All Apologies

It’s been a while since I have been back here. So it’s time to shake off some dust and stretch out my apologies to the people who love YBK.

The past few months have been the source of endless drama and difficulties. I traveled cross-country, something that I dreamed of doing almost my whole life. I was able to afford an anniversary trip with Ari. But even those great highs could not compete with the low of depression regarding the situation that my husband Ari and I faced.

No job and no prospects for months led to me to crying fits, random blow-ups at people and difficulties coming to terms when our financial situation went from bad to worse. Although things seem to be turning around now (with my husband finally getting a job after two stark years of unemployment), it’s hard to shake the fact that we are struggling and still have to face the affects that unemployment has had on our lives.

I felt the pressure to try to turn the blog into a money maker, to make it into something that it’s really not. I loved certain products and wanted to feature them. I thought that making it appeal to salespeople would make me more successful. But it made me more empty, and I began to drift again.

So why have I decided to come back? The answer really came from a woman named Sandra from Jacksonville, Florida. She left a comment on one of my earlier blogs, and this is what it said:

Dear Reina, I found your post after searching for information from others who are kosher & taking Coumadin. All I can say is Thank You for continuing this blog. You never know the impact you have on others unless they share. I recently had a DVT blast through my heart and the bi-lateral PE(s) looked more like a shotgun blast; too many to count on each side. I just wanted you to know that reading your post made me feel better; a little less alone. Tikkun Olam comes in many different and unexpected forms :)

I felt comforted by Sandra. And I realized something that was very important about YBK – it’s not about me. I thought no one was listening, and that there was no point to this blog. But when I founded this, I sought to make a community, one that was united by stories and food. I wanted to make it like a table of friends coming together from all different backgrounds to share and enjoy one another.

Now, things are taking an interesting turn, and YBK will be rising from the ashes spread across the Internet. Here are some of the more interesting developments that we will be doing:

· We have combined with our friends at PunkTorah.org to help launch their site, NewKosher.org. We will be posting there as well as here, although there we will be on a different schedule – stay tuned.

· After much procrastination, I will be launching video. So excited! It was one of the biggest projects that I wanted to take on for Young, Broke and Kosher, straight from the beginning. I hope to shoot this week in my own kitchen, and possibly work out a deal to make it more professional.

· I have every intention of also launching youngbrokeandkosher.com and keeping that as the home of the blog, as well as launching a forum and other various projects. However, we need some cheap hosting for it. If you know anywhere that YBK can find its hosting home, please let me know.

· Also, I want to encourage other people’s creativity in the kitchen by featuring YOUR recipes. If you want to have your tasty dishes featured on this site, please shoot me an e-mail at youngbrokekosher@gmail.com. If you have a photograph to go with your dish, it would be appreciated.

So, welcome home, loyal YBKers, and greetings to all the newer people. YBK is officially relauched!