And I said I wouldn't....

..... write a review of 2009.....

But, I needed to do something to keep me awake and fill the last 45 minutes of the year....

So... here goes:

This year was a blur.... a blur of excitement, loss, sorrow, joy, hope for the future, and the like.

I never imagined that in one year I would find myself on the extremes of life spectrum.

Looking back on this year I find myself celebrating acceptance to graduate school and still mourning the loss of my Zayda.

How could one year go by so quickly? How can time pass so quickly? How can it be possible that I have now lived through two complete decades?

2009 has brought joyous and tough times not just for my family but for so many - we all look to 2010 to be a better year. But at the same time I find myself wanting time to slow down. It goes by so quickly, so here is to hoping that in 2010 I can savor the moments, good or bad, because before you know it they are gone.

I guess doing Project 365 this past year helped me capture the importance of slowing down, being able to savor a moment, either in photo form or in my memory forever. This year I will try to get out of the fast lane and savour each moment, no need to rush rush rush... life will be there whether you take the express of the local. So this year I plan on taking the local, because I know there will be so much GOOD happening this year that I do not want to miss at all!!

To a happy new year!

Slow down, you move too fast

You gotta make the morning last

Just kickin' down the cobblestones

Lookin' for fun and

Feelin' groovy

I think I've become a New Yorker.....

No, I am not joking......

It's odd.....

It may be true......

I went into the city today to meet up with friends. I was able to navigate and be a tour guide to them: from Penn Station, up 5th Ave to Rockafeller Plaza, to Times Square, to Bryant Park, back to Grand Central.

Two years ago I remember sitting in our car on Post Road, beyond lost, beyond late for my dentist appointment, tears streaming down my face while I sobbed into the phone to my mom "I don't like NY, I cannot find anything, and the other drivers honk and yell at me!"

Today, I felt confident navigating NY. What a change, what an adjustment, I guess it shows that all you need is time.

But no..... I am not talking like a New Yorker*....

*99% of the time

Falling off mountains!

Hello, my name is Tamar. I am in love with snowboarding!

I also have a serious love for my snowboard. Isn't it pretty?

I have also fallen in love with Jiminy Peak! It is an amazing resort, top notch slopes, and....

Lots of SNOW!!!

It was also freakishly cold there. The water was freezing right out of the reservoir drains.

But those folks at Jiminy are smart cookies. They installed an outdoor fire ring. It was amazing to be able to stand there and defrost after several runs. It also looks amazing with the slopes in the background, don't ya think?

It snowed the first day we were there, around 4 inches of fresh powder, amazing, really! What a way to be back on the slopes after taking a break last year!

An added benefit to going while many kids where still in school was that the slopes were EMPTY! See? Amazing, there is nothing like the sound of your board on fresh snow and the only other sound is silence, no wonder I do my best thinking up there.

Jiminy also get major eco-friendly points! I came around the bend on one my first runs and voila, this beauty turning in the strong winds. It generates 35% of their energy needs and was an amazing site to be so close to.

Mom even braved the cold to come out and snap some shots as I came off a run. It was an amazing trip and I can guarantee I will be back at Jiminy again, falling off mountains!

Recipe for thrills

This is an excellent recipe for those who are thrill seekers:

One part snowboard/skis*:

*you will need 2 skis to every one snowboard!

*I ride a K2 Luna and LOVE it

Add several well groomed ski slopes:

Allow gravity to take its effect, have fun, and try not to wipe out too many times*!

*I affirm that I was goofing off in this picture, and did not wipe-out, really! I mean it!

We are off on Wednesday to Jiminy Peak for 2 days of thrill seeking. Okay, I will be seeking thrills and mom will be staying snugly warm in the lodge. Either way relaxing get-away for us both.

I am just happy to be back on the slopes after not getting any chance to go last year!

Filled with light.

All the lights in the menorah and their warm flickering glow, makes Chanukah magical to me. There is nothing like a cold dark night with the candles flickering in the window.

I have fond memories of Chanukah growing up. Not just getting gifts, and festivities at school. But family memories of lighting the menorah together, decorating cookies, and making latkes.

I loved (and still love) picking out the candles each night. It adds to the beauty of the candles burning, the lights and the colors against the darkness. Remind you of the miracle of Chanukah, finding the light in the darkness....

And I of course enjoy filling myself with latkes, while my home is filled with the lights of Chanukah!

Happy Chanukah!

Have you.....

Seen where my college career has gone?

I'm not so sure.... but Murphy seems to think it's in a box.

It's crazy. I am 87.5 percent finished with college. Where has time gone (besides the possible box)? It seems like yesterday that I finished fall semester of freshman year. Now here I am one semester away from graduating.... it's weird.

College is going by too quickly! It's been amazing, but fast, I guess as fast as priority mail....

Counting Chanukahs

For me the arrival of Chanukah not only signals the arrival of glowing menorahs, lots of latkes, and dizzying dreidels, but it also signals the anniversary of my Bat Mitzvah! This year is the 9th anniversary, I cannot believe time has flown by. Seventh grade seems like it happened way more than 9 years ago.....

A Chanukah Bat Mitzvah was really special. Actually, my memories from my Bat Mitzvah are really special. So bear with me, I feel inclined to go down memory lane.

The weekend got a magical layer of snow, which meant no school on Friday! It was a great way to calm my nerves, down-side I was not allowed out to play for fear of pneumonia...Friday night we had Shabbat dinner at shul for family and out of town friends. I requested an unusual meal... since I don't like the typical Jewish catering I asked for Chinese. My aunt and uncle brought from my favorite place in Philly, and sufganiot came from Lakewood!

Saturday is a blur of a memory. I read all but 2 aliyot, and I never learned the 6th that well. My (somewhat crazy) cantor looks at me as I finish it and says "well, that was the best faking of a 6th aliyah that I ever heard...." Hey! I made it through.

Saturday afternoon I was freed from the restriction on any activity that could cause injury - read this as I was out in the snow as fast as I could get out of my suite!! That night our family came over, we all lit menorah, we hung out, had the usual embarrassing memory slide show, and cut the cake.

Sunday AM it was snowing again (really it was so magical!). The cousins spent so much time outside, my little cousin Yona ran into a tree (we still tease him about this) and then when people left my family collapsed from the excitement of the weekend.

It really seems crazy that is has been 9 years. So much has happened since then. I may have become a Jewish women that day, but events since then have helped me become the women I am today.

Now I go back to humming my parsha, I am bummed that I cannot read Torah this year, something I will have to do next year for the 10th anniversary!