Out of the Loop

Wow. It's been a while since I got to blog. Some important catch ups for those who want to know:

1. Most important, Mrs. LFD got a "Ocean" colors dress for a beach wedding that fits well and looks great on her (see picture).

2. Mrs. LFD finally got a sheitel she really likes (translated- spent some serious $$ on it) yes, I like it too. Sorry, it's not the one in the picture.

3. I had a conversation with Little LFD's Rebbe about not giving extra review as a punishment. Torah should never be used as a punishment because it will sour the kids taste for learning. He only marginally agreed, but hasn’t done it since.

4. I had no DAIRY cheesecake on Shavuos, only a Tofuti one made by Mrs. LFD. The lasagna made up for it, although I really don't like milchigs.

5. My computer died, and I was "forced" into upgrading to Vista (yuck!) Now some of my important 32 bit programs don't work properly anymore.

6. I had the pleasure of being at Lion of Zion's brother's wedding. It was nice, and I got to see Lion, Mrs. Lion & Jr. having a great time (he can tell details if he wishes, I asked if I could tell I was there).

7. Obama took over the banks and GM. Next stop-Israel (See The Muqata).

8. Got seriously and repeatedly flashed by a bunch of rowdy Puerto Rican teen age girls while walking down my block erev yom tov.
9. Did my science fair “going green” project on burping. We used the Alfred E. Neuwman song “It’s a Gas” as our back drop.
10. My daughter’s front teeth have both come out. I think she looks cute!

Your Grandparents Too?

I was at Mrs. LFD's parents for the first days. Her Grandfather lives down the hall from her parents. Every time we go, he offers us a calendar and/or a deck of playing cards. So did my uncles and aunts whenever we came to visit. What about you?

"Clothes Make The Woman" or "Can I See That Again?"

This post is inspired by SuperRaisy!

Here is part of the story. Mrs. LFD made a shidduch between a very close friend and a girl we heard about through a friend of Mrs. LFD. They are very individualistic and wanted to have the wedding on a beach. OK, the finding of a place that had a beach in the time frame that was needed took some time. But now, Mrs. LFD is on the quest of a lifetime: To find the perfect gown to wear to a beach wedding that will make her happy. Now good for me, Mrs. LFD doesn’t love shopping, but thanks to the wonders of high speed internet, I get the “can you look at this and tell me if you like it?” over and over again. Now to me, Mr. Shiny Pants, what you wear as long as it’s nice it's fine with me. But with women, it’s a lot more serious. Mrs. LFD found a nice gown in our price range online at Chadwicks. I finally thought my days of looking at women’s catalogs online were over. No. No, of course, the zipper was not sewn in properly so the quest goes on. And lucky for me online companies selling dresses update frequently, so I’m often looking at the same things and being asked, “Was that here yesterday?”, or seeing if an item has gone on or off sale. I truly sympathize with you guys who get shlepped along, and I hope Mrs. LFD finds whatever she’s looking for soon, and suggestions are always appriciated. Whatever it is, I know people will be looking at her instead of the Kallah. At least I will be…

Eat This!

So Mrs. LFD is wondering where the Jews got matzah from. No ,not the story you know, but what the first Jews in Mitzrayim who were commanded to eat the Korbon Pesach with matzah and marror ate. If they didn't leave yet, the story of the dough not rising and the jews having to eat matzah happened after the eating of the first Korbon Peasach, so where did the matzah come from? That's Mrs. LFD's question.
As for me, I want to know what how they checked their Romaine lettuce for bugs. Was BODEK available in Goshen? (yes I know they used horseraddish!)

Hold The Sunglasses, Please!

Many years ago, Mrs. LFD's brother got married, and I was told I needed a black suit for the wedding. No problem, and to Davenedbydekoisel no comments, please (happy birthday BTW)! Anyway, I was wearing said suit this week, and I was informed by Mrs. LFD that I was suffering from that malady of old age, "Shiny Butt". You know, that highly reflective shine that develops from to much time sitting at the table learning (or listening to chazzunims off key caterwauling). Now you may think this is funny, but all suits eventually wear down. This particular suit has had buttons fall off of the sleeves, and had a number of other minor mishaps. Perhaps what keeps me coming back to it is the fact that after all this time, the suit fits just fine. I also like the black double breasted look, and it's hard to find these days. Or maybe it's the fact that it's about time that Mrs. LFD gives my bottom the stare it deserves, only hold the sunglasses, please!

She made me do it- A guest post by Mrs. LFD

Sorry Guys, This One is For the Ladies.

This is Mrs. LFD. I know that I always say I won’t blog. However, this time I will make an exception. And no LOZ, the Mr. still cannot have his own secret blog! And I am still not interested in my own blog either.

I am not known for making these fantastic shopping finds as I actually hate shopping (the title for best finds and saves goes to Mrs. Gilmore,) but I recently had such a great experience with a web based company no less that I had to share. The company is called http://www.candygirldress.com They are on the west coast and they feature gowns for flower girls, pageant dresses and tuxedos for boys of all ages (sizes go up to boys 18!) The gowns are beautiful and at the moment they are having a sale and also are featuring x-mas (read Shabbat) dresses. The prices are also amazing.

Let me share my experience with them.

I needed lilac colored preferably matching dresses for my daughter and my niece because they were in a wedding party. The kallah sent us some pictures of dresses to give us an idea of what she liked. These pictures were from another website. That website did not instill confidence and my sister and I found bad ratings so the hunt was on. With about two weeks to the wedding we needed something fast. We came across this website after some time searching and found beautiful dresses. However, they did not have sleeves. My daughter is already of an age that I felt she could not go sleeveless. I called the company and asked if they could send some matching material so that I could make sleeves. Not only did they agree they also sent the material for FREE. When I called to confirm they thought that they had already sent my dresses (I ordered for both me and my sister) and no problem they would send it that day NO COST FOR SHIPPING. It turned out that when the dresses came the material was with the dresses already so I did not have to wait for a separate box. Now, I am not naïve and most good companies will accommodate their customers but it really was exceptional service... keep reading and you’ll see. This was in September.

I had been meaning to e-mail them a thank you with a picture so that they could see how nice it looked with sleeves (they do offer sweaters to go with the dresses but not in matching fabric.) I recently e-mailed them the thank you with a picture. In the e-mail, I also noted and that the pin-on flower belt got ruined (my daughter decided to go skating on her belly) and I asked if I could purchase another one. They e-mailed me back a You’re Welcome and that they would be sending the belt for FREE! But wait, that’s not all, I wrote back to say that I appreciated it and that I would be recommending their website. I got another e-mail from them saying “thank you for recommending us. No wonder we have been getting lots of sales recently. JOHN” How nice was that!!!! They were accommodating, you could get an actual response from a person and they have amazing!

Update

It seems that since the preschool and elementary school are in separate locations, it caused some confusion. Each family got a note sent home with one girl, so if you have daughters in two locations, you only received one note. That's why some girls got a note and other didn't. My apologies to the school on that note. But my wife definitely still has great toes!

The Mrs. Toes The Line (or are we tznius enuogh for you?)

A few weeks ago, a girl who was over at our house remarked to my wife "you're so cool, you wear flip-flops". Mrs. Lakewoodfallingdown took the comment as the compliment it was and life went on as usual. Until... One day this week my 5 year old daughter comes home with a note specifically addressed to the Mrs. Here it is:

I get home from work first. I open the letter and scan it. When the Mrs. Comes home, I ask her if she's been to drop off little-lakewood-falling-down at school while wearing her flip-flops. She doesn't recall one way or the other, so with a grin, I give her the letter. So even with the long sleeves, sheitel and floor sweeper skirts it seems there is a problem. Out of curiosity, I asked my neighbor, Mrs. Gilmour if she got the same letter. If this was a general statement, I'd take it better than a specific letter. Yup. Mrs. Gilmour got one too, and investigated via her friends that also have their daughters in the school. As it turns out, the letter only went to some parents. Like I say, Lakewood is falling down. I will make a point of asking if a woman's ankles are actually considered airvah, and I will follow up with an answer. But it does get better. We went to orientation night and the principal asked the moms not to dress the kids as if they are going to a wedding. School has arts & crafts, she says, so the kids will come home dirty at times (true of any good preschool program). So one mommy (possibly a "Hot Chanie") asks if her daughter can wear a short skirt... I have to give the principal kudos for not rolling her eyes. She gently explained that in school there is davening, parsha, etc.. and that the girls need to learn to dress approriately. I don't know if this mom got a letter home, but hey, she's not as hot as my wife's toes.

BTW- At my son's orientation, the tiny brand spanking new bais yaakov english teacher was saying to all of us parents how derech eretz must come first. I noticed a ripped piece of paper on the seat in front of me (all of us adults were squezed into 4th grade desk-chair combos) numbered 1-100 with one line written over and over - "I will not burp in English class. I will not burp in English class. I will not burp in English class....". I could barely contain my laughter, and of course passed the "note" around. Ah, yeshiva memories, they start so early in life!

Looking over my shoulder & Who do you love?

OK, a post about my Mrs. first, she thanks all of those who enjoy her carving skills. She is a speech pathologist, and hates when rabbaim strain their voices when giving sermons. She just yelled (read spoke to me lovingly)at me again because she enjoys reading over my shoulder (she is currently forbidding me from writing various things). She likes to cook lasagna for people, and hates when I bug her. She (and I) both like rotissere chicken that stands up (see photo) We're going on 11 years. She enjoys pointing out and taking credit for my gray hairs. We did not meet through a shadchun. She enjoys when I look at her when attempting to sing Eishes Chayil, because I always loose the place and she cracks up. Jacob Da Jew used to live downstairs from us, and got me into this blogging thing. My wife doesn't want her own blog, so she lives vicariously over my shoulder.