A Life Update & The Launch of Parsha Packs!

Hey GUYS!
A BIG BIG shout out to my new followers. I've noticed a bunch of new readers and Facebook fans recently so WELCOME to my little world of CRAZY!!

I was a bit MIA in the beginning of December and I'm now just slowly getting back to every day life. Unfortunately, my sister is very sick. She is currently in ICU, stable but very critical. I am splitting my time between the hospital, working, and being a mommy to my 5 little children. I thought that I knew what it meant to multi task, but these past few weeks have been insane.  Please continue to have my sisters name in your thoughts and prayers. Her Hebrew name is Etta Malka Chaya bas Devorah Gruna. There is a mystical belief that when at least 40 women bake challah with a sick person in mind, there is a segulah (merit) for the hope that Hashem (God) will hear their prayers and help. I have started a chllah campaign to help gather and organize those who would like to bake Chakkah in honor of my sister Etta Chinskey. You can sign up here http://www.tziporahsnest.com/campaign.asp?id=200 I feel so lucky to have the special followers that I do. Your outpouring support and sweet words are beyond special to me.

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I was recently sent an interesting new product to play with from Beckovations . They just came out with
Parsha Packs. You know how your kids come home with tons of papers and newletters every Friday? My Shabbos table is always littered with them! Well these bags easily attach to your chair. You can place it on the back, the arm, or if you want it to be out of sight stick it under the chair so no one can see it! My son loves his and was so excited to use it last week!! Seriously, I think this product is ingenious and super practical. All my kids projects and papers stay safe and organized from week to week.

There are a few ways to order these Parsha Packs. You can order them with names or without - hand painted or embroidered. You can choose from a variety of boys or girls designs or let me design a custom one for you with your childs favorite character, sports team, or superhero!!

#1 You can order it plain.
Purchase it HERE. 

#2 BOY DESIGNS  
Purchase it HERE. 

#3 GEOMETRIC DESIGNS  
Purchase it HERE.

#4 GIRLS DESIGNS  
Purchase it HERE.

#5 CUSTOM DESIGNS
 SPORTS TEAMS, SUPERHERO'S,
TV/MOVIE CHARACTERS!!
Purchase it HERE.

#6 EMBROIDERED 
Purchase it HERE.

Currently the Parsha packs only come in the black/gray color combo. It's made from a beautiful leatherette material, with two zippered pockets. It can easily attach to your dining chairs with the four elastic straps. Never lose your child's Parsha sheets and weekend homework again!!

To order your Parsha Packs please visit www.not2shabbey.com or visit  http://www.beckovations.com/

If you have a question about ordering one please email me @ shabbey2@gmail.com 

You can also follow Beckovations on twitter www.twitter.com/beckovations

Till next time!

ABBEY 

BIG Changes Are Coming.........

{PLEASE READ} 

Due to the large demand for my pieces I have had to make MAJOR changes to Not 2 Shabbey. For the past couple of months I have been thinking about it, but this #Hanukkah season solidified my plans. 

If you've been following my company from the beginning then you know that Not 2 Shabbey is a small business that grew out of my love to provide customers with not only good quality hand painted glassware and ceramic, but PERSONALIZED and CUSTOM tailored to fit their needs. There is nothing better for me then to see the smile on my clients face or to read a special email/letter written by a satisfied happy customer. 

Although most of my business is spent designing custom gift items, I also create non-personalized generic tabletop and serve-ware pieces that can be found in various high end tabletop boutiques.   

Beginning JANUARY 2014 customers will only be able to purchase personalized products on my website. Any piece that I sell to stores will no longer be available to be purchased through me. These items include salad bowls , cake plates, shot glasses, trifle bowls, and pitchers.  Customers will have to buy them through one of my retail locations that will be provided on the website. 

I completely understand that without your continued support my company wouldn't be where it is today. So as a thank you to you all, I am having a BIG NEW YEARS BLOWOUT SALE starting tomorrow night though Wednesday. 

Enjoy FREE SHIPPING within the US and 30% OFF your entire order. 
Yes... it includes yarmulkes :) 

Just use code NYRS2014 at www.not2shabbey.com 

I hope you will bare with me while these changes are made. I should have the new and improved website up beginning the second week in January. In addition to these changes I have also hired some amazing people to help get pieces out to you sooner.  I have a new assistant and shipping girl. 

I am currently looking for.....
(1) INTERNS who are Design or Art majors in college.
(2) Retail locations throughout the U.S. where Not 2 Shabbey pieces should be sold. 

So if you know of a store in your area where you'd like my pieces to be sold or if you know of someone who might like to intern in a really fun and creative environment please email me at shabbey2@gmail.com 

HAPPY SHOPPING!
Abbey 

jCreate Magazine - Hanukkah Issue

Potato Latke Crafts

Potatoes are not just for latkes on Chanukah! 
Make these hand painted ceramic personalized platters by creating potato stamps! They make the perfect Chanukah gift for Bubby and Zeidy! 


Supplies: 
Potato 
Dreidel Cookie Cutter 
Knife 
Martha Stewart Glass Paints (Glossy)
Brush 
Ceramic Plate 





Step 1:
Cut your potato in half. Place the cookie cutter into the potato. Cut around the sides of the cookie cutter and take the extra potato off. You should now have a dreidel shape protruding out of the potato. 

Step 2: 
With your brush paint your dreidel shape and stamp onto the plate. Repeat as desired. 

Step 3:
Using the tip on your paint, outline around the dreidel shape. Personalize with names and design polka dots or swirls around the dreidel shapes. 

Step 4: 
Bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let it cool on its own inside the oven. If you do not want to set the plate inside the oven, then let it sit out for 21 days and it will cure on its own. 

You are now ready to use you're plate! Wrap it up as a gift or stack those oily latkes onto the plate! When you're finished just wash your plate with warm water and a soft sponge and the paint will never come off! 

Hope you love making this craft as much as I loved sharing it with you!

Till next time!
Abbey 

Body Revolution Kick Starter Week 1 Results

I told my brother that he gave me the best opportunity to get into shape.
He's getting married in January!
MAZEL TOV!
Now it's time to get my big tush into a gorgeous gown.

Last spring I did Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 Workout and I found it not only challenging, but effective. I lost 10 pounds between Passover and Shavuot so I knew that I wanted to use Jillian again. A friend of mine told me about Body Revolution a 90 day extreme fitness program. So I decided to look into it.

THE PROGRAM:
You get (15) DVD'S, a 90 day journal, 30 day online membership, 7 day Kick Start Diet, a Meal Plan, and fitness guide. If you order through the website you will also receive the resistance bands for the work outs, but additionally you will need a set of dumbbells (3,5,and 8 pounds) and a mat. The program costs $70 or $100 if you want the deluxe version (comes with 2 extra DVD's and a level 2 resistant band). Both plans can be divided up into 4 payments.

THE MEAL PLAN: 
The program starts off with a 7 day Kick Start meal plan. I decided that I could definitely use a kick in my tush and chose to really stick to the plan. Jillian gives you the exact foods she wants you to eat for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner adhering to a 1200 calorie diet. This is the same calorie amount during the rest of the program the only difference is that in the first week you are basically only eating proteins and vegetables; you're not allowed to eat carbs or fruit. The entire program is broken up into a 250 calorie breakfast, 400 calorie lunch, 150 calorie snack, and 400 calorie dinner. She divides all of her meal ideas into 90 days and the best part is that she includes all the recipes to prepare the meals. So it's really a no brainer.

THE FITNESS GUIDE:
The Body Revolution 90 day program is divided into 3 phases with 5 workout DVD's for each phase. Included are 4 strength training workouts and one cardio workout.  All of the workouts are just 30 minutes long. You are meant to complete one workout for 6 days, but during the 7 day Kick Start week you are told to do 2 workouts per day; one in the morning and one in the evening. The workouts of course get progressively more intense, but since they are used on a rotation basis it allows your muscles to recover before attempting those exercises again.

I knew going into the program that I would have to tweek a few things.

#1 I'm kosher and adhere to a strict kosher diet, so some of the foods that Jillian wants to you to eat, I can't.

#2 I'm allergic to milk and eggs, so that takes out a lot of the meal choices too.

#3 Almost 7 years ago I fell and shattered my left ankle. The only way the docs could fix me was to install a metal plate on the left hand side of my leg and pins on the right side of my ankle. I tend to stay with more low impact activities, although I am getting stronger and can do jumping jacks and kick-outs. 

Yah, it pretty much sucks :(

HOW DID I DO??
I was supremely excited to get started. The first couple days were not an issue, but the 3rd day was very challenging. I was totally having withdrawal and I was out all day long doing deliveries and meeting with clients. I ended up getting a salad from a restaurant only to find that it was totally wilted and inedible, but I didn't have time to get something else, so I ended up just stomaching it.

And that's the day I wrote this on my Facebook page. 

I was beyond ecstatic for Shabbos. I wanted to have at least one 24 hour period where I could eat challah and matzah ball soup and not feel bad. I of course planned to stay within my calorie threshold, but instead of 1200 calories I upped it to 1500 which I think is beyond reasonable for us God fearing Shabbos eating gals.


I never cook big meals on Shabbos unless we are having guests. My husband grew up eating the chicken from the soup and when I used to make a main course it would not be eaten.  As long as there is grape juice, challah, gefilte fish, matzah ball soup, and chulent he is a happy man - and don't we love to make our men happy???

My family and I have fallen into a routine of eating very yummy delicious small meals with a variety of salads that really fill us up. Thank God these dishes fall into my diet calorie plan!

Friday Night Menu
Homemade Whole Wheat Challah
Israeli Salad
Roasted Beat Salad
Gefilte Fish
Matzah Ball Soup (Made with a whole chicken that we will eat along with all the veggies in the soup)

Shabbos Lunch
Whole Wheat Challah
Chumus
Guacamole
Salsa
Garden Spinach Salad
Gefilte Fish
Chulent

The whole wheat challah came out beyond delicious. You can find the recipe here. I used all whole wheat flour and instead of white sugar I used honey. I also used 3 cups of hot water and 3 cups of seltzer which makes it extra fluffy. The calorie count is roughly 112 calories per slice.

THE RESULTS:
Drum roll please........
After the first week I lost 5 pounds and 10 inches all around my entire body. I honestly feel like my belly is flatter and I definetly have much more energy.

I can't wait to finish week 2 and tell you guys all about it!

Till next time!
Abbey

Print Your Own Chore Chart for Kids

If you've been following me lately then you know that I am busy organizing my family. Last week I redesigned our snack and lunch situation in the house. Now it's time for chores.

I ask my kids to help around the house all the time. They do most of the time, but we've never really put together a chore chart where they are responsible for specific tasks or domains within the home.

Teaching children at a young age to help around the house is the key to develop good habits in older kids. Not only does it develop responsibility, but it can foster self esteem as they start to take pride in their work and become masters in their jobs.

Source: The Happy Housewife

I knew I needed a chart for each of my children. I did not want to have one big chart for the family, but something for each of my 5 children - yes, even the almost 2 year old.

Here's what I was looking for in a chore chart system....
- I wanted them to be responsible for a specific room in the house (ie: bathroom, playroom)
- They had to be responsible for a daily chore (ie: garbage, laundry)
- I wanted there to be a separate spot for Shabbos.
- I wanted to incorporate the morning prep and afternoon rules (ie: get dressed, brush teeth)

I went perusing all over the internet for instant downloadable chore charts, but there wasn't anything out there that would cater to my families needs.

I ended up going to my favorite of all places ETSY. If you are unfamiliar with ETSY, it's a site that acts as a store front for artists and crafters to sell their original work to customers. I too have an ETSY store :)

I ended up finding The CreativiDee Workshop. She had exactly the look I was going for. The best thing was that I could print these charts directly from my own computer instantly!

I love this bedtime routine chart.
I have it hung up and framed in my children's bathroom. 

I also bought the Morning and Afternoon Routine Charts. I have them framed side by side in my hallway upstairs as a daily reminder for the kids to see what is expected of them.

Order it here!

I had Denise tweek the afternoon routine to fit my families needs.
Obviously we don't have a dog :) 

Then I saw the chore chart I wanted, but it didn't have what I needed. I asked Denise if she could create a chart specifically for my family.

The Inspiration.

Here's my original email query to Denise...

Hi!
Can do this custom order for me? I know this may seem like a strange request, but I think it will look great and will totally serve the purpose I need it for. I would need (5) 2 girl and 3 boys custom charts. I want it to look like your Daily School Routine, but I want to use it for chores for my kids.

Where it says Morning Checklist- I want it to say "Daily Chores"
Each box should have the letter of the week on top - M,T,W,TH,F
Where it says Daily Reminders - I want it to say "House Zones"
Each box should have the letter of the week on top - M,T,W,TH,F
Where it says Other -It should say "Tasks"
Saturday  - Should say "Shabbos"
Sunday - Should say "Behavior"

I would also like the boxes to be blank so I can put in my own chores for each of the children. Is it possible to create squares of images of chores that I can attach to fit into each square with velcro?

Within 48 hours I had my new chore charts for the kids. What I received from Denise was absolutely perfect!! 

I was so excited. I instantly downloaded the charts and printed them out on hard cardstock. I then took the pages to Staples and within 3 hours I had them back laminated. I put velcro on chart as well as behind each of the chore cards. 

I now have all of my kids charts hanging on a bulletin board in my kitchen.  I love that it's laminated because I can use white board markers to write down notes for each kid and then erase them for the new week. 

Purchase Here 

The last thing I needed was a reward system for my kids. I do not believe in paying children to do chores around the house. We pay a house keeper to clean the house, my children clean their home because they live in it and are responsible for it's maintenance, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't earn a reward for helping nicely and doing a good job. 

So I asked Denise to create a punch card to match the set of chore cards she made for me. There are 10 punches on the card and when they are finished with the card they get to pick a prize from our list of Chore Rewards.

I put together a list of some age appropriate chore rewards. I'm sure that some of these will be great ideas for your family! 

After instituting the chores in my home this past week I can tell you 2 major things. 

#1 You must be consistent with your kids. They have to know that this is their routine/job and they have to be responsible for it. 

#2 In the beginning it will be more your job then theirs. You must teach them how to be efficient in their chore. My 5 year old has learned to sweep. It took a couple times, but he now knows how to do it. It's not only a learning lesson for them, but a teaching moment for you. 

I am so lucky to have found Denise. She was such a pleasure to work with and my purchase with her was very budget friendly. Most of her instant downloads are just $5 and the custom charts were in the $25 range for all 5 of them. If you know how much graphic designers usually charge, then you know this was a really great deal! 

When I mentioned to Denise that I would be creating a blog post about my new chore system she graciously offered to give away $30 to her shop! You can use the money to make your own custom chore chart like mine, or you can use it on one of her instant downloads. All you have to do is enter below! I will be picking a winner at the end of the week :) 

Till next time!
Abbey 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Healthy Kosher Snack & Lunch Ideas

The Wolin Family is getting organized.
Don't laugh.
This is not a joke, I promise.
Although I am the most disorganized person in the world
It's not fair to make my children suffer anymore.
I'm an artist.
Nuff' said.
OY.

I decided that the first thing I'm going to do tackle
On my master makeover list is..........
School lunches.

I hate them.
I hate preparing them.
I hate making them.
I hate sending them.
I never have time to make them!
I wish wish wish my school provided my kids with lunches!
But they don't.

I guess there is a plus side though.
I get to have control over what my kids eat.
I am pretty particular about purchasing healthy snacks and foods.
Which is not always so simple since my family eats only kosher.

I try very hard to find foods that have
No GMO's
No corn syrup
And I try to buy the dirty dozen organically.

My favorite place to shop is Trader Joes.
They have a huge selection of kosher healthy food and snacks.
I tend to go shopping there every Monday and stock up on everything I will need to make my kids lunches for the week. Mind you I have 5 kids ranging from playgroup to Middle School. So I need a lot of snack and bread!

This is what the new me does :)

As soon as I come home from the market and my groceries are put away I start to separate all the snack in to individual ziplock bags. I cut up all the fruit and veggies before hand and separate them into ziplocks also. I have 4 bins (1) Nosh (2) Snack (3) Fruit (1) Veggies. Every day my kids can take out 1 bag from each of the containers to take with them to school.  I used to do this all 5 seconds before carpool was coming. Now it's just so simple and easy. Everything is ready for them!

Here's what's in each of the bins, but I alternate from week to week
(1) Nosh - Chips, cookies, bars
(2) Snack - Pretzels, crackers, popcorn
(3) Fruit - Apple slices, melon, orange, banana ect.....
(4) Vegetables - carrots, celery, peppers

I store my snack bins in my drawer and the fruit and veggies in my fridge. Every morning I take it out and put it on my counter for the kids to choose what they want to take that day. I refill the bins as needed.

Here are the top 10 lunches my kids love to eat. 

- Veggie burgers (my pickiest eater - go figure)

- Salad (Jr. high kid)

- Cheese sandwiches (LOVE my cheese maker) 

- Tuna in a sandwich or pepper

- Turkey sandwiches

- Yogurt 

- Hard boiled eggs or egg sandwich

- Cereal & Milk

- Fish Sticks & Applesauce

- Chicken Nuggets

I really hope that my ideas are helpful to you.
And I REALLY hope that I can maintain this throughout the year.
It has truly made my life easier in the morning.
At least I've got one item checked off my list.
Next up...... CHORES!

Till next time,
Abbey

Is Hobby Lobby Anti-Semitic?

Yesterday, I was perusing my Facebook timeline when I noticed that a friend of mine had shared a status about Hobby Lobby written by Larry Tepper.

You can read the full status here, but in a nutshell Larry explains that when his friends visited the Marlboro Hobby Lobby store in New Jersey they were told that they would not be stocking any Chanukah (Hanukkah) items because the store did not cater to "You People." and when Larry called the Marlboro store himself he was told verbatim "Mr. Green is the owner of the company, he's a Christian, and those are his values."

UPDATE: After some careful research it seems that the original post came from a political blog written by Ken Berwitz  entitled "Hopelessly Partisan."

Since then it's started to create a buzz. All over the Hobby Lobby facebook page people are wondering what's the deal? Is Hobby Lobby anti-Semitic? And it's not just Facebook it's on Etsy too. Crafters all over are taking a stand for and against Hobby Lobby's decision to carry Hanukkah items.

Being the ever questioning Jew, I decided to call the corporate offices of Hobby Lobby this morning myself. I wanted to know what their official stance or take was. I first spoke to a very nice man who then transferred me to the Customer Service center - I think I might have taken him a little by surprise.

The next man I spoke to explained in his very thick Southern drawl that Hobby Lobby used to carry Hanukkah items, but they were selling poorly on a National level and so they pulled the items from their shelves and they are no longer carrying any Hanukkah items. I then asked him, if that's the truth, then why did the Marlboro store say that it was the Christian values of Mr. Green that Hobby Lobby doesn't cater to the Jewish crowd. He told me that they are “looking into it.”

hhhhmmmmmm........

So here's what I'm wondering....

Is this a prepared statement from Hobby Lobby or the truth?

Was the Marlboro store telling the truth or assuming something of the corporate office?

Did in fact Hobby Lobby carry Hanukkah items in the past?

Here's what I know....

- David Green (The founder of Hobby Lobby) is listed on Forbes with a net worth of $5 Billion as of September 2013.

- The Green's own the largest collection of ancient Bibles and religious artifacts in the world. They have just purchased the earliest Jewish Prayer book dating back to the 9th century.

- Mr. Green has built his company on biblical principles and puts families first. Their store is not open on Sundays the Christian day of rest.

-Hobby Lobby has been front and center in the news recently for their stance on Obamacare and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because of its inclusion of the provision allowing access to the morning after pill. Listed on the brief are a few Jewish Organizations including Hadassah.

- Mart Green (David Green's son) supports the accusation that Israel is racist.

  

The bigger issue becomes...

How important is the Jewish market within the craft world?

I sometimes feel like the only Orthodox Jewish crafter out there.

Last January when I went to the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show, I felt like the odd man out. Over and over again I met crafting companies that took one look and me and said, "Jews don't craft" - "There aren't any Jewish crafters."

Between launching the FIRST EVER Jewish crafting magazine jCreate  and crafting up a storm with Not 2 Shabbey, or filming crafting videos with Chabad.org  I am trying to get the word out that - we Jews LOVE to create!!

- We are a large community - 1.54 million Jews in NYC alone!

- Spread throughout the US - 6.5 million Jews coast to coast

- Affluent consumer with the time and money to invest in projects.

- Heavily populated, tight knit communities hold great word of mouth power.

- We are a niche group of stay at home moms, educators, homeschooling parents, or moms with small children.

- There's always a reason to craft! Holidays (almost every month), learning the weekly Torah portion, Celebrations (births, weddings, Bar/Bat Mitvahs)

- The Jewish mom is always looking to buy new products and share the info with her friends. Her purchasing power is mighty.

- Since many Orthodox Jews don't have TV or other electronic entertainment, crafting is a big activity that we turn to. At almost every birthday party my kids go to or host, they do a craft as the main activity. 

We are pretty important.

Hobby Lobby and other crafting retailers and manufacturers should start to take notice.

Here's the deal.

Some people argue that it's their right to not carry Jewish items. Why should they? It's their store.... let them do what they want. If this was a mom and pop shop I would agree with them. There are many local craft and gift stores that only sell Christmas related items and there are Judaica stores that only sell Jewish related items. However Hobby Lobby is a craft store that sells nationwide. If they want to sell all over the nation then they must include all people within that nation. What would happen if they only sold stickers of white children? Believe me; we would be having a completely different conversation.

I don’t think that the company should go out of business, selling items that no one wants to buy. If you look at the facts or if you read Larry's original facebook post you would know that 1/3 of the population near the Marlboro store is Jewish. If Hobby Lobby was unsuccessful in the past selling Judaica items, it might behoove them now to start carrying Hanukkah items in areas near Jewish communities.

Do I think that the founder David Green is anti-Semitic? I'm not sure.

I know that you can't control the people that you hire. The workers they attract are strong in their Christian faith. Could the Marlboro store alone be anti-Semitic? Sure. Are they reflecting the ideas of the corporate offices? Maybe, but not definitely.

As Rabbi Don Weber writes in his blog post  "The same freedom that allows Hobby Lobby to ignore Jewish interests also allows us to ignore Hobby Lobby. OUR freedom includes the right to vote with our feet, and with our money. Why support a company that doesn't want our business?"

What I do know is that that this type of behavior is very dangerous.

Their anti-Semitic language is offensive.

The "You People" phrase is ignorant and insulting.

A Facebook friend commented yesterday.....

"I'm glad we live in a country where businessess are free to choose what they will or will not sell, and where customers are free to complain, boycott, publicize, or otherwise "lobby" for a change." 

And it seems for now Hobby Lobby is backing down and considering stocking Jewish Holiday decorations. The internet is a powerful tool. 

I just don't understand how someone so deeply rooted in their Christian faith could neglect to realize how much their religion is rooted in Judaism. Wasn't Jesus a Jew?

Abbey

1 Year Later

This past Simchat Torah my family and I marked the first anniversary of our new life together. It sounds kind of strange to say that, but it's true.

We are living a completely different life then we did last year.

My hubs has a new job.
My immediate families dynamic has changed since my step fathers passing.
My children are growing bigger and more independent every day.
I launched jCreate this past May and I am no longer teaching, but focusing on Not 2 Shabbey full time.

I remember crying and lying in the bed at the hotel room.
I knew, deep down that this was all a good thing and that everything would be fine in the end.
But I was mourning the loss of what had happened.
Of losing my old life in a blink of a moment.
I wasn't given any warning.
I came home to find my home destroyed
And a new life waiting for me.

We spent the holidays in a house we moved into less then 2 months ago.
Base boards still need to be finished.
Tiling still need to be put down and grouted.
Painting and sheet rocking are still not complete.
But we are home and that's all that matters for now.

My house is beautiful and my husband and I stand in the kitchen on most nights thanking God for this blessing in disguise wondering outloud...."Is this really our home?" We are just so thankful to be home at last.

This Sukkot, all I wanted was to be home and to feel at home.
Because there was no time to plan
Between shipping orders and painting them
Between kids home and having no school
We decorated our Sukkah in all it's "kitschy" glory.
With Christmas lights and colored foil decorations.

The only thing that I wanted this Sukkot was a green top.
I grew up in LA where we always had palm and for the past 8 years since moving to the East Coast I had been looking for green Schach. I saw on Facebook someone advertising that they were selling evergreen schach and I quickly called and reserved my bundles. The night before I was set to go to Brooklyn to get them, I mentioned to my husband before heading to bed that I was going to get them the next morning and I hoped that I had room in the car. He then pointedly said back to me, "Are you trying to relive your father's glory days picking up the schach in his big red truck?"

The famous tale that is told over and over again in my family goes like this.......
My father had a big red truck.
He used to go around before Sukkot getting palm leaves
And delivering them throughout the neighborhood.
One year there weren't any palm leaves to be found.
I'm not sure why, but he went searching and searching all over the city.
He ended up finding a bunch
But only after he had to jump a fence to retrieve the leaves headed for the dump.

I know this doesn't seem like a big deal.
But the story made a lasting impression on my sisters and I.
Bamboo mats were not so prevalent in those days.
I only saw them once I moved to the East Coast.
There would be no sukkah without those palm leaves.
My father had a truck
People needed the leaves
And so he went searching.
Little acts of Chesed - That's what's important in life.
That's what he taught me.

I just wanted to feel safe this Sukkot.
Perhaps I was seeking old memories.
But when I saw that green schach in my Sukkah this year
I was truly very happy.
Though my husband wasn't too happy with me.......
He kept telling me the Sukkah would cave in.
That the ceiling was too heavy.
He had to buy wooden supports....
OY OY OY.
The lists go on and on.
But you know what?
He did it for me.
Because he knew it would make me happy.
And I love him for that.

I ended the last days of Sukkot with my immediate family.
My brother from Israel came in.
My brother - in - law was here too.
My brother and his newly minted Kallah came as well.
And to top it off my mom spent 3 glorious days with my children.
Not only was it special for my family,
But it was wonderful having them around.

I guess you can say that there are a lot of lessons that can be learned from my experience this past year ........
- Appreciate what you have because you never know when it will be gone.
- The most important things in life are the items that can't be bought -
LIKE FAMILY

But the one lesson that I learned long ago - the one that I live by everyday is....
You don't get 2 lives,
You don't get 3 lives.
You only get one life to live.
So you better make it good.
Don't live in sadness.
Don't look back.
Stop crying and do something with your life.
Because all of your experiences.
Everything that happens to you is for a reason
And makes you stronger.


Till next time,
Abbey