Bar Mitzvah Anniversary Brings Back Memories
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since Jack’s bar mitzvah, and my son is one year closer to his driver’s permit. Since his passage into adulthood, I seem to have more time on my hands. No more countless hours spent on rehearsing speeches and aliyahs, playing musical chairs with the seating chart, driving to tutor sessions, and making life or death decisions, such as whether to serve chicken versus sirloin kabobs at the kiddish luncheon. Continue reading
Magical Cup Invites Elijah to Your Seder
Each year at Passover time, my goal is to learn something that I didn’t know before and pass that new tradition on to my children so that they better understand their own heritage. In other words, I want them to appreciate who they are and where they’ve come from as Jews. After all, “Whoever expands on the Passover telling is to be praised,†said the Jewish sages, and I need all the accolades that I can get. Continue reading
Jewish Book Clubs Offer Good Reads and Eats
Eating and reading are my two favorite things to do,†boasts Wendy Pace, a gourmet cook and avid reader who blends her culinary and literary passions into every aspect of her life. It’s only natural then that this 38-year-old Kirkwood mom of two, who is a local food broker and the wife of the director of the St. Louis County Library, coordinates a unique Jewish reading group called “Cook and Book,†which heats up regularly at Congregation Shaare Emeth in Ladue. Continue reading
Horrific Missouri Puppy Mills Defy Jewish Law
Missouri is famous for many things: the pony express, Gateway to the West, Mark Twain, and, of course, caves, to name a few. The Show Me state is also on the map for something not as proud, but rather abominable: puppy mills. Continue reading
Canned Food Drive Reaches New Heights in CANstruction Contest
Canned food drives are plentiful these days. Everywhere you go—at school, temple, grocery store, post office, library, retirement center, shopping mall, movie theatre, and even the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra—a barrel devours your donation of black bean soup or beef stew like an empty belly starved for nourishment. In desperation to fill the sparse food pantries and ease the burden on government support, a can of tuna is as valuable as gold these days. Continue reading
In Honor of Queen Esther, Women Celebrate Their Inner Curl
If beauty is only skin deep, then why do women fuss so much over hair? If our hair is straight, we curl it with a perm. If our hair is curly, we straighten it with a flatiron. In my opinion, having a bad hair day merits a good excuse to not leave the house and instead crawl back into bed as if we are diagnosed with a contagious 24-hour virus. Continue reading
School Valentine Parties Get to Heart of Matter
Lately, I’m feeling nostalgic, and it happens every time around Valentine’s Day. This traditional romantic holiday, which dates back to third century Rome and is named after a Christian martyr named Valentine, is not the reason for my sentiment. Rather I’m reminiscent of when I was in elementary school (before disco became popular) and I decorated a Stride Rite shoebox to collect all my valentines. There were no holographic stickers, washable markers, and glittery gel pens in those days. To make my box pretty, I used red construction paper, pink hearts, and white paper doilies that I stole out of my mother’s dining room hutch. Continue reading
Going Green Is A Way of Life for Entrepreneurial Mom
How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but don’t bother. I’ll just sit in the darkness. I don’t want to be a nuisance to anybody.
This funny stereotype might apply to some older generations of Jewish women, but certainly not us modern moms, at least none who’ll admit to it. Continue reading
Obama’s Era of ‘Change’ Welcomes Movers & Shakers
Where were you when Barack Obama placed his left hand on a burgundy velvet bible that was last held by Abraham Lincoln and was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America?
If you’re a mom, chances are you were doing something else while you were glued to the most anticipated inauguration of our lifetime, either that or you set your TIVOs. Carrie Craven was waiting at the doctor’s office. Michelle Beilenson was hanging out with her mom. Karen Fox was running errands in her car and tuning into NPR. Laurie Velasquez was working in her office at a market research firm. Sandy Brand was zooming home from yoga class. Continue reading
Mishegas’ Column Reaches Out to Jewish Community
If creativity is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, then I’m sweating bullets.
I never know where my next idea for a column will come from—maybe after I read a good book, or decorate a sukkah in my backyard, or register Jack for high school, or watch the innauguration of the first African American president, I’ll be inspired once again in some literary way. It sounds weird, but even broiled chicken, especially when left overnight in the oven, stirs the creative juices for me. Continue reading