My Favorite Things: A Winner!

You can print this out AND color it!

So, the saga of "no internet at home" continues. Supposedly some buff studs (ha) from Cablevision will be coming out today to try and fix it, which, unfortunately, is of no help to us because the next three days are Rosh Hashanah + Shabbat. The light will be blinking green while I'm davening. A lot of good that'll do me!

As a result of this internet lag, I'm very behind in everything. Yesterday was my first day of classes, and I have to say of the two classes I've been to so far, one (teaching a second language) will be challenging because of the teacher's very interesting teaching style (don't take notes!) and the other will be fascinating (sociology of education) if only for its first-day class discussion of what a society is and whether stratification is necessary and happens sort of on its own. I have a lot of reading to do, however, which is never fun. Hopefully, though, I can make waves in my teaching a second language course by finding some scholarship on using social media in the teaching of a second language. Anyone have any materials for me?

At any rate, Rosh Hashanah starts tonight and -- like every year -- my head is exploding and my mind, body, and soul are ill prepared. Am I ready to hear the shofar? Am I ready to experience newness and renewal and the excitement of 5771 and all of the awesome holidays that come after? Have I considered what 5771 will hold? No, I haven't. I haven't had time to breathe. Oh, and I've come down with a cold. The rest over the next few days will be excellent, but what does that say for my reflection and rediscovery? I wrote a Jewels of Elul blog post at the beginning of Elul, and I reflected on past years' posts. But all of the cooking (I was up until 2 a.m. last night) and running around has made me weak and exhausted. Thus, I only hope that at some point over the next few days it clicks, and I figure out where I'm going. I'm all about fresh starts and new beginnings, and this Rosh Hashanah should provide a much-needed refresh on my browser. So I want to wish you all a SHANAH TOVAH and may your new year be sweet, filled with all that you deserve! I'm so excited to start another year here on the blog with such an amazing crop of readers. You guys are awesome!

But now why you're really here: the winner of the My Favorite Things Giveaway! I took a nod from An Extended Vacation who uses the random number generator to signify the winner, as opposed to my typical method of typing EVERY name into the random picker (which is time consuming). The winner?

No. 4, which is Sophia! 

(I had a screenshot but it appears my computer ate it, so you're going to have to trust me on this one, folks.) So, Sophia, if you're reading this ... email me. I wanted to get the box sent out today, but because of the madness of preparing for the holidays, that's not going to happen. It'll go out on Monday, I hope. But believe me, it's worth waiting for :)