The End

Well, my loyal readers... I am afraid this may be the end of my blog. As you know, I have often struggled with topics to write and it has started to feel more like a chore than an outlet or a fun venue. I never wanted my blog to be stressful for me to come up with topics, but sadly it has, and given I know I have a lot of people reading... I do not like to disappoint. Each week I felt pressure to update... sometimes more than once a week. And I have just struggled to always come up with new topics. So, I am starting a new chapter in my life soon... new job, and being married. I feel this may be the right time to put the blog to bed for good. As always, I would welcome your comments. And I do thank you for reading through the years... it has been fun and I love knowing that so many of you actually took the time to read what I had to say... regardless of how silly it often was. So again, thank you for reading!!

Moving On

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be leaving my position as Program Director at the Roitenberg Residence effective September 8. I have accepted a position with Bloomington Public School's Community Education as the Out of School Time Programs Manager. In this position, I will supervise 12 people... each of whom is responsible for all "out of school" programming at one of the elementary schools in the district. They in turn will each supervise a handful of people as well. There are many programs in my department including before and after school care, summer programming, musical opportunities, academic programs, and much more. If you are really interested, check out this link: http://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/community_ed/youth_development/index.html
I will supervise all programs except Galaxy and the Volunteer program listed on this page.

Needless to say I am extremely excited about this opportunity as it is a very large step-up for me in my career. I will begin in Bloomington on September 13. As always, you can e-mail me or comment below. Thanks for reading my blog.

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We Have A Winner

This time seven people turned in answers for the unscramble blog post below. Four people had them all right and were entered into the drawing for the prize. Chad picked the winner, so if you are unhappy... be mad at him. The winner is...

Allison Rosenthal

For those who wanted answers... here you go.

1. Theater

2. Sweets

3. People Watching

4. Money

5. Camp

6. Mountains

7. Walgreens

8. Love

9. Air Conditioning

10. Tattoos

11. Gifts

12. Vacation

13. Kansas

14. Aruba

15. Comedy

16. State Fair

17. Entertaining

18. Survivor

19. Haircuts

20. Cereal

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Who Will Win?

I have done this before, and thanks to Kerry's suggestion, I am doing it again. Today's blog is completely interactive. Below are 20 things I like. All you have to do is unscramble them. The fun part... a prize is at stake. Last time, Wendy Beth Gahm was the big winner. Will she get it again, or will someone de-throne the Unscramble Queen.

Once you have unscrambled all 20 words, send me your answers via e-mail (ablocke10@gmail.com) or a message on Facebook. Don't leave your response as a comment here or you will be giving your answers away. Please note numbers 3, 9, and 16 are two word answers separated by a //. Some are definitely harder than others... Good luck!

1. T R H E E T A

2. E S E S W T

3. E P L P O E // H G T W C A I N

4. O E N M Y

5. C P A M

6. N T U I O S N A M

7. S G E W A E L R N

8. E L V O

9. R I A // I G I N C O N N T D I O

10. S O T A T O T

11. F S G I T

12. N V C O T I A A

13. N S K A A S

14. B A R A U

15. Y M E O D C

16. T T E S A // R F A I

17. G T R I N N E I T A N E

18. V R I S O V R U

19. I R A T S H U C

20. E C L E A R

Remember, these are all things I like. You have until the end of the day Friday to submit your answers via e-mail or message on Facebook. Someone wins a prize... good luck!

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Herzl's Not-So-Top 10 List

I have been experiencing writers block lately, and that is not a good thing when you have a blog due for Herzl Camp. So I thought I would do a Top 10 list of something and post it on my personal blog too. But suddenly, this got harder than I thought…

Top 10 Famous People at Herzl Camp
1. Bob Dylan
2. Bryan Greenberg

Well, that did not get me too far. Okay… how about another topic…

Top 10 Colors to Wear on Shabbat
1. White

I think we have exhausted that list.

Top 10 Old Flag Songs
1. Oh Canada

Hmmm… bad idea. Next?

Top 10 Old Herzl Programs
1. N’Divim
2. Maba

Yes there are others… but there are certainly not 10. These were the two best programs no longer in existence.

Top 10 Herzl Words
1. Ozo
2. Koontz

And the list was over. No word is better than Koontz!

Top 10 Hot Tubs
1. Ozo Mo

You cannot come up with 10 when there only is one in camp.

Top 10 Optional Breakfasts
1. Cinnamon Rolls

It used to rotate every other week between the cinnamon rolls and bagels, but alas, still not 10 to choose from.

Top 10 Herzl Stories
1. Rosemary
2. The Clown
3. Kundra

Okay… this is getting scary. I need to stop.

Top 10 Herzl Colors
1. Orange
2. Brown

That’s a pretty boring list.

Top 10 Herzl Sports Gone by the Wayside
1. Teatherball

I am still in shock that it is gone.

And then it hit me… a Top 10 List that could work…

Top 10 Places to Spend Your Summer
1. Herzl Camp
2. Machaneh Herzl
3. Herzl
4. Machaneh Paradise
5. Webster, Wisconsin
6. The shores of Devil’s Lake
7. The former Log Cabin Inn
8. The town next to Siren, Wisconsin
9. Theo’s Summer Shack
10. The greatest place on Earth

Okay, it was a stretch, but you get the point. Dorothy says “There is no place like home.” But I say… There is no place like Herzl Camp!

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The Invites Are Coming, The Invites Are Coming

That's right... with 72 days until the wedding, tomorrow we are sending out the invitations!! I am really excited about it. Each thing we do it feels more and more real. But now... we are actually inviting people to the event. It appears that our final number will be 158 invited. We both know (and are hoping... lol) that not everyone will be able to make it. We are anticipating around 130 people coming. There are also a few people I feel bad about not inviting, but things/circumstances/relationships change, and therefore, you cannot invite everyone you know. If we had more money, I would invite a lot more people, but we don't, and so it is what it is.

We received our official bid from our new florist... we just need to make a few adjustments and we will be all set with that.

We have cocktail napkins ordered for the cocktail hour and the sweet table.

Almost all of the attendants have been measured for their tuxes. A few have not... you know who you are... grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Other than that, I think I have shared all of the latest information. So tomorrow the invites go out, and then we will already be getting response cards back by the end of next week. Fun!!!

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You're Such A Character

I have not done one of my "top 10" lists for awhile, and I am sure you miss them... especially because it means I am not going to be yakking on about the wedding. So today I have for you my top 10 favorite TV characters of all time. Granted, these are only from the shows I watched, so I am sure there are some better ones out there, but this is my blog, and so I get to tell you my favorites. These are, in order:

10. Jo Polnachek (Facts of Life) - A true lesbian ahead of her time. Clearly if they re-made that show today, she would be out of the closet and not dating men. She also always had some great one liners and I loved her relationship with Blair.

9. Addison Montgomery (Private Practice) - She is the brains behind the operation. A world-class surgeon who is not only down to Earth, but beautiful as well. She definitely has herself some drama, no question, but she definitely earns her #9 spot.

8. Abby Lockhart (ER) - There was just always something I liked about Abby. I actually miss seeing her on Thursday nights. She was full of drama, and even went through some REALLY annoying points in the show, but she triumphed through the crap and came out on top.

7. Mike Sever (Growing Pains) - Who didn't want to be like Mike when they grew up? He was a good kid at heart, but always got into a little bit of fun. Mischief was his middle name, but somehow, there was always a "learning experience" for everything he went through.

6. Brian Kinney (Queer as Folk) - Brian made no bones about it... he did not give a fuck. Not about you, me, or anyone else. Yes, he had great friends and a good job. I would NEVER in a million years want his lifestyle, but I always had a soft spot for Brian Kinney. He just needed a hug and to know someone loved him.

5. Maxine Gray (Judging Amy) - Talk about someone who did not give a fuck. Maxine would do it her way, no matter what. She was above the law, and had a mouth that would make a sailor blush. She always had great lines and I wish they would have given that character her own show.

4. Roseanne Conner (Roseanne) - Easily one of the trashiest people ever on TV, but so damn funny. She also did not really care what people though and she totally embraced her "trashiness." Her character was written very well, and I am sure a lot of it mirrored her own life.

3. Rachel Greene (Friends) - I did not really fall in love with Rachel until the series ended, but they wrote her lines SO well. And not only was she written well, but she delivered them well. She was such a good comedian and I just wish I could pull out lines like Rachel did.

2. Amanda Woodward (Melrose Place) - The chief bitch... and I loved her. Amanda was rotten, nasty, and said things that everyone was thinking. She is another one who did not care about anyone else... she was all business and she did not mess around.

1. Karen Walker (Will & Grace) - This was an easy one. There is no doubt in my mind, Karen Walker was the best character ever on TV. True, her character evolved as the show went on, but she was funny from beginning to end. And they could not have found a better person to play her than Megan Mullally.

There you have it... my favorite TV characters of all time. Who are yours? Did I miss any?

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