And knowing is half the battle

So things have been sort of nuts around here with the Holidays and general craziness. Of course by holiday I mean the New Moon release in theaters. I will have more on that in another post.

But today I want to talk about something I don't normally talk about nearly enough.

Jews.

Now I have no beef to our kosher brethren, in fact I love the culture. I have talked about that on here even. I make latkes on Hanukkah, I watch fiddler on the roof at least once a year and I love Barbara Streisand. Does this qualify me for anything great? I doubt it. But , I just thought I would lay a little bit of ground work here.

I was driving the other day and passed this sign a couple times that day. It struck me as odd and got me thinking.
I am not sure what is going on there. I mean generally speaking isn't Mexico a predominately Catholic country? I mean it is the national religion. (yes I looked it up)

Are there a lot of Jews in Mexico?

So much so that they need a place to worship? And advertise?

I mean I have heard of Messianic Jews (Jews that were born and raised Jewish but converted to Christianity) but this was something I hadn't yet seen.

And so I dub this the Mexianic Jew.

Hey what do I care? Last I checked we have freedom of religion. Worship Elvis for all I care (and yes we do have a church of Elvis in this fine city of roses in which I live).

I just felt I needed to share with the class.

Talk amongst yourselves.

Well as long as they can hang on to their dignity

So I was at the fabric store not too long ago and looking through the pattern books for some inspiration. Oh how I found something better.

I found this....

It is a bib designed specifically for the elderly.

Because nothing says "I still have my dignity " than a Mrs. Claus bib with a matching hat. Seriously what person would dress up Grandma in this drek? And further, what right thinking elderly person would agree to wear such a homemade train wreck?

Sometimes I wonder what is seriously wrong with people.

Weird night at the gym

Ok so I go to the gym tonight for my aerobics class. But there is just weird people and energy there tonight. A lot of the regulars are not there but in their place are these awesome parade of nutty society.

First off...there are these 2 guys in their 60's that are there 3 times a week without fail. I never really gave it much thought,. Just thought they were just pastey old white guys that liked water aerobics. I mean I realize it isn't really the most "manly" of workouts, but I can keep an open mind. They have always been nice, but not all that talkative. Well tonight the instructor (who I have grown to love) asked if we had and requests for music. Apparently thats all that it took for the flood gates to open. Both of them about worked themselves into a lather (literally) jumping up and down while doing a little clap. All the while screaming ....CHER!!!!

I stood there amazed. Usually my "Queen" detector goes off the moment we meet. But these two totally got past my advanced radar. I had to giggle to myself. Mind you I am not laughing at them (all you sensitive nellies out there) I was laughing at the situation.

So there was that. Then there was this other couple where the guy was at least in his mid to late 30's and his girlfriend/wife looked to be about 19 or 20. She went along and did the aerobics class while he paced along the concrete of the pool, barely taking his eyes off her. He just gave off the jealous vibe like he was waiting for her to talk to someone just so that he could get on her about that. For a minute I sort of felt sorry for her thinking "wow that must really suck to be with someone so oppressive" Then I saw her get dressed after the class in a 3 sized too small halter tank top. With glitter writing on the front that said "Buy me stuff". Then it became abundantly clear who these people were. That little show of control was just one of their games. People like this bug me.

Look I know I am not perfect.Trust me I don't even sort of claim to be.

I'm just relaying some good times at the gym.

My morning commute

So I have had this idea for a couple years and just haven't put the pieces together. I have been doing this morning commute since we moved to this house over 7 years ago. My husband works downtown in the land of overpriced parking garages. Generally they charged more for parking than we pay for car payment. Because they can. Usually companies pay for their employee parking so they can charge outrageous prices. His company doesn't though. Not even a discount. They won't even chip in for a bus pass. So we are on our own. We laid it all out and it is the cheapest for me just to drive him and pick him up everyday. It was sort of inconvenient for like the first couple of months, but I have been doing this for 7 years now, so it's just what I do. My kids know the drill as they have been doing this since the day they they were all born. We just take Dad to work in the morning.

So because of this I spend on average 2 hours in the car a day. Add in taking Bug to school.

But I have always wanted to take pictures along the way because on a nice morning, it's a really pretty commute. The Portland skyline with the sunrise in the back is pretty awesome. This morning it was about 20 degrees so the added chill makes it look all the more crisp.

Just a little slice of my life here. It may interest nobody but me, but I thought it was worth documenting.