Rabbi and Mr. Alex!

Way, way back a million years ago, I wrote about my friends Alex and Alex, and their engagement party. Well, they finally got married. (ok, it was almost two months ago. I'm behind on life. It happens.) Hurrah!

The wedding was on July 3rd, so I decided to go red, white and blue. As it turned out, my whole family dressed in that color scheme as well, without even knowing it. We were all very adorable and color coordinated. Ordinarily, I would hesitate about wearing this dress to a wedding because some people are very intense about nobody wearing white (even if it covered with giant polka dots) to a wedding, but since there was no bride this time around, it seemed like a good choice. (It is actually pretty old, dating back to my graduation party four years ago, but I continue to love it and wear it when the opportunity arises.)

The cutest

 Guys, this wedding was the best. It was the perfect combo of moving and fun. It also had a little bit of a "last day of camp" feeling, since it was the last time that an awesome group of rabbis who just graduated in May were going to be together for a long time. So at the end of the night, there was a lot of crying. Guys, DON'T FORGET THAT SOME OF US AREN'T DONE WITH SCHOOL YET! PLEASE COME VISIT ME IN THE BEIT MIDRASH WHILE I TRY TO WRITE MY DISSERTATION! All of my friends are leaving me...

Abe tried to teach me to take selfies, but then I couldn't do it so he did it instead.

 Meanwhile, the happy grooms have moved to Ohio, where they seem to be settling in nicely, at least according to Facebook and occasional text messages. A special shout out to Mr. Alex, who is one of the blog's biggest fans, and who is featured up front looking very dapper in his wedding suit. Rabbi and Mr, we miss you in New York! Come see us!

Zach promised he would come visit me at school!

 Anyway. The wedding! It was chill and beautiful and just right for these two lovebirds and the many people who were so happy to celebrate with them. It had a nice pintrest-y feel, which you can see in the pictures below, without feeling precious. Everything felt thoughtful without being over the top-- not always an easy balance to strike.

The happy grooms.

 And of course, most importantly, love was overflowing. The love between the two Alexes, but also among everyone in the room to them and for them. A lot of crying, even more laughing, and dancing until they told us we really had to leave and go home.

truth.

So mazel tov, dear friends! May every coming day be as happy as that one was, for you and for all of us.

In Praise of Rash Guards and Waterproof Cameras

Out of order blog post! I live so dangerously!

I have my reasons. Namely, it is August. For many, it is vacation season. (If you're me, it's "should be writing my dissertation but instead am doing anything else" season.) So this seemed like a good time to write about two of my favorite summer things: rash guards and underwater cameras.

Rash guard, in action.

 I have written before about my love of rash guards. They serve a great dual purpose by being both modest and sun-protecting. But in the case of this one, they can also be super fun! I love me some tie dye, but as I am not 16 and it is not 1965, I feel silly wearing it. However, swimwear is often a great opportunity to wear things I wouldn't wear otherwise. So there you go!

The second cool thing in this post is my underwater camera! I bought it last year and had great fun with it, but this was my first time hardcore using it (in this case, in the pool.) It feels a little against everything you have ever been told about electronics to bring your camera in the pool. But what cool results!

Photo credit: Simon

These pictures were taken in Washington, CT, at the home of a very generous student of mine, who lent us his house for the weekend. The children, who were with us, enjoyed the whole thing immensely and especially thought that the camera was great fun. Leo especially wanted to play with it all day. I put a stop to using it as a ball to play catch with or a diving ring, but other than that, anything went.

Even Maddie got in on the fun. Not on the picture taking, but on the rash guard and swimming in the lala (that's Maddie for pool.) A beautiful weekend was had by all.

I confess that my rash guard is from Lands End. The honest fact of the matter is that their swimming stuff is, in my opinion, better than almost anyone's. Unfortunately, I have been not especially inclined to buy from them since they apologized for featuring Gloria Steinem because of her feminism. Um, hello Lands End. It's 2016. People should be embarrassed for NOT being feminists. Luckily my swimwear was all acquired before any of this happened, so I don't need to have qualms, but I'm not sure I can recommend buying from them right now.

Big feet, little feet. Photo credit: Leo

 However, I CAN recommend my waterproof camera! Totally worth the less than $150. There are other, better models that cost a lot more, but I was pretty happy with the pictures, especially the one of Simon. You can decide how you want to spend your money. You can find it here.

Maddie loves the lala

Enjoy your August everyone! Keep that skin protected, go outside, and take lots of pictures! See ya next week.

SBL2.0: The Running of the Balls

Or, that time I took a picture with a giant testicle.

 Dear readers, if you ever want to feel terrible about yourself, I recommend reading running blogs. These are not things that I usually read, but in the course of my googling to learn more about the course of the Staten Island Half, I found some blogs that wrote about the course. And while I got a little more info about how many hills to expect, the main thing I found myself feeling was bad about myself. Because there's nothing like someone writing about how they didn't get to train because their Crohn's Disease was acting up, so they only had a seven minute mile pace instead of a six minute mile case. Seriously, just kill me now.

ALL OF THE SWEAT

 Well, dear readers, this will never that type of blog! Because here at Curly Hair With Glasses, we want everyone to feel good about themselves, no matter how slowly they run, or if they choose not to run at all!

These pictures are from a 10K I ran on Fathers Day, known (because it raises money for testicular cancer research) as the Running of the Balls. And yes, there was a mascot dressed as a testical. And yes, I took a picture with him. (Obviously.) And yes, it turns out that one of my former students knows him. It's a small world, folks.

The day was sunny but very hot, and we were at Roosevelt Island, which is flat but shadeless. As you can see in the picture above, I was extremely sweaty. I also ran my first 5k too fast (in a little under 29 minutes) and then tired out and took longer on the second 5k. But I finished in 59:57, which I felt really great about. Runners blogs be damned. We are all winners here!

My training is progressing slowly. I'm supposed to do one long run a week, so yesterday I did seven miles. It was one of those days where I felt like I was going to die with every step. But I didn't! Let's hear it for not passing out in Riverside Park! The idea of running almost double that is feeling pretty intimidating right now, but I still have time. And please leave encouragement! I can use all of the cheering I can get.

Me! I finished! Yay!

 One note about my t-shirt. You might notice that it says "Property of Ravenclaw Quidditch", and you might be thinking, What Rachel??? Not Gryffindor? To which I saw, I would clearly be in Ravenclaw, so I'm just being true to who I am, and also does anyone else feel like the Gryffindor people maybe got themselves into a little more trouble than was strictly necessary? RAVENCLAW FOREVER!!!

Time until the half marathon: two months and four days

What I'm wearing: Look Human Ravenclaw t-shirt, Kirkland yoga pants, Adidas sneakers (similar here)

Love Trumps Hate: The Hope Edition

Sorry to get sort of political for a minute, but hey, it's my blog. I am blogging while I watch the DNC and Hillary Clinton just passed the threshold needed to become the official nominee of the Democratic Party, and I admit that I am crying. As a woman who was raised to believe that I could do and be anything, I didn't think that this milestone would get me, but here I am, at work getting ready to teach and crying over my computer.

I mention this partly because the state of America has me really sad these days. My blatant liberalism aside, when did we become so negative and so divided? When did fear become the predominate emotion that we seem to feel, instead of hope and the belief that we can make the world better?

Two days after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, I went to Museum Mile with my friend Marci. Museum Mile takes place up and down Fifth Avenue, where one night a year, all of the museums are open late and free. In addition, the street is closed and there are performers, activities, and people of all shapes, colors and sizes. It really represents the best of New York. It felt very strange to be there doing something fun in light of everything that was happening in the world, but then I noticed something...

A butterfly landed on my skirt. That has to be a good sign, right?

All up and down the street, there were buckets of chalk. And all over, messages of peace and love and hope and solidarity were covering the street, in all different languages and colors. Marci and I got in on the action, in a way that we found strangely therapeutic. Our illustrations are the first two below:

We ended up not going into any museums because the lines were so long and there was so much going on on the street. It was a lovely evening, and helpful to remember that for most people in the world, we really wish to live in a world where love can trump hate. Our children are watching us. What will it be?

The Met's Fountain

The Gugenheim

We are stronger together. Love is love.

The Classiest Fail

Dear readers, by now you know that my sisters and I might just be the classiest people in the land. I mean, we wear black tie and drink in fancy hotel bars with $20 ice cream sundaes. (We already find the ice cream, because just we're classy, that doesn't mean we don't have our priorities straight.)

So about a month ago, we decided to be classy at a rooftop bar for fancy drinks round two, and to cross something else off the SBL 2.0. However, when we showed up, it was not classy (a surprise trashy Mexican theme) and it also was so full that they were not even taking names for the waiting list anymore. But never fear! When being classy, it is always good to have a back-up plan, which is why I suggested that we go north a few blocks to the Campbell Apartment.

Yup, that's right. A dress code. Because CLASSY!

I had been there once before. It's a place you would never spot, with a tiny entrance on the Vanderbilt Avenue side of Grand Central terminal. However, if you know it's there, it is TOTALLY worth checking out. The drinks are pricey, but only slightly more so than if you got cocktails anywhere else. And you get to feel so old timey and fancy, which is just great fun.

Sorry not to have a picture of the three of us together, but all of them were woefully unflattering of at least one of us, and it seemed mean to put that on the blog. Instead, here is a picture of our three fancy drinks:

The space was designed as a private apartment for a railroad executive in Grand Central, but apparently he never actually stayed there. However, the parlor/ living room, where the bar is, seems ideal for entertaining. It has high ceilings and marble walls and fancy lanterns and a great speak easy sort of feel. Even I, the one who does not enjoy drinking or bars, wanted to stay longer. So while the rooftop bar remains on the bucket list, I would call this delay well worth it.

Finally, how beautiful is this dress? I got it a few Stitch Fixes ago. I've been trying to only keep things I really love, which means I've been sending almost everything back, but this was something I knew I would be too sad to return. It is totally my shape, just the right length, and a beautiful blue color. Every time I wear it, I feel even happier. And classy :)

What I'm wearing: Maggy London dress via Stitch Fix (available here, but for more than I paid), Boden cardigan, b.o.c. sandals (similar here)

SBL 2.0: Family 5K Day/ You Can't Handle the Ruth

Here is the continuation of last week's blog post-- the time we ran the 5K in the 10000% humidity.

Here's the story. Our original plan was to "run" (it's a relative term) a family 5K on Mother's Day, before we did our usual event of eating a lot of brunch. But then we went to the baptism and were worried about not making it in time, so we pushed off the race until Memorial Day. But then the forecast was for crazy rain, so my parents bailed. LAME. So off the sisters went, with a Simon in tow, to represent the family in a great feat of athletic prowess.

In the end, it didn't rain. That being said, the race probably would have been more pleasant if it had. It instead was so humid that my glasses kept fogging up and we were all sweating before we even started running.

This was the view out of the tram.

Gloomy indeed. But we persevered. The challenge of running with Simon is, he likes to sprint for about 10 seconds and then starts complaining about how he's too tired/ his skin is itchy/ he doesn't want to run anymore. Apparently seven year olds are not known for their endurance. Eventually Rebecca, who was somewhat injured anyway, stayed back to walk with him, and Sarah and I ran the last two miles and then circled back to finish with them again.

Eventually, we all made it across the finish line. Points for all of us. Even Simon smiled for a minute (before reverting to his signature Simon Scowl.)

This race was more for fun than for anything else, but it also kicked off my "time to get my butt into gear" time. That has since gotten to be more for real (as this was more than a month ago), and it will only get to be more so in August. Last week I ran to the Little Red Lighthouse and then most of the way back (I would say I probably ran about 8 of 9.5 miles, if not consecutively), so we are on our way. Except for the part where I periodically wonder why I decided that it would be fun to try to run 13 miles. Unclear.

The Simon Scowl. Patent Pending.

You might notice that all of our t-shirts are coordinated. They are from the Look Human RBG line, which is a favorite of mine, since RBG is so freaking cool. But also, as you might know, my mom's name is Ruth, so we bought these shirts in honor of Mother's Day. (See above.) One day, we will all wear them together, but in the meantime, here is part of the Ruth Crew:

Time until half marathon: 2 months, 29 days. Eek!

What I'm wearing: Look Human t-shirt, Kirkland yoga capris, Adidas sneakers via DSW (similar here), Penn hat (go Quakers!)