Yay from Shabbat and announcement

Yay: My good friend came over for Shabbat lunch to see us one last time before we move. She and I talked like women...and looked up at the clock and realized Shabbat was over! I love good friends!

Announcement: I will be putting The Daily Yay on hold until at least after we move, maybe longer depending on when I can get online in Seattle.

Yummy vegan veggie bergers!

Cross posted on Foodiscovery

No, I'm not vegan by any means -- I love chicken too much to be even a
vegetarian -- but there was part of a bag of black beans that I wanted
to use up before our big move to Seattle at the end of the month.
After they'd soaked overnight and for most of the day (eight hours is
the minimum for an overnight soak, but longer is better), I rinsed
them and set them to boil in a pot for about an hour. A tomato and a
big white onion went in the blender. I pureed those first to make
room, then added two cups of cooked black beans. (I decided on that
amount because a veggie berger recipe that I've used before called for
two cups of beens, to my recollection.) Once the beans were pureed, I
pureed oats until the consistency was more mushy and less liquidy.
(I'm not sure how much it was; maybe half a cup's worth to a cup.)
After adding salt and pepper, I ran the blender again for a moment to
mix them in. Meanwhile, a couple of capfuls' worth of canola oil were
heating up in my big skillet. I dropped heaping spoonfuls of the stuff
in the blender onto the skillet and fried them for a few minutes on
each side, about 3-5 minutes or so. Wow, these veggie bergers have a
wonderful texture and flavor and hold together incredibly well! I
enjoyed that bach with ketchup. Rena was already asleep but luckily
there's plenty more bean stuff for the Little Bean to enjoy my veggie
bergers tomorrow!

deliverymen

1. My new phone came today via UPS! The UPS guy was already starting
to drive away in his truck, but I took the package slip and ran after
him and caught him before he got to the end of the block! He let me
sign my husband's name and handed me the package.

2. Tonight, Rena and I shared our apartment building's elevator with
two tired-looking FedEx deliverymen. I think the Cute Bean made their
day! Yay for Rena making people happy! :)

Seattle flight booked!

Expedia.com is wonderful! :) The fare was low, and customer service
was good when there was a problem that had to be resolved.

I'm getting a new phone!

http://www.askgsm.com/images/LG-Sentio-dLite-and-GS-will-be-TMobile-USAs-first-LG-phones_GMe-n_2.jpg

I only had to pay $25 for this awesome red phone with a small screen
on the cover because I filed an insurance claim due to losing my old
phone. I know it's this one because it's the same one I picked out to
buy in the store before I found out I could file an insurance claim!
It should arrive tomorry. It's an LG, which stands for Life's Good!
www.lg.com

The Bedders are Going Bye-Bye! :)

It's official: We're finally escaping New York! We're moving to
Seattle at the end of the month, and to celebrate, we're having a
moving sale and party on Saturday night, January 29th, from 6-11 pm.
Check it out if you're in New York! The address is 60 Thayer St. Apt.
4B, New York, NY 10040.

A melodious Shabbat dinner!

This Friday night, it was just my husband and me because Rena had
eaten before and fallen asleep before I got everything ready. We still
had a wonderful time singing and dancing to some special Shabbat
songs! Here's a link to a page with the words to "Menucha V'Simcha"
transliterated and translated into English:
http://home.comcast.net/~judaism/Siddur/transliterations/zemirot/MnuchaVsimcha.htm

http://home.comcast.net/~judaism/Siddur/transliterations/zemirot/MnuchaVsimcha.htm

Butterflies!

The Butterfly Website is a comprehensive, multimedia website for those who want to see pictures or videos with butterflies, find out scientific information about butterflies, or get butterflies for an event such as a wedding. Want to learn how to raise your own butterflies for fun or for profit? There's info about that, too!

Good job interview!

COEJL http://www.coejl.org/index.php or the Coalition on the
Environment an Jewish Life is where I interviewed. This organization
is doing important work, from helping synagogues to "go green" to
environmental advocacy.

I made a video!

Big thank you to my husband, who both recorded it and acted as the director. I made this video to help out the Jewish environmental website Jewcology.

I saw this quote on Twitter:

Three things are needed for a good life, good friends, good food, and
good song. ~Jason Zebehazy

Check out Paul V. Harris on Twitter for more inspiring quotes!

Yay for the simple things in life!

Today, I lay in bed with my PDA and surfed the 'net with a blanket
covering me from head to toe. I was toasty-warm! Thank you, God, for
providing me with a roof over my head, a comfy bed, and plenty of
blankets to keep me warm in the winter.

Happiness Quote by Mohandas Gandhi

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are
in harmony."

I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. It is important to be
honest with yourself and others. Do and say what you believe is right!
Be strong! Don't let anyone pressure you into doing anything you feel
is wrong!

Job interview scheduled!

Perhaps I'll be working for a Jewish environmental organization!
Awesome! Stay tuned for details.

A yayful business meeting!

My husband and I met with our new friend Irina who makes bridal and casual
flower accessories. He, a web developer, will be helping her revamp
her website Floreti Couture and I'll be learning from her how to do these
crafts and then sell my designs on the site. Cool!

I started a new blog!

Environmental Tip of the Week

When I headed the Environmental Club in college, I sent my members a
weekly email called Environmental Tip of the Week. I've decided to
reinstate these weekly messages for anyone who wants to read about simple ways to go green.

Seattle

Hubby here. My old man is on the West Coast and Sarah and I are thinking of paying him a visit. Yay Seattle.

Happy New Year!

Since New Year's Eve was on Friday night, we didn't get to watch the ball drop. Instead, we had yummy cookies from My Most Favorite Food that spelled out HAPPY 2011, My husband and I had a romantic time eating the letters and numbers.


Here's a video of what we missed: