My first grade teacher and I are pen-pals. (Snail mail, ink and paper pen-pals). We’ve been writing letters since she retired and moved down South, some thirteen years ago. Before she moved away at the end of her last year teaching, she visited each of the classrooms of students she had taught, took pictures with us, and gave out her …
Do you work out? I have an undeniable couch potato track record (sneaking away from sports in camp, cutting gym class in high school) but recently, I’ve been taking a more serious look at fitness. Other than the game of belts in elementary school (remember that?), I shied away from all athletic activity throughout childhood. This is normal bookworm behavior, but …
Are you learning anything interesting? My Partner in Torah and I recently started Living Beyond Time, by Rabbi Pinchas Stolper (after finishing this book). It’s a collection of essays about the deeper meaning of the moadim. We want to pace it to read each section at the corresponding time of year, so we’ll be needing to choose another book to alternate …
Your single years are a great time to get on track financially. It’s not necessarily fun to think about money, but it is a good idea to get a sense of where you are holding financially, what your goals are, and how you are going to reach them. Then you can implement a plan of action which frees you from …
Hey, all, I’ve been meaning to post but it’s been hectic; my sister was here with her boys, and my close friend got married this week. Since this was so much fun last time, I decided to put together a summer bucket list. Without further ado: Paint something Visit the beach Take an archery lesson Mail a letter Take a foreign …
School’s almost out for the summer. I’m hoping to get to a few fun things over vacation (maybe another bucket list?). I always enjoy visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Here are a few tips for visiting the museum: Take advantage of the frequent free guided tours. Groups form at the end of the Great Hall behind …
It’s definitely wedding season. Here are some tips for choosing and buying wedding presents: As we’ve said, people do prefer gifts off their registries. Bed, Bath, and Beyond is a really popular place for registering, and here’s a great tip: if you go straight to customer service in any BB&B store, you can choose a gift off the couple’s …
Have you ever given blood? My first time was in seminary. A friend invited me along to Tachana Merkazit where Magen David Adom had a donation center. I’d thought of donating before but hadn’t known where to go so I was happy to tag along. (The irony was that she wasn’t eligible to donate after all but I was). …
It’s graduation season! I’ve been thinking about the advice I want to share with the high school seniors I work with. These are some tidbits I’ve learned over my journey so far that I think would have been helpful and encouraging to hear at 18. So, for those about to venture out into the wild unknown: 1) It doesn’t end …
Author Gretchen Rubin (also mentioned here) keeps a list of “Secrets of Adulthood” – principles about life she’s “managed to grasp as…an adult”. Here are some of my favorites from Gretchen: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good (Voltaire). People don’t notice your mistakes and flaws as much as you think. Most decisions don’t require extensive …
