Family Seder Bonding

Holidays, Parenting

sederTechnically speaking, we should have begun our Seders much later than we did.  We really should have begun at about 7pm instead of our 5:30 start time.  I had a very important reason for starting early, though:  My boys.

To me, the most important part of the Seder is passing on our religious, cultural, and family traditions to the next generation.  Unfortunately, "the next generation" tends to get tired and cranky if they stay up too late or if their dinner is delayed too much.  So while we COULD have begun the Seder late and eaten even later, it would have meant that the kids wouldn’t have been a part of it.

Instead, we bent the rules.  Thanks to this, the boys got to follow along, participate, and even have a bit of fun.  NHL got to read.  JSL got to sing (with NHL singing the words first since he’s the better reader).  We even got a little silly.  In short, we made some wonderful memories and perhaps even formed some new traditions.

How do you form new family traditions this time of year?

Matzoh Ball Cookin’

Cooking, Food, Holidays, Photos, Recipe

Passover is rough on JSL.  Most of the foods he likes eating aren’t allowed so he becomes even more restricted than normal.  Given that one of the foods that he loves are matzoh balls, I figured we’d make some.

First you start off with your ingredients: 1 cup matzoh meal, 2 teaspoons of salt, 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 4 eggs, and 4 tablespoons of broth or water.

01-ingredients

Combine the ingredients in a bowl.

02-combine

Stir well.

03-mixing

Then refrigerate for 15 minutes.

04-refrigerated

Next, roll into balls and drop into boiling water (or broth).

05-balls

06-boiling

Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, drain, and your matzoh balls will be ready to eat.

07-matzoh-balls

Freshly made matzoh balls are delicious and really take minimal effort.  Given that we have a lot of matzoh meal left over, I think we’ll be making many more batches in the future.

Happy Passover

Holidays, Judaism

MatzohThe past couple of days have been busy ones.  We’ve had to clean the entire house to get ready for tonight’s Seder.  Yes, tonight begins the holiday of Passover.  Passover celebrates the ancient Hebrews’ freedom from slavery in Egypt.

Of course, as the story goes, since the Jews left Egypt so quickly, they didn’t have time to let their bread rise.  Therefore, for eight days, all leavened products aren’t allowed.  Bread, cakes, cookies, and more are no-nos.  To limit our food choices even more, custom forbids a list of other foods including corn, rice, and beans.

Instead, we chow down on matzoh, matzoh, and more matzoh.  We’ll eat matzoh and cream cheese, matzoh brie, matzoh pizza and more.  It’s always a difficult holiday because of the combination of massive cleaning, switching of pots/pans/dishes/etc, and dietary restrictions.

Of course, I observe the holiday by going offline for the first two and last two days.  This means that I’m not going to have time to post additional blog posts for the next couple of days.  I’ll be back on Thursday, though.  Perhaps with photos of our Seder.

If you celebrate Passover, I hope you have a wonderful holiday.  If you don’t, I hope you have a wonderful week and I’ll see you in a few days.

Spring Dreaming

Spring

Spring-DreamingToday is the third day of spring, but you wouldn’t know it from the weather.  We’ve had snow, ice, and cold temperatures.  Soon enough, though, the weather will warm up.  Any remaining snow will melt and green will sprout.  I, for one, can’t wait.  I love the spring-time.  Spring means that the kids, cooped up all winter, can go outside and run around without needing snow pants, heavy coats, hats, and gloves.  Spring means I won’t need to go out to shovel snow and clean my car off in the morning.  Spring means I can go outside and indulge in some photography that doesn’t only involve the color white.  Spring means we can all get some exercise by going for family walks around the block.

Spring is going to be fun.  I can’t wait until it fully blooms.

What is your favorite part of spring?

Getting Responsive With My Web Design

Web Development

responsive-web-designOver the next few months, TechyDad.com, TheAngelForever.com, and FollowerHQ.com will be getting facelifts.  You see, I’ve recently caught the Responsive Web Design bug and can’t wait to rewrite these sites with these principles in mind.

Responsive Web Design primarily refers to the use of certain CSS3 media queries to evaluate the browser’s size and adjusting the design appropriately.  (There’s more, but I’m trying to keep the Geek Level to a minimum.)  This means that the same website will serve as a mobile site, a tablet site, and as a desktop web site while (at times) looking drastically different in each.

For an example of Responsive Web Design, go to the Boston Globe’s website.  Make sure your browser is resized to the biggest your screen will allow (but don’t maximize it).  Now, slowly resize your browser to make it smaller and smaller.  You’ll see elements shrink until the three column layout becomes a two column layout and the long top menu gets hidden behind a “Sections” heading.  As your browser gets even smaller, the layout will shift again to a one column design.  Finally, the design will shift one more time to orient elements so as to best display on a smartphone.

Responsive Web Design isn’t hard, but it isn’t quick either.  You must consider the entire design across multiple browser sizes and how to best re-arrange the content in each case.  This can be time consuming, but it is well worth it.  After all, more and more people are browsing sites on non-desktop/laptop computers.  Smartphone and tablet use is rising and if your site is unable to accommodate these users, you stand to lose traffic.

What have you done to make your site available to smartphone and tablet users?

NOTE: The "webpage" image above is by mantasmagorical and is available via morgueFile.

1 … 70 71 72 73 74 … 300