CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Shabbat Was GREAT!

Thank you everyone for all of your comments! I'm having a great vaca and thinking about those of you who are at work and hoping that the other vacationers are having fun too! I really hope to go out with IMA today and have some fun. I wish you all well. Enjoy the sun, be careful for black ice though.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Starbucks Adventure


Ima and I went out together to Starbucks today. We sat there quietly knitting and crocheting. We had a lot of fun.

Gonna Do It Right


So, tomorrow is boxing day. For the first time in my life I plan on waking up early, like 6:30-7:00am, and heading over to Metrotown for some action. I've never experienced boxing day, usually I cower away in my home. But after boring myself all through Dec 25th, I've decided that I'm ready to feel the rush of the crowd (finally things are open.)

My goals are to buy new shabbat shoes and maybe a few winter tops. B"H, I'll be matzliach. I'm not running into any of the stores that are opening at 6:30am and having first come first serve craziness. I do want to be in the mall between 8:00- 8:30am, so that I can HOPE to beet the REALLY busy crowd.

We'll see how it goes. I'm not going to splurge, but to invest in tznius clothing for shabbat and chol.

I want to wish everyone a great vacation! Have a great night, or day, and keep smiling.

All the best.

Sarah Rutti

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Mission Completed.

I've successfully transformed two pairs of pants into two skirts.
Here are the profits:



On another note. I'm thoroughly enjoying my time off. B"H, tomorrow I"m going snow tubing with the Meltzers, Mizrachis, Acocas and Pachts. B"H I'll be able to take pictures and post some. Otherwise, have a great night/day.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Opps, I forgot...



My Ima made the dress.. hand sown.

Maira Pacht and I

Kalla and Chatan
I forgot to mention that I went to a wedding sunday night and then sheva brachot monday night and now tonight. here are some pics from the events.

Busy, busy, busy

As you can see from my lack of posts, I've been very busy since I go off of school. I start working full time almost immediately. So, I won't really bee myself, or available, until shabbat. Sorry about the hold up. There are a lot of things that I had planed of taking care of by now... but they're gonna have to wait. Take care everyone.

Have an easy fast, those of you who are still in it. I have 15 minutes to go.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Free from school


Today I embark on a new journey one away from school. This voyage will take a whole of three weeks. When I return I will be revived and refreshed and ready to start another semester! Oh YEAH! Until then, it's time to kick back, relax, and start sewing. All the best! I'll be in touch.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Rosh Chodesh Tevet

Rosh Chodesh rises once again.

This is one of the mitzvout that the yivanim forbade us to keep. Ironically, there is always a rosh chodesh during chanuka, specifically on the 6th night, that remains as a taunt to the yivanim, and everyone else, that Banei Yisroel will always be around preforming HaShem's mitzvout.

I see it as a promise, clear as the moon in a vacant sky, from HaShem. This rosh chodesh stands with us, like all the other mizvout, for eternity. We are here, and we are going to keep the Torah and work on ourselves to be the best ovdei HaShem that we can be.

Specifically for women, this chag and day remains as reminders of the strength that we hold within us. Countless times, it was the women who stood up for the truth and clung to the Torah. It is for these characteristics that we, as women, were given rosh chodesh as our zeman and time.

(With that said I really don't feel like studying on rosh chodesh :-( Too bad I have a final after shekia :-S)

So, enjoy this rosh chodesh and 6th day of chanuka. Use it to better yourself and the people around you, as the women before you have in their generations. May we all realize our kochot and use them for the good of ourselves and others.

Keep strong! Keep straight!

Sarah Rut

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Sick of studying francais...

Ok, I've spent so much time of francais during this semester that I really don't feel like applying anymore energy into the course. :-S The frustrating part is that I know I have to study, because repetition is a must in languages. But I"m so tired to writing and repetition phrases and vocabulary!

Anyway, shabbat was great and I really enjoyed the serenity! I hope all of you are doing great in what every you're doing! Have a great week!

Stay tunned for rosh chodesh tomorrow~!

Friday, December 07, 2007

I can see the light and the end of the tunnel... or are those headlights?


Three down, two to go! Oh YEAH! I'm so excited to get this over and done with!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

one down, four to go...

Yeah! me, four more to go. The next two are tomorrow starting 8:30am and then at 11:00am

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Chanuka...don't eat too much ;-P



I need inspiration. What should we be focusing on during chanukah?
Bitachon?

Comments appreciated.

Monday, December 03, 2007

The snow has turned to rain

Unfortunately, the precipitation in Vancouver has turned to rain over the past 14 hours. So, instead of having snow falling from the sky in a continuous blanket, we've been receiving rain. Consequently, the snow has melted and wash away :-(

Saturday, December 01, 2007

It's Snowing!

Attention!

Attention!

Coming live from Vancouver Canada, it's been snowing for the past 24 hours, on and off of course. I have a hug aural exam in french on Monday and it will be canceled if the snow keeps up :) The annoying news is that I have to work early tomorrow morning, I have to be there by 8:30am. So I'm gonna wake up and call my boss to make sure the building's open before I head up there.

Here are some pictures of the snow fall:


Close up with the flash on.

looking down my street using "night vision."

Looking the other way down me street.

Please note: During one of the recent breaks in snow fall, my brother and I shoveled the snow. But as you can see, less then two hours later, it's all covered again.


Looking down my stairs in "night vision."

Another picture of the snow, using flash.

Enjoy all of you, i hope you're not working tomorrow!


Thursday, November 29, 2007

What parsha is it anyway???

Parshat Vayshev:

What happens in this parsha? A lot does so I'm not going to attempt to summarize all of it. B'H, I've reached a point in my learning where I now remember the storyline of the parsha without needing to learn the pasukim, not that learning the pasukim is not beneficial.

So, after glossing over the events in the parsha a plain and simple thought struck me, WE'RE IN OLAM HAZEH!!! We're not in gan eden. Now, i know that everyone knows this, and that this fact is not a revolutionary idea. However, i feel that many times I lose focus on this simple fact. How do I do that? I do this by thinking that 'big is better' and that, therefore, I should aim to get the newest models available. I can lose focus by concentrating on the gashmiut that i DON"T have (B"H) and then by getting upset and trying to attain it. In this way, I treat olam hazeh like olam haba and lose track of my tachlis in this world.

B'H, this parsha has reminded me and taught me to keep focus. Yes I don't have a car, yes I"m not rich with lots of money. But what do I have? I have the ability to pay for post-secondary education (with the help of student loans ;-p) I have the ability to attempt to get myself out of Vancouver and into Toronto. I have the ability to contact my friends, half way across the globe, and I have the ability to make a difference in children's lives and teach them Torah once a week....

I could go on. Rabbi Meisels taught me that I have a lot, if only I tilt my head away from the negative and focus on the positive I'll be able to see it all.

Yes, Yaakov (Yisroel) had a hard life, we all have our nissoynot and pekala, and we can understand why he wanted to 'settle'. But Hashem told him clearly that is not his tachlis and that he will 'settle' in olam haba.

May we all be zoche to settle in olam haba with tova and concentrate our current existence as being ovdei Hashem.


Shabbat Shalom.

Sarah Rutti

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Application in Process...

I have officially started the process of applying to Universities. With my second year at Langara College coming to an end, the time has come. One small step for man... with thousands more to follow. We'll wait and see what happens, as I continue to send in the required documents to complete the process.

Good Night.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The end of the week!


YEAH!

Friday is here, well basically. This day marks the end of a long journey, and the beginning of a fast approaching vacation!
"And the crowd goes wild, YEAH YEAH!!!!"

Can you feel my enthusiasm?

So, with that said, I only have a math assignment for monday! Oh, how relieved a I feel! B"H! (Thank G-D) For those of you who are still stuck with in the project and essay deadline trap, don't worry, it will soon be over!

We're not going to think about finals now, though. That amount of worrying has it's time and place.

So, good luck to all of you. Thank you for listening and keep up the cheer! We can pull through this!

Shabbat Shalom.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

School...

It's hard to keep motivation all the way to the end. I've passed the 2 week mark till the end of classes. After investing for the past three months, I'm finding it difficult to keep plugging into everything... But I must do it, and I must to well. With that said, I'm gonna study for my french Oral Exam that is transpiring on Thursday. Have a great day y'all.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I"m been tagged for 7 random tings about me...

Okay I've been tagged by Jelaina to post 7 random facts about myself.

The Rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names and link to them.
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.

Well, since I really don't know who my readers are, I"m going to make this a little random and impersonal. Those of you who know me well know this stuff already and much more. So here goes:

  1. I'm passionate about anything I believe in. This includes facts about how the world works and so on. However, I've learned to keep my peace during classes that bring up controversial subjects. That doesn't mean, though, that I don't feel strongly about my believes, I'm just more careful about when I let then known.
  2. I love how detailed our world is. This includes the veins in our bodies to the veins on a leaf. I love the way the seasons are run and the way nature takes it's place. I find being encompassed in nature very peaceful and calming.
  3. I love reading, literature is my escape. When the day is too stressful I really enjoy picking up a fiction novel and reading. However, I can't stand romance and baseless plots. I need books that engage my intellect. Such as mysteries and some fantasies. The hard part is finding a good novel that isn't focused around relations (sex.)
  4. I'm close to a perfectionist and control freak. However, as mentioned above, I've some a long way in working on those characteristics. I usually use them to get homework done and enjoy my work. When I was 7 I used to ask my mother for the detailed directions about how we were going to get somewhere. These details had to includes all streets and turn we were going to make. Thank G-D I don't do that anymore. But I had to work really hard to stop :-S
  5. I believe that everyone one has a unique verity of abilities special prepared for them. That no one has ever or will have that unique blend ever again. It is for that reason that I strongly think that everyone has the ability to make a difference in his or her life. And the difference doesn't have to be acknowledged world wide for it to be a momentous difference. The fact that I can change one person's life, let a lone my own, is an amazing concept. If I utilize me abilities I can make a difference to every person I meet.
  6. I love to clean up and organize things, it has to do with being a perfectionist. I like the feeling of accomplishing something, and putting everything away in its place. I love the sight of clear counters and sparling floors.
  7. I spend time working on characteristics. As mentioned above, I really try hard to make a difference with my life. I feel that if I'm not willing to change for the better, then I'll never end up being the best me I can be. I have a unique opportunity, to live my life with my situations and characteristics. We all have this individual opportunity.

I don't know if I can dig up 7 people:
MAK, SEP, Earlyriser, Calvin and Hobbes,

Ok, those are the only ones I could dig up....

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

It's really hard...

I was sitting in class today listening to the teacher speak about geological time scales and the creation of the earth...Of course, throughout his lecture I kept remembering how we know the world was created. >>That lead me to think about this AMAZING autobiography I heard, >>which inspired me to try to live each day closer to HaShem >>and then I *sighed*.

It had been one day since I listened to the autobiography and until I stepped into the outside world I was able to keep that feeling within me, to a high degree.
>> Then I was back outside, being tossed and turned by the currents of the wind and water... subject to weathering and erosion.

But I don't want to be made into a smooth stone, used to the tossing and turnings of the currents. I want to stay angled and coarse, aware of the currents and able to fight against them.

This is my hope, this is my path of survival. Because if I do allow myself to become smooth and spherical, then I will have lost myself to the tide.

B"H, that wont happen. I must stay sharp.

But how? What should I keep in my mind as I traverse the immense hallways and corridors? What can I do to keep my mind in FOCUS? Torah, mitzvout! KAVANA!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Shabbat in our week

Just to start off the week, I wanted to remind us, mostly myself, that shabbat is coming!

We should be zochei to live this week with the kavana that shabbat is coming closer and that every action we do can be elevated by it, when done with the proper kavana.

I learn Ahavas Chesed once a week and we've been learning how many of the actions we do regularly are chesed miztvout. All we're missing is the kavana while we preform that the action is a chesed and that we're doing it because it's a chesed ;-)

So, have a great mitzvah filled week. May we all have the proper kavana while we do our daily activities.

(Some examples are washing dishes, helping someone with the door, teaching people, car pools, and so on.)

second image from: http://ctyouth.net/images/focus.jpg

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The meaning of hakarat hatov

While making the goody bags for my math fair project, i decided to listen to a shiur on line. This shiur is from The Smuz and it's called "Rich, Richer, Richest." I would like to share with you one of the points that Rabbi Shafier mentions:

The definition of haratat hatov is not appreciation, but recognition. The inyan of being makir tov, is one based of recognition that there is something being done to you that is good. Consequently, Don't just wolf everything down in two minutes, but take the time to appreciate and acknowledge what H'Shem has given you.

Another important point Rabbi Shafier mentions is the importance of perspective. I know that this has been mentioned many times and I'd like to repeat this idea in context with the word 'rich.' When people ask themselves, "Am I rich," what are they measuring their situation against to determine the answer? If they were to measure their richness against a poor man's possessions, then they would find themselves rich, indeed. But we don't, we use the term to reflect, "Is there anyone who have more then me, if so I"m not rich, is not then I'm rich."



Using this measuring technique, we will never be rich. Because there is always someone with more money or possessions. It is, therefore, important that we you should be thankful and grateful for the thing that is being done.

I think that this is a very important concept that we need to have clear in our minds. If we are aware of the amazing details that are orchestrated by H'Shem for our good, then we can only be happy and grateful. But first we need to recognize. So the next time you sit down to eat, notice the colours of the food, smell the flavours, and taste the textures with time and patience. judge our wealth with against the statement, "Do have have more then I need to be comfortable?" Do you have any luxuries? A cell phone perhaps? You can live without it, eh? How about a camera? There are many other luxuries that common people live with, but don't need.

I don't want to go through his whole drasha. Feel free to check out the link above. It's a website that offers free downloads.

Have a great week!

Try to be a better eved H'Shem by recognizing all the SMALL things he does/has done for us!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Good Night, with a twist


I hope that everyone had a great shabbat. I want to share an insight that I learned over shabbat from Rabbi Baruch Leff's book "Shabbos in your Soul." He mentions there that shabbat is what connects our mitzvout of the week to olam haba, giving us the ability to earn zechus. Since we live in a gashmiut world, it is not possible for us to attain zechus through gashmiut actions. What we need is a connection to ruchnius. Shabbat is this connection.

(this learning should be a zuchus to the neshama of rabbi nachemiah ben moshe - I'm pretty sure that's Rabbi Kibel's name.)

What is shabbat? Shabat is a gift from HaShem's ganiz, treasure chest, that He's given to US! It's mein olam haba, it's not gashmiut, but ruchnius. Like our neshama, HaShem puts it in this olam haze and allows us to have a chance to connect to olam haba. Without it, our mitzvout would not be able to earn us zechus in olam haba. This is why our chachamim call creation 'sheshis imei bareshis'. Why 6 days and not 7, because on the 7th HaShem didn't create, He gave us shabbat. He installed the link between olam haba and olam hazei, for us. This explains why we say 'mekadesh hashabbat' in shemone esrai of shabbat, because we didn't make it (like the yom tov) HASHEM makes it ang GIVES it to US.

So, not only does shabbat allow for us to stop and rethink our lives and weeks, it allows us to attain zechus through our mitzvout during the week. It's the missing link.

How lucky are we to have this matana tova. B"H, we'll use each week with the knowledge that shabbat is coming to link us to olam haba and grant us a time to attain heights in ruchniut.

Have a great week! Shevua Tov.

Sarah Rutti

P.S. I just wanted to remind you that today (america time) is Rabbil Kibel's 2nd yartzeit, alav hashalom. If you could take a moment today and say a perek of tehillim or learn something in the zuchus of an aliah to his neshama, that would be great. It's one small thing that you're able to do for him, since you can't do mitzvout in olam haba.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Busy Week


B"H! it's erev shabbat (the day before shabbat) and the week is finally ending! It's been a very long week for me, running from school and babysitting and homework, though very productive. I'm a LITTLE worried about running dry but I'm gonna try my best not to and just keep going and enjoy every spare minute I get!
So, I relaxed tonight, finally answering some of the neglected friends and email (sorry :-( ) B"H< I'll be in bed soon and asleep, allowing for an early rise and more productivity in the morning.
I'm starting to research (quickly) for my english essay and I'm even ahead in french homework! Yeah me!
I hope you're all doing well and having a great time thinking about shabbat and then end of a week/ beginning of a new week.
I'm working like CRAZY on sunday so I won't be too availible, but I miss you all!

Shabbat Shalom.

I'll try to add something about the parsha (weekly Torah portion) tomorrow morning. :D

Monday, October 22, 2007

It's been raining, 3 weeks and counting...


Apparently, there's been a typhoon from Japan that has swept across the pacific ocean and hit the west coast. As a result, Vancouver has been drenched in three weeks of downpours. I personally don't mind, as I love the rain and find it's sound relaxing and calming. Surprisingly, as well, I haven't gotten sick of it just yet. But, it is still raining.

It's the perfect weather when all you have time to do is sit and do homework. That is why I've been able to have no life but school for the past little while, and I apologize for my absence in posts.

We were luck last weekend, when the weather did allow for some outdoor adventures, and I was able to go socialize with other human beings. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go outdoors with others when it's raining, but most people don't want to go out when it's raining so it turns into a solo experience.

There is something to learn from this though, too much of anything isn't good.

I'd like to apply that sentence in this case. I'm hoping that mud slides will not occur on the north shore, and that the Fraser river will not overflow its dikes.

For only so much of anything is good, excessive is just that, excessive.

So, have a goood night, week, and month!

Sarah Rutti.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Apple Fair





Today I wen to an apple fair down by the famous University in Vancouver. I went with two other families because they're husbands weren't available to come and they needed another pair of hands to take care of the collective 8 kids, BY'H. It was really fun and I enjoyed tasting all the different kinds of apple that they grow in Vancouver and being out with PEOPLE and not just with my books.
One of the really interesting things about whole fair is that there are SO many different types of apples and they all taste the same. You'd think that apples are apples, how many different flavours can you really get out of apples. But here, there were TONS of different types will all different flavours.
So I started thinking 'Wow, HK'BH (G-d), it's amazing how many different types of fruit You made, but look at all of these different flavours in one fruit!'
I wanted to share that idea with you, as well as the experience. Besides for being very frightened by the mere size of the campus, and woodlands around the area, I really enjoyed the fair. I felt that it was a sort of welcoming party for fall.
I hope that you are all doing well and that school and work are going well. Keep on smiling.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Rosh Chodesh Chesvon

The time has come, it's rosh chodesh chesvon, (first day of a new month). Many people call this month 'mar chesvon' because there are not chagim during this month, were there are during tishrei and kislev, the two adjacent months to chesvon.

We also know that, in general, rosh chodesh has a special meaning for women in particular.

How can we apply this concept to ourselves?
I found a very nice article on aish called 'The Gift of the New Month.' You want a deeper explanation, she goes through it very nicely.

In short, I'd just like to say, that the moon represents the ability for renewal and rejuvenation. Similar to the concept that one must fall to get up again. Here too, one can attain a certain amount of chizuck (inspiration) from the moon as it reminds us that we can always pick ourselves up again.
This perspective is very useful as well enter Chesvon. Here, we're leaving the month or intense joy and revival, to enter a comparative dessert. What message should we take with us?

The message that we must retain as much of the spiritual elevation from tishrei as we can, an hold it for not only the next month but the next year. We will fall but we MUST get up and learn from our mistakes and put ourselves back together again, just like the moon does, and be hole.

I'm sorry that I didn't properly develop this theme. I'm tired (though that's normal and therefore no excuse) if ANYONE is confused by poor communication skills at this hour, please let me know I will take the time to clarify. Have a GREAT rosh chodesh and shabbat!

Shoresh.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Take care of the world


Although I'm tired and about to go to bed, I wanted to writing something for Leah.


We know that the world around us has been set in motion by HKB"H (G-D) as we read in the parsha (weekly Torah Portion) last week. He created everything in this world before creating humans. This has tought us that this world if for us to us and take care of. As Adam is asked to be the shomer (guard)of the garden.

How can we apply with concept to our personal lives? Well there are many ways. To name a few, one could be more environmentally friendly and reduce, reuse, and recycle. Right now, annoyingly, the city of Vancouver is under strike so there's not public recycling collection, which is making 'some people's' lives difficult. But, there are other ways to help.

Secondly, one could be kinder to the things living on this planet, with us. One could make a bracha and be mekadesh the ruchnius of every object. I could go on, but you get the message.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention something that just came to my mind about the idea of chessed (kindness) that I learned from "Ahavas Chassed." It writes that the actions that we do habitually, holding the door for the next person, helping someone pick up their spilled goods, could be come a mitzvah of chessed if we have the kavana (intention) that that's why we're doing it.

I could elaborate on this idea, but I really need to go to bed... so I'll try to pick it up later. I just wanted to write something, besides for me annoying personal updates.
Thanks again for your time. Good night/day.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Feeling On Top

B"H! (Thank G-d) I've been able to complete my homework! I still have more to do tomorrow :S, but that's always the case. I was even able to enjoy the presence of my family for two hours, and babysit for 5 hours, and still complete my hw!

B"H, my french hw and studying will be done in time for my quiz and test, this week.

Thanks for putting up with my up dates. I'll try to sit and write something inspirational really soon. Just give me some time, eh?

Have a great week, good luck to everyone in their own respective work and assignments.

All the best :D
Sarah

Sunday, October 07, 2007

YES!

This is for SEP, thanks for the respective picture that you put on your blog I really liked it and now have found a cute one as well, though yours I like better!

I'm very proud of myself, I'm not listening to a shiur (class) on tefillah (prayer) and I have a great hour of learning with Mrs. M.

B"H! (thank G-d) I did a lot of hw, though I'm still confused about some of the IF function :S.


Otherwise, I"m leaping up and hoping to stay up for a little bit. I'm gonna go to sleep now and wake up early so that I can accomplish as much as possible.

So oh yeah!

I hope that everyone is having a great day! Here's other pictures that I put on my other blog Just for Fun

One check for me!




I am breathing and being productive, b'H! (Thank G-d)
I just finished my take-home midterm. YAH! I figured out that I can cut and past pieces of a pjf file onto a word document, thus allowing me to retain the over all look of the midterm that was emailed to me and still be able to answer the questions. YAH!

So now I'm going to go daven minch
(pray the afternoon prayer) and then I'll attack excel and try to teach myself IFs and stuff like that.

Then, later, I'm gonna charge at my french hw, scary, and see how much I'll be able to do. B"H!
(thank G-d) I have another day to do more homework! And I might not even need the whole thing, but I don't want to jinx it....

I hope you're having a great day and had a great chag
(holiday) Look forward to my continuation of Crystal's Secret Adventures next sunday!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

It's All going to work out.



So, this is my exam schedule for next week:

Monday -

  • (canada) Thanks Giving. NO SCHOOL! means
    • a.) homework attack, all day long.
    • b.) babysitting at night, yes I'm crazzy.

Tuesday-
  • BCAP 1200 excel practical
  • Math take-home midterm due.
Wednesday-
  • Geology Lab Exam
  • English Essay due.
Thursday-
  • Dictée en français.
Friday-
  • Examen en français, unité 1 et 2.
Isn't that a great week! Well, lets just say that by the 15th I'll be one happy camper, if everything goes well and I'm able to retain my GPA.
B"H (G-d willing) everything will work out just fine. He's taken care so far and I'm sure, since I'm doing the best that I can, He'll continue in the future.

Have a great chag (holiday) Thanks for listening.



Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Green Is the Theme.


I'm about to go write the rough draft for my english essay, even though it's 20 to midnight. B"H, (abbreviation for hebrew saying 'G-d Willing.' the - replaces a o) I'll finish with something workable by 1 am. I really hope this goes well and that I'm able to GET TO SLEEP.

I might just post the rough draft here.

Since I've been spending ALL of my time doing homework, and not socializing, this is going to have to be my connection with other beings for the moment.

Thank you all for listening.

Oh, btw, my essay is going to define a recurrent 'green theme' that appears throughout many poems. Using quotes from the passages, themselves, and my own 'brilliant' ideas, I'll make my first totally creative college essay. Up until now they've all be RESEARCH.

Anyhoo... thank again.

A tout a` l'heure.

Just to let off some steam, after working on my math assignment for the past two hours!, I'm gonna share with you my accomplishment. Don't worry, you don't have to read or understand it, it will make me feel better though!

20a.) The student is correct to put the 3 over the hundreds place, the 1, because 7 isn’t going into 2, it’s going into 21. However, the student forgot to follow suit with the 49. 7 is not going into 4, it can’t, it’s going into 49, and should then be put over the 9, giving an answer of 307.

b.) Firstly, the student forgot to put the 2 over the 13, not just the 1, because 4 is going into 13, not 1. Additionally, 4 can go into 13 four times, to equal 12 with a remainder of 1.

50a.) 24 x 11 = 264, 14 x 11 = 154, 62 x 11 = 682. I seems that when a two digit number is multiplied by 11, the product is a thee digit number, whose first and last digit are that of the original number, and whose middle number is the sum of the first and second number.

b.) If you replace the two digit number by ab and plug it into the equation, it becomes clear why this happens, and that is holds true for any two digit number. :

A lot of the graphs wouldn't show up... so that's that. have a great chag.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Taking a Closer Look.


Today I was babysitting and the kids decided to watch this movie. Now, I don't watch movies but I had to sit there to make sure that the 'scary' parts were fast forwarded.
As it turned out, I ended up watching the whole things. I was so shocked at what I saw. Many dancing scenes involved skirts flying up to the waist, or higher, and Ms. Hanagin was so slutty she made me want to throw-up.
I found myself dreading the next scene and skip most of the movie.

This is a KID's movie. It's supposed to be nice and cute, not seductive and leg showing.

Need less to say, I left feeling gross, right now I'm still trying to get over it. I told the mother that I thought is was a bad movie and that I had to skip most of it.

So that's that, be well. Thanks for listening.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Going in the RIGHT direction.

That's right, I"m on the right road. After finally sitting down and finishing my hw, I was ready for relaxation by 10:15pm. If I would have known that it was only going to take me an hour to finish my hw... I would have started it a LOT sooner. So that's the recent update on my school overload.

Tonight, I hope, I won't go through the annoying depression again. I'll just have to sit down and ATTACK the work, get it over and done with.

Thanks SEP for being available to consult me. You really helped to put things into perspective. You rock.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Feeling Overwhelmed.

OK, so it turns out that I got a lot of non school related things down today. I got more toys for kids club over sukkout, I took a shower, I helped with the sukkah, I learned on the phone for an hour, I switched my summer and winter clouther, I changed my bed sheets, and now I'm updating my blog. But... I still have four exercises in French to do, a math journal entry, and I was hoping to get some 14th century English lit Chaucer read tonight as well.

I guess I have to a.) get cracking and b.) face reality that I'm not superwoman.
It's 9: 15pm now so I'll get going and see how far I can get.

I'm gonna try to look on the bright side a.) I still have 3 hours till I gotta be in bed, and b.) I'm not even going to THINK about the up coming chag and all the class time that I'm missing, and consequently, all the hw I'm missing as well.

We'll see how I'm doing on motzei shabbat when I'm staying up late trying MADLY to get as much work done as possible.

Until then, I'm off to complete my french exercised ( Je vais commencer mes exercices l'francais.)

Thanks for listening.

I hope all's well with you.

Have a great day/night.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Looking Back


Now that the yomim noraim are over, and the fast has been completed, what are we going to do with ourselves now? Many of us may feel a sort of floating feeling. We've just poured out hearts out to HaKadosh Baruch Hu and confessed out mistakes and errs of the past year. We've, hopefully, begged for forgiveness and promised to do our best to make the coming year more productive then the last.
But what should be our first step, or one of the first steps we take?

My Rav said a very nice speech by Neila. He mentioned that after praying a whole day in shule and privately confessing before HaShem, neila is a time to prove that prayer and confession true and show that we're reading to start anew. After spending the whole day to bedeck ourselves in new, clean, clothing, we now much change the inside to match the outside.
But neila's over. Can we still do this now? YES! We've gotten rid of our smelly, old, and stained clothing. We've adorned ourselves in fresh, trim, garments. We now have the task to look inside that match the inside to the clothing.

This is no easy task. So how can we try to accomplish it without becoming too discouraged or overwhelmed?
What should we do?
My advice is nothing you've never heard before. But as Kohelet says, nothing's new under the sun, and as the Ramchal writes in Mesilos Yesharim, it is the information that everyone knows, that everyone takes for granted and forgets. So I will now repeat the advice that had been given to me countless times.
Look inside yourself, at your characteristics and your personality. This is the thing that makes you most different from everyone else who walks upon the Earth. Search within this special part of you and try to find ONE thing that needs to be changed.
Make this thing small. Chose davening shachrit, or having kavna during birchot hashachar. It doesn't need to be about teffilla, it could be saying hi to the first 3 people you meet in a day. But make sure to chose one thing.
Then work on this thing for a month. Try to make a chart and give yourself a check at the end of the day if you've completed the task that you've set for yourself. Then, at the end of a month, see how you've done.

You may need more then a month to perfect, or get good, at this act. If so, go for it for another month. When you feel confident with your behavior in this act, add another one. Then continue with your checking chart with these two acts on it. See how you do in both of these acts after a month.

You can continue this act for the whole year. It could be that you don't get past two changes, but that's two things different in yourself from this yom kippur to the next. And that makes this year a productive year, one that HaShem will be happy to have given you.

It could be that this approach doesn't work for everyone. I don't know, it's just a suggestion.

I wish everyone a chatima tova. We should all be kaim the mitzvout of sukkout, as much as we can be as women, and be matzliach in the coming year. Let's make is worth HaShem's while, kaveiachel.