Today was a long day. And If I think it was a long day, I can only imagine how my cousin Ilene feels! Her day started hours before mine, and ended many hours after mine, and she was much busier every hour in between!
I got to sleep in Tyler’s room, which has a really comfy bed, and a nice, fluffy comforter. It was very sweet of him, because he had to sleep in his sister’s room on a twin-size inflatable mattress on the floor!
I always bring my own pillow whenever I travel -- near or far -- because I can’t sleep without it. I got a good night’s sleep, but I heard Ilene up and about by 6:00am. She had some errands to run before we could go to the synagogue at 8:30am. I was meeting her and her niece Catie (my cousin) there.
I decided not to take a shower, to save time. So, I just washed up, got dressed and headed to Starbucks. Catie and I had mocha lattes (mine was decaf; hers was regular).
When I got to the synagogue, there were a lot of people bustling about. Ilene had recruited many helpers, including her co-worker, Stephanie, who was the decorator for the entire event. The theme for the Bar Mitzvah was “Winter Wonderland.” The good news is, they made it look wintery, even though it was a gorgeous day in Los Angeles!
There were snowmen that lit up, life-sized penguins with white and black feathers, fake snow, giant snowflakes, and lots of other white, blue and silver decorations. There were giant white and navy blue cardboard trees that had to be assembled – a lot of them! What we didn’t know until we opened them was that they needed to be cut, hot glued and assembled. There were a LOT of steps. I don’t know what we would have done without all the helpers there, but when I left at 1:00pm, a lot of it was done, but I knew there was a lot left to do.
I drove to Joe and Miguel’s apartment and got there a little before 2:00pm. Joe and Miguel were both home, and were busy cleaning and making sure everything was perfect for their guest. They bought a brand-new inflatable queen-size bed, and set it up in the living room. I really wanted to take a nap (I really needed one), but there just wasn't time.
I loved looking around their apartment, which is gorgeous. They just got a lot of new furniture, and Miguel is an amazing decorator. I relaxed with them for a while and then had to shower and dress for the Bar Mitzvah. I wore the same skirt I wore to Jessica and Ken’s wedding (black lace with a cream slip underneath), but different shoes (black sparkly VIA SPIGA mules), and a black short-sleeve knit top with a cream-colored cardigan with lots of gold sequins on the shoulders and front. I also wore a gorgeous new purse that was a birthday gift. It’s black silk with lots of gold and red beads and sequins with a gorgeous gold metal handle.
I got back to the synagogue around 5:00pm. The Bar Mitzvah was about to start and everyone was arriving. Catie and I were greeters, so we handed people the program, and asked them to turn off their cell phones. Then, when everyone had arrived, we took a seat in the back.
Evan did a great job. He really spoke up and was very enthusiastic in his performance. His portion of the Torah was about Joseph and his “Technicolor dream coat!” After reading his portion in Hebrew, he told of the story, so those of us who don’t know Hebrew could understand. It was all about how his brothers hated him, because his father favored him and they thought that Joseph thought he was better than them.
Then, he talked about what he thought it meant. He said that the story was about sibling rivalry and about how you may not always LIKE your brothers or sisters, but you always LOVE them. I say, “Hallelujah and AMEN!”
The wonderful thing about their congregation is that they have a baby grand piano in the room and an accomplanist played while the Cantor (who also played the guitar) and Rabbi sang. There was more singing than I’ve ever heard before. They both have beautiful voices and they didn’t speak as much as they sang! Also, the piano player was fantastic and he played background music as they spoke, so it was very dramatic and very entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was one of the most entertaining Bar Mitzvahs I have ever attended!
Ilene’s brother, David, and his wife, Mary Ellen, and their son, Daniel (Catie’s brother) were due from Schenectady in the early afternoon on Saturday. Unfortunately, because of the bad weather in New York, they missed their connecting flight in Chicago, and didn’t arrive at the Bar Mitzvah until almost 9:00pm! They missed seeing Evan become a Bar Mitzvah, and missed most of the party, too!
Other than that, everything went off without a hitch! There were tons of games for the kids to play – DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION (I didn’t participate this time), some kind of ROCK STAR video game (like GUITAR HERO) where there’s a guitarist, bassist, drummer and singer. I performed ROAM by the B52s with my cousin Karen’s husband, Mark, as the guitarist, my cousin, Tyler, as the drummer, and a young female guest as the bassist. It was really fun!
There was a popcorn machine and slushy machine, a photo booth, and more video games. Tyler also served as DJ and kept the crowd entertained with great music all night long.
Ilene looked gorgeous in a gold brocade gown with a lace-up back. Very sexy! Her 5-year-old daughter, Elise, looked beautiful in a gold party dress, but she's very camera shy, so she wouldn't pose for a picture!
Here's Ilene, looking gorgeous. When I took out the red eye in the photo, it made some dark marks on her face. I couldn't fix it. Sorry!
Her friends, who had worked so hard all day long, were now dressed up and looking beautiful. Stephanie, who worked SO hard all day, was still making sure everything was perfect, and looked gorgeous doing it in a black velvet dress.
There was a long buffet with salad, eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana, baked ziti, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, garlic bread, and corn dogs. Something for everyone!
I ate much too much, and then indulged in dessert, too! There were mini cupcakes, chocolate-chip cookies, hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows and whipped cream, and a big cake shaped like a Wii machine, complete with the remote!
I sat at a table with my cousins, Chris and Al (Ilene and Karen’s parents), and Catie, Karen, Mark, and their kids – although the kids were so busy having fun with all the games that they hardly sat down for 2 minutes!
It was really fun to watch all the kids dancing, playing games, enjoying the food, and just having a great night. Evan seems to have wonderful friends who were very sweet and friendly.
I feel bad that I didn't get more pictures of the family. We were all busy taking pictures with all our cameras, but we didn't stop to pose for many. I wish I got a picture of my cute cousin Catie! We had a lot of fun tonight!
I had a wonderful time, but could feel myself crashing as everyone was leaving (around 9:30pm). I knew there was a LOT of cleaning up to do, but I knew I just couldn’t make it. We were all meeting for brunch tomorrow, and I just wanted to go back to Miguel and Joe’s and go to sleep on that comfy inflatable mattress!
I said my goodbyes, and went to their apartment, which is about 10 miles away. The boys were at a party in Burbank, so they had given me keys. I let myself in, got undressed and got into bed. It was so comfortable that I quickly dozed off and woke up when they came home from the party. I have no idea what time it was, but we spoke for a few minutes and then they went in to bed and I went back to sleep.
It was such a long day, but such a wonderful day, too. I think the event was fantastic and Ilene really did a fabulous job. She did so much of it herself and had only the help of her friends and family. Kudos to her and her husband, Kyle, for their great organizational skills, creativity, and energy. I’m sure it was a night Evan will remember for a long, long time!