You may read it you want to it will explain more about this special day commemorating events in the life of the First Lubavitcher Rebbe who wrote the Tanya and left a legacy that keeps on giving. My son Zalmy that I mention so often is named after Rabbi Schneur Zalman. I made a little festive holiday meal with some chicken and lots of onions and garlic to help fight off my bronchitis and had some delicious Holiday Bread from Anny's Bread Shoppe. Their bread is at Whole Foods and Publix and most Health Food Stores. Or check below for number and address if you live in this area. They actually ship up north. Holiday Bread ... check it out.
Anny's Bread Shoppe 18282 West Dixie Highway (at 182nd Street, Just South of NE Miami Gardens Drive) North Miami, FL 33160 UNITED STATES phone: (305) 931-2669 fax: (305) 931-3266
If you are one of the Floridians that go to New York in a reverse migration tourist trip during the upcoming Holiday break to visit relatives in the New York Metro Area may I suggest a great place to visit for young and old. If you have children even more so, if you are a child at heart... you'll love it. If you aren't Jewish and have always wondered what it's all about... take a trip and enjoy. It's called the Jewish Children's Museum.
Read the history... it's a reminder of how when something horrible happens you can build something in someone's honor and memory and though it never brings that person back, that child to a mother.. it's a massive opportunity to give back something to the world in that child's place. A reminder how fast we forget in America because sadly 14 years ago when I was pregnant with my son Zalmy my older son in New York's classmates were fired on in a van crossing the Brooklyn Bridge by an Arab cab driver who just happened to have an Uzi under his seat and decided to fire three sets of rounds into a school bus filled with Jewish students returning from a trip to the hospital to visit and pray for their Rebbe. My older son spent his 16th birthday going to the funeral for Ari who was killed. Something I remembered today while talking to a friend, something I try not to think on myself as it was a hard time for us all to go through. But, today my son takes his son and daughter to the museum on holidays to play, to enjoy and to learn. It is a legacy. It's a sad story but a fun place and you can even get a nice meal at Mendy's Deli.
http://www.mendysdeli.com/
Listen, I was sick today with a lot of time and too much on my mind. And, memories of many things. Friends from Long Beach, California are posting pictures from an old yearbooks from the Hebrew Academy. Wild pics from the 80s when we all had big hair and we were so young. Talked to my son today on why we named him Schneur Zalman and the significance of Yud Tes Kislev. I remember his pregnancy well. I also remember having Ari's mother (classmate, same age from Crown Heights) come and talk on her son's death while I held Zalmy as a baby at a Neshei program I was putting on. It was then ...like today a time when it's hard to picture moving on and getting over the horror and yet it's a reminder that we do move on but only if we go forward and build and continue on with a mission that those who have been taken from us were not able to continue doing. We continue to live for them and our children continue on where we leave off.
So... if you are going up north to see your family, your grandchildren or just visit the many sights New York has to offer while it's relatively empty as any New Yorker who can afford a trip on Jet Blue is already in Miami. Come on.. New York in Winter, lit up for the holidays, busy and bustling, all those museums and libraries and skating at Rockefeller Center. Add on a trip to the Jewish Children's Museum.
As for me... after I see my family and before I can make it up Kingston I will make a bee line for Apple Drugs on the corner of Crown and Kingston! Boy, could I use Apple Drugs now...
Taken today and posted online... look at the snow on the awning!
So, that's it for me.. am trying to watch some hook up at home and online and drink my water, my tea and get better so that I can go up north to the cold of NC or Brooklyn sometime soon...
Sick in bed today, snow in NY... Wish I was there.
Thanks for all the well wishes, I am getting slowly better. Really.
Good video below of Devora Halberstam speaking on how wonderful this country can be sometimes and the Museum.
I'm sick, I am rambling..there are no hurricanes today in my world to write on and neither is there snow so I am thinking on many things. I was thinking on the reality that some of Gavriel Holzberg's classmates and friends were on that van that was fired on as it was crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. Terror and violence has touched that group of men and women who are now 29 and 30. He was no innocent thing that did not know that danger could come into his life by doing what he was doing, by being what he was being. He had seen it up close and personal when Ari Halberstam was killed in 1994. Rabbi Gavriel Holzberg was reading a book on how to deal with terrorism before he was murdered, the book sat in the mess on the table next to their bed. That class, my son's class has seen much horror in their short lives and yet they go on, we all go on. Friends of Rivka Holzberg said she hoped to go to New York when she was due in a few months.. she didn't get back there. It's a sobering thought, sad... yet one day Moishe her son will grow up and he will go, he will know, he will continue on.
We focus on the future not the past and we live in the present. We must never forget when wrongs are done but we must do our job to do right and good in the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue3JbMVp2Jk
So... when God gives you lemons.. make lemonade and if all you have left is the pit, plant the pit. As children know... when God gives you snow.. grab some snow and build a snowman :)
Snowy, somber, deep thoughts while trying to rest in distant Miami.
Accentuate the positive... enjoy life. Serve the Lord With Joy!
Check out the cutie enjoying a day at the museum ;)
Yes, I was very sick today but my body and mind obviously needed a chance to recharge I suppose ..thank you for reading along as a I muse on life and weather and think on the greater meaning and purpose of Yud Tes Kislev!
Bright cheery morning in Miami. The Dolphins won and almost everything is right in the world. That is what we call a Miami Dolphin Monday :)
It's good. Sort of blots out the bad in the world for just a few hours and tastes good still like good coffee or fine wine.
While trying to watch the radar loops I kept getting distracted with some ad from L.L. Bean... shake the little snow globe and it keeps showing these um... ugly looking slippers and am thinking WHY would anyone want to wear those?? The thought suddenly hit me. Winter Bobbi, duh... winter! It's so far from my thought of consciousness that it's hard to imagine people have to bundle up to go out into the cold to work. I've lived up north, I have done it. Trust me there is nothing like transferring on the corner of Empire Blvd. and Flatbush across from Prospect Park as a cold front is passing through Brooklyn and the ice is frozen, the trees are bare and winter is very in your face. In Miami, I struggle with the AC at work turned on so cold it feels like it's about to snow. But..outside, it's going to be 81 degrees and partly cloudy.
These are your winter shoes if you live far north of the Mason Dixie Line:
If you live in my neck of the woods THESE are my winter shoes:
So...the map looks like this:
Tropical in Miami but across the rest of the nation it looks like God draped a turquoise necklace across the United States. Pretty pink beads sort of dangling from the turquoise. Cold weather somewhere, but not here today. The boat parade had picture perfect weather, the party had picture perfect weather and today on the "busiest mailing day of the season" we will have nice weather in Miami to get those packages to the post office. Julie in a nice blue shirt is explaining how the front is not going to get down here and "we will stay mainly warm and dry as high pressure is firmly in control." (She talks faster than I do, wow...)
In Miami I am wearing my winter sandals. That means..they are black. Summer sandals white, winter sandals black.
Now you know how we do the seasons in Sunny Miami ;)
Enjoy your weather, your shoes, your warm socks and your favorite boots where ever you are this morning.
Be well.. besos bobbi!
Ps..while talking on shoes... I'm impressed, I didn't know President Bush could duck like that! The man's got great instincts! Could you duck that fast? No deer in the headlights moments from George W!
Sparano says to Joey Porter coming out onto the field after half time and reminds him we need him now. Joey Porter tells him "I'm a closer" and Sparano smiles in the post game press conference telling over the story and says "he was right!"
Joey Porter stood on that field today listening to Miami Dolphin fans on and off the field, there at the game and at home all begging him in their minds to "DO SOMETHING!" Somewhere mixed in with "oh please let the Fins win this game" there were a million people somewhere in Miami saying "come on Joey Porter DO SOMETHING!" and............... he did. He did.
Joey Porter closed the game today. On a 4th down he reached in and did his thing and sacked the quarterback. It was wild. It was electric! It was exciting and I love him!
And, most of all to see him celebrate or jazzed up on the field the way he did (helmet or not.. ) made ya proud, made us all proud.
Miami has a defense. We have not allowed a touchdown in 3 games. We tackle, we blitz, we sack. Unreal. So real!
Great game... San Fran spent so much time on the field and came up with so little. Miami's offense was on the field barely at all yet the defense hung in there. Time of possession does not always win the game. Defense does it seems as my father always told me even when I argued the value of a high flying offense. Defense wins games.
Joey Porter put that game away today and all of Miami loves him. Great coach, great team. A really great team strong in so many ways.
I said it months back... it was definitely possible that the Dolphins Wildcats could very possibly get into the Playoffs with a Wild Card position yet.. now it's possible we could win the division.. Go Friggin Figure..
Oh wow... so.. this is what football is all about. It is a lesson you take in life. You can be down 1-15 one year and with the right coach, the right players... you can end up 9-5 the following year and in the hunt for a play off spot.
You don't give up. You learn from your mistakes. You work as a team. You "do what you got to do" to win.
And, there is a drama to football, a karma that unfolds. Favre goes to the Jets and Pennington loses his job. Pennington comes to Miami and gets a job... a BIG job and takes it and makes it his own and slowly this drama unfolds where we all wonder can the whole season come down to Dolphin Jets game where they battle it out once again.
Time will tell but for now Sparano's boys need to win next week's game before we worry on that Jets one.
www.joeyporter.com
http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/team/roster/playerBio.asp?docid=36943 (caught his first TD)
Miami Dolphins Play on Cool Breezy Sunday & NFL Fox Sunday Weather
I have rain flowers all over my lawn, it almost looks like snow. I ventured outside a few minutes ago and snacked these pics. Miami's version of a snow covered yard...
up close and personal with the butterfly...
A far cry from the ice storm up in New England this weekend.
Personally speaking I am sort of recuperating from the big party last night for my very beautiful, brilliant daughter-in-law who had a surprise birthday party. Yup... my son flew in her mother, sister an aunt... well the whole family was there, all the Meyer kids and almost Meyer kids, some Apple.. Turnberry, there was a very nice interesting bartender from Columbia, Cali Columbia. The palm trees swayed and looked very tropical in the moonlight reflecting off the water on the bay and the sushi was good, I drank Scotch, the salmon was good too... it was nice. She was surprised ..or she said she was surprised. I know she knew something was up but not that. Either way... was good hanging with my family, the guys, my cousin and his kids and giving thanks for all I have in my life.
So, recuperating from the party and the cold which I am still trying to kick though its more bronchitis than a cold and lying in bed watching the Miami Dolphins play and thinking how lucky Jillian Barberie is to be able to do the weather for Fox NFL Sunday. I mean really... people ask me all the time "Don't you want to work for TWC?" and I'm like "noooooo" but wow Jillian gets to go on, dress up, give the weather for the footballs games and talk to JJ :) and Bradshaw.. wow, now THAT is cool...
I just heard on the pre-game warm up show while interviewing Don Shula about the wonderful turnaround for the Fins this year compared to last year.. Shula said, "last year, well that was a disaster!"
Weather and sports.. nothing like it when you are spending Sunday in bed trying to get over a cold and talking to friends and family on line.
Fins scored ;)
One of the guys told me last night.. "Bobbi, you got to go where life takes you..." which was very profound really. Another one of the guys looked up and said, "yeah, but not til the Dolphin Season is over!" ;)
Priorities and wisdom on a moonlit night by Biscayne Bay.
Location: Miami, Raleigh, Crown Heights, Florida, United States
Weather Historian. Studied meteorology and geography at FIU. Been quoted in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & everywhere else... Lecturer, stormchaser, writer, dancer. If it's tropical it's topical ... covering the weather & musing on life. Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/#!/BobbiStorm
