Norman Mailer and new neighborhoods

I was very sad to read that Norman Mailer died, I really like his writing. I found a book of short stories, completely weathered and old, at Halper's Book store on Allenby street in Tel Aviv last summer, and loved it! Granted, every page practically fell out as I was leafing through, but I found that if I was careful I was able to keep it in tact. I spent a fantastic day, back in the Summer of 1999, at Norman Mailer's Hampton's house. It was beautiful, exactly what you would expect a beach house to look like. With gravel instead of pavement on the long driverway from the street to the home, and plenty of white and blue and wood inside. The back terrace and pool though, was absolutely breath taking. I was there for a client event, and the front yard sported a huge white tent. A number of celebrities, Hamptons socialites and writers were in attendance, and I represented my client as best as I could, and then myself and my supervisor drove through town to pick up some salt water taffy and head back to Manhattan. There were only a couple of minutes when I looked around and said to myself, "oh my lord, I'm at Norman Mailer's Hamptons house". It was a little awe inspiring, much better than any Puffy white party could ever be. Rest in Peace Norman, I'll miss your work but I'll never forget that summer day at your lovely home.

Yesterday was a lot of fun! Buggy and I slept in a bit and then we ran some errands. I went back to the ENT at the Wolfson Center and he told me that my vertigo is caused by calcium deposits that came loose in my inner ear. Yuck! The only way to treat that is with physiotherapy and not I have to find someone who will do exercises with me to fix the issue. Annoying but necessary.

After the Wolfson Center, Buggy and I drove to Bayit Vegan to look at the location for his final government project. He is designing a spectacular, groundbreaking and extremely unique Kindergarten, for a location on the main street in Bayit Vegan. I came along as photographer, so we could take pictures of the house that would be demolished in lieu of this kindergarten. It was weird for me to be back in Bayit Vegan, a neighborhood full of really, really religious people who walk around in either yeshiva uniforms of with their hair covered/long sleeves/long shirts. I felt uncomfortable wearing my jeans, and hoped that no one from Michlalalah would either walk or drive by. While I have no problem, religiously, wearing jeans and not covering my hair, I also believe in being respectful of others people's beliefs. Which is why, I always wear the appropriate garb while going to religious neighborhoods. I told Buggy that the next time we come to the neighorhood, I will at least put on a skirt. Personally, I'd like to go back to Michlalah to show Buggy the school that meant so much to be as a seminary student. I have only the fondest of memories and would like to share with him the reasons why.

After we took pictures, we came back to the apartment and Buggy and I had some leftover pumpkin soup before he went off to work at the office. Since last night was a really late night for us, I relaxed a little and just read and watched some TV.

Yesterday was Buggy's brother's 25th birthday and we went out to dinner, the immediate family, to this great restaurant called Pini BaChatzer (I think that means Pini in the Courtyard but not 100% sure of the translation) which is located between Derech Hevron and Derech Beit Lechem in a dirt pit that you would think was a junk yard but really it's hiding two restaurants and a club. We got to dinner at 10:00 p.m. and Buggy and I were pretty hungry and I had left 12 points for dinner! (Weight Watchers points are really annoying!). Anyway, Buggy kinda warned me of the menu, but I was still surprised at their appetizer list. They serve a lot of sweetbreads, spinal chord, oxtail sauce, etc. That's not really my thing, although a lot of people really like those types of delicacies. I don't like my meat raw, or part of a body part that I'm not really used to eating. So, I passed on the appetizers and order the filet minyan - medium to well done. Well, I know that's not the way to eat meat, but I must have my meat cooked through. Buggy, as you already know, loves his meat rare so he got the filet minyan rare. But first, a couple people braved the appetizers and there was plenty of beef carpacio and pea soup to go around. The restaurant brings a lot of great little salatim to the table, and I fell in the love with the lentil salad. The dressing was so refreshing, it was fantastic. And, their breads look like jelly donuts, and they smelled so great but I resisted the urge to eat one. Eventhough, I kept asking Buggy if I could just smell his, because the scent was incredible. The rest of our party polished off the bread, so you can understand just how good it was! Buggy's brother-in-law ordered little mini fish for his appetizer, and well, they were served as mini fish. I kept waiting for that Ozzy Osborne moment, where he would put the head in his mouth and take a big bite, but I was sadly disappointed when he simply cut and removed the heads to his salad plate. That could have been a lot of fun.

Oh, and before I get to the mains, I have to complain about the drinks. Pini BaChatzer is really NOT a drink place. The bartender tried very hard to accommodate me, but he had no idea what I was talking about when I asked for an extra dirty Ketel One martini. Granted, he at least heard of Ketel One (although they don't stock it) but we had a whole discussion about what extra dirty means. I told him, it meant olive juice, and he was confused. He thought I meant olive oil and I said no, it's the juice of the olives. He made a face like that was the nastiest thing I could want - as if spinal chord is better - and so I just dropped it and let him made me a drink with Midori sour mix. It was flourescent yellowish/greenish and made with some mellon juice, and was very sweet and tasty. I made sure it wasn't too weak though, sometimes you need a shot of courage in a glass to make it through an evening with your new family,

Well, finally, the mains came out and it was a veritable poupou plattter of beef barely cooked. My MIL got the sirloin rare, Buggy got his filet rare, Buggy's brother got his entrecote rare, and Buggy's sister got her filet medium. Buggy's brother's girlfriend ordered the liver with mashed potatoes and I give her props, I can stomach chopped liver but cannot actually cut through a whole liver looking the way it did while it was inside a chicken. Well, Buggy's sister's dinner hadn't arrived yet and just as I cut into my first piece of meat and noticed it was a bit too red for my taste, did the waiter come by to tell me that they made a mistake with my food. Mine was still cooking, and I was eating my SIL's. Phew! I was happy it was hers because I didn't want to send it back to cook longer, and so I waited for my meal to finish cooking.

That's when the waiter brought me a little sample of the Beef Cheek Stew. He set it down in front of me and told me that it was chickpeas and beef cheek, while indicating with his hand his own mouth and cheek area. I thanked him for bringing it to me and, as soon as he left, passed it around the table. Sorry, but I don't like to eat any part of the cow's face. If that means that I am common, so be it, but this common girl just says no to cheeks and tongues. My MIL asked which cheek he was referring to and I was confused for a minute, until I realized she was referring to the cow's ass. Yeah, that would have been worse, so I was happy the beef cheek was on the other side of the table. Meanwhile, my FIL absolutely LOVED it and he helped polish off the plate. The waiter came by and asked if I didn't like the beef cheek, and I smiled and told him that I just wanted to share the wealth with the rest of the family. Buggy didn't understand why I did that, he thought that I should have just told the guy the truth that I wasn't into beef cheek, but my food was still in kitchen. I never piss off wait staff at restaurants, especially anyone who can do anything unsavory to my food before it's brought to the table. So, I'm always polite and enthusiastic and kind, and pray that no one ever spits or pisses, or WORSE, in my food.

Well, the drink has at this point really worked its way through my system, and my normal filter is off kilter and the next thing I know, I've inadvertantly insulted my SIL. Then, to add insult to injury, I explore the insult further through a discussion. Buggy was laughing the whole way through, and that's when I realized I was done for the evening. Fortunately, no one wanted dessert (not even the birthday boy), so we got the bill and left. Meanwhile, I had only eaten a quarter of my meal thinking there was going to be a birthday cake for dessert. I felt gyped! So, I told Buggy that we are going to have his brother over and I'm going to bake him a birthday cake so I can at least have a piece! I mean, why else do you think I went to the party? A birthday party should ALWAYS come with cake, preferably cake that has lots of yummy frosting too! I'm all about the frosting.

I got home and had no problem falling asleep and today is going to be a relaxing day. I did some yelling at Bar Ilan this morning because I discovered that as a Minhal Hastudentim student, I only had to pay 500 shekel when I registered instead of the 3200 shekel they asked me to pay. Hearing about that really pissed me off. Also, Minhal Hastudentim told me that if I don't get my grades into them by December, I'm not going to be financially covered since they close the budget. Well, I'm still waiting on 3 grades (2 for no reason whatsoever) and so I had to be a bit firm about that since I can't afford to pay for school out of pocket.

And now I'm just doing some work and some writing. We have a new cleaning person here today, Monique, who is very sweet and nice but I'm nervous that she's not doing such a good job. She has spent 2 hours cleaning 3 rooms and I only pay her for 3 hours and need her to do my living room/dining room and kitchen! Hopefully she'll be here soon cause I got 1 hour to go before I have to tell her to leave.

OK, I'm off to inspect the apartment! Come back later for some Product of the Day

London Baby!

We did it! This afternoon, we officially booked our trip to London and I am soo excited! I've never been, and I just can't wait to see all of the things I want to see. Granted, with 4 days and 1 1/2 being Shabbos, we probably won't be able to see too much of London, but I'm just so excited that we're going! I want to go see Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the Tate Modern Museaum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrods, the changing of guard and Soho! Plus, the weather should be nice and crisp and hopefully not too rainy, so that should be a treat. I'm looking forward to wearing a jacket again! Once the laundry is done, I'm hoping to go to Emek to the Steimatzky and look for a travel book on London. This way, we can really plan what we want to do to maximize our short trip.

Shabbos was really nice and much busier than normal. We went to the Yael shul on Friday night and it was packed. The davening was really nice too, I especially liked the little boy who davened Kabalat Shabbos. He had a very sweet voice. We got back to the apartment and my culinary guniea pig went to work on the broccoli soup (delicious!) and curry chicken (also very good) with spicy asian string beans. We went to sleep fairly early and, for some reason, I got up at 2:00 and couldn't fall back to sleep so I read my book until 4:00. I think I was just really hot and it took about 2 hours for me to relax again.

We didn't make it to shul so Buggy davened at home and we made kiddush here and had something quick to eat. We then walked to his folks for lunch and this time, we made the mistake of walking up Marcus. That hill is absolutely evil! It is super, super steep and at one point I just couldn't catch my breath. Buggy throught it was cute that I was sweating, but I was not happy that I'm so out of shape. People must be able to walk up those hills without breaking a sweat, and Buggy himself didn't have too much of a hard time. Anyway, by the time we got to his parents house I looked like a wet dog and I immediately went to the bathroom to try to mop up. It was gross.

Lunch was very nice, Buggy's Aunts, Uncles and cousins were there too so it was a very lively meal. We walked home and it was gorgeous, the weather was nice and cool and who doesn't like walking downhill? We got home and went to sleep, even though shabbos ended in 1 1/2 hours.

We got up 5 minutes before Shabbos was out and I was already going through all the things I needed to do that evening. Buggy's BFF's were coming for dinner and a movie and I had to cook and make things presentable. Fortunately, Buggy was super man and totally pitched in. First, I washed all the dishes from Shabbos and put them away, then we set the table and swept. I shipped Buggy out with the trash and accumulated newspapers, and then I got to work on dinner. I was making tuna croques, whole wheat spaghetti with pasta sauce and a purple cabbage salad. We both also had to shower, and they were coming at 7:30! So, I went into high gear and enlisted Buggy's help on the salad. He hated peeling so I let the patties fry and peeled the 2 cucumbers for him. I also set up the snack table for the movie, with some apple muffins I baked before Shabbos, pretzels, grapes and some popcorn. With Buggy working so meticulously next to me, we were moving along at a steady pace. That is, until I caught my elbow in the salad bowl and tipped the whole thing over on the counter and my foot and the floor. I kept waiting for Buggy to yell at me for ruining everything he worked so hard on for the past 30 minutes, but he was Mr. calm. So, I decided to yell at myself since that's the response I'm used to, and Buggy thought I was a bit crazy. We managed to salvage about half the bowl of salad, so all wasn't completely wasted, and Buggy cleaned up the floor while I ran into the shower.

We had a fantastic time with his friends, who announced to us that they're having another baby in April! Their oldest will be 1 on February 4th, and she is adorable. They put her to sleep in on bed and Buggy was nesting, and kept going in to check on her to make sure she was okay. She was so sweet, and fell asleep right away. Unfortunately, the movie we rented wasn't as good, eventhough I absolutely loved the book The Bridge to Terebithia as a child. Buggy's friends thought it was the most depressing movie they had seen, but since the food was good and so was the pineapple I broke out for dessert, they forgave us and promised to come back and visit.

Today, we got a late start on the day and I'm basically being a domesticated woman all day. I've got two loads of laundry up and have been cleaning and washing dishes. We're going to watch another movie soon, and then I'm going to get out of the house to run a quick errand. Tomorrow, I'm going to Ikea in Netanya with Buggy's Mom, so I'm really excited about that! We definitely need some stuff in the apartment, and hopefully we'll be successful.

Before I forget, Happy Birthday Galit! Welcome to the wonderful world of 3! We hope your princess party today is a big hit and can't wait to see the pictures!

Secret Single Behavior

In Sex and the City, Charlotte coined a phrase that really stuck with me throughout my adult life (or, since that particular episode aired). She called is Secret Single Behavior, or SSB, and all that changes as soon as you get into a relationship. In her case, it was something completely idiotic like checking her pores at night in a big mirror. According to her, in the episode, you can't check your pores at night if you're sleeping with a man. Because, there are certain things a single gal does alone that she doesn't do in front of a beau.

As they say in Hebrew, Halivay we should be discussing checking pores!

So, we're Newleyweds right? And, we're still in the honeymoon phase even though my Dad told us a few weeks ago that the "honeymoon is over". We're still getting to know each other. Living together is exciting and at times tense and stressful. We argue a bit, but we also make up before we go to bed, and it's really overall a lot of fun. But, we're still trying. We haven't reached that "sweatpants wearin, hand down my pants while watching TV, not washing my hair or brushing my teeth, walking around scratching inappropriate areas of my body - phase."

It's a good thing that we're still there cause it means that the romance hasn't ended yet.

But, as females, we're taught that certain bodily functions are embarressing and shameful. I bring up another Sex and the City episode, the one where Carrie farts in bed with Big, and she is absolutely mortified. So how, as females who are wired to think that a fart isn't just natural but a shameful act (and something you never, EVER, do in front of a guy you are dating/married to), do you spend your life living with a man and not pass gas? And how come we're not like guys, who (for the most part) have no problem just letting them rip wherever, whenever, and however. And, it's like the noisier the better, and elicits high fives and the such from male bystanders. Where the SBD (Silent but Violent) is a cheerwothy event akin to a touchdown? How come, women can't be like that?

Recently, I polled a number of my girlfriends and they've gotten around the public farting. We're basically taught how to "hold it in" in high school, so many know how to control it. But what, my dear readers, happens if you fart in your sleep and your husband/boyfriend is still awake and he hears you? Is it like the tree in the forest? If the person whose laying the fart is asleep and doesn't hear/feel it, did it really happen? Can you use plausible deniability?

Well, here are some tips to dealing with situations.

1) If you are awake and accidentally let out a big one and your boyfriend/spouse is within earshot/smell shot - channel the Japanese schoolgirl and cover your mouth with your hand, giggle and turn red, and say "excuse me" in the most adorable sounding voice you can muster. That can turn you back into the adorable creature you are to your spouse and hopefully, he'll be running in for a hug

2) If you accidentally wake yourself UP because you let out a big one and your boyfriend/spouse was within earshot/smell shot - well, all I can say is, deny, deny, deny. If YOU don't remember what it was that woke you up, turn the situation on it's head and tell him that it was HIS farting in bed that woke you up! Hopefully, that will turn into a funny debate about who laid what and how, and you'll both have a good laugh and get back to sleep.

OK - that's my preaching for today.

As many of you know, yesterday was my 31st birthday and it started off nicely. I got to sleep an extra 30 minutes before having to get up and get my day going. Buggy had to go to the Dr., so we showered and got dressed and ate breakfast in the succah and left in time for Buggy's 12:00 p.m. appointment. Fortunately, the Dr. gave us some good news, and we were off to fill a perscription and then on to our errands. We stopped off at Buggy's parents place to borrow a pillow as we're having sleepover company for Simchat Torah, and then we went paper good shopping. We picked up some plates and salad/fish and dessert plates and cups and matching napkins. We will hopefully be all ready for out company - which has swelled to an impressive 16 within the last couple of days! Needless to say, today will be spend in the kitchen as I cook up a storm for our guests.

After the paper goods store, Buggy left to go do some work and I went to work preparing the bedrooms for our company. It's difficult trying to figure out where to store all the stuff we don't have room for yet, and so I managed to find some creative hiding places. For example. I usually leave my two wigs hanging over the bed in one of the guest rooms. Since we need that bed too, I had to share Buggy's closet space and moved his ties over t omake room for what he calls "Wiggy 1" and "Wiggy 2". I'll take a picture later so you can see what I'm talking about. After making beds with fresh/clean linens, I was exhausted! It's a lot of work rearrranging and moving stuff from one room to another! I tried to settle in on the couch for some Iron Chef America but the doorbell rang and there was my husband, holding a bouquet of 31 red roses.

Soo beautiful and surprising! I didn't expect it because he already bought me the nicest birthday present! He preorder the Stephen Colbert book, and I CAN'T WAIT to get it in November! It's going to be soo funny, I am excited!

Our birthday afternoon began and Buggy watched an episode of Roswell with me, then we got dressed and headed to the mall to watch the movie Knocked Up which was hilarious. The mall, however, was a zoo with tons of people packing in and shopping. It was like the day before Christmas in New York with wall-to-wall people, and no parking or room to move! I told Buggy next time, we stay home during Chol Hamoed because it was really hectic and annoying. I'm just not that girl who likes to be jostled.

It wasn't so late when we got out of the movies, but the thought of eating leftovers didn't appeal to us and the beauty of living in this Country is that the Mall food court is kosher! So, we decided to pick up take out to eat in our succah. We surveyed the options and decided to go Thai noodles. We both got soup, 2 eggrolls, and then 2 starches and 2 chickens. I got the soy chicken and the sweet chicken and then the Thai noodles. Buggy got the Thai noodles, some rice, and 2 helpings of this other kind of chicken. We brought the food back to the house and had a lovely dinner in the Succah.

And then, my stomach really started to hurt. Shooting pains throughout my stomach made me rush to the toilet. And then, I went all Exorcist!



And, my husband was amazing, keeping me company during the entire episode. He ran and got me water, and would have held my hair back if I wasn't already wearing a shmata. After making sure the entire contents of dinner was out, I managed to crawl into bed and passed out. I think Buggy was telling me a story for a bit, but towards the end everything just got fuzzy and I fell asleep.

That people, is real love. When you're at your worst, and he's there right besides you to help you through it.

What a fabulous birthday!

Today, Buggy has to be at work all day long so I'm gonna be alone in the house doing what I have to do to prepare for 16 guests. Basically, I'm going to pick up the chicken at the supermarket and any of the last ingredients that I need and just spend the day cooking! I'm hoping to make a broccoli and corn kugel, the sweet and sour chicken, 2 huge macaroni and meats and the orzo. Hopefully, that will be more than enough to feed 16 people! Tomorrow, I leave the salad making and the baking for last.

Hope everyone is enjoying Chol Hamoed!

Kvater vs. Kneidel

Chag Sameach! We hope everyone out there is enjoying the holiday. And, we feel awful for our Chul friends who are dealing with a 3 day Chag this year! I bet right now all you want is a big ol' shower and some TV! I feel for you, even though it is so sweet to only have 1 day Chag.

Where to begin? I can't even remember what I ended up doing on erev chag, but for some reason I think it had me in the kitchen. I baked a velvet sponge cake that completely flopped. Still not sure how or why, but we had to deep six it before Yom Tov. As you all know, we finally entertained in the apartment and hosted 10 people last evening for dinner. More on that in a minute.

The first night of Succot was very nice. We went to Buggy's Aunt in Katamon and I baked my sister's recipe of chocolate chip butterscotch bars. They were really, really good and I think everyone really enjoyed the food. I got a bit weepy in the middle of dinner though and Buggy and I had to have a bathroom conference so he could calm me down. Long story short, one of his Aunts insulted me and it just made the homesickness that much worse. You know, when I imagined getting married, I always thought about spending the holidays with my family. I never envisioned that I would be married and not spend the Chagim at home. So, it can get a little lonely this time of year. I was telling Buggy how Succot is the start of soup season for my family (we don't eat soup from Shavuot until Succot because it's too hot) and how much I missed helping my Mom for the holiday. I also really miss everyone at home because, well, Succot means it's my birthday and it's my absolutely favorite Jewish holiday. So, all those emotions combined left Buggy with a weeping wife and so we beat it out of there shortly after benching.

We decided to just eat the two of us in the Succah on Thursday as opposed to going out to people. We woke up early and went to Nitzanim for shul. We both agreed that it's not the shul for us and, after Yom Tov, we're going to go shul hopping in the hopes that we'll find someplace we like. Nitzanim is nice if you've been there forever, but as a new couple, it's a little unfriendly for our tastes. The good thing is that in Jerusalem, shuls are like a dime a dozen, so we're gonna look around.

We took LONG naps after lunch and then, as soon as 6:06 p.m. hit, I jumped out of bed and got to work. Buggy best friend from Yeshiva called us to tell us that his son's bris was going to be on Friday at 10:30 in our neighborhood and so I told Buggy he would have to go without me because I had all this cooking and cleaning to do. Well, then he called back and asked us to be kvaters and I couldn't say no. How could I pass up the mitzvah? I decided kvaters over knediels and cut those off the list so that we could go.

Thursday night, I cooked from 6:06 until 2:00 p.m. and boy was in fun! I made two types of chicken, the cauliflower kugel, the salt and pepper kugel I didn't end up serving (bad noodles, we had to toss that too), orzo with roasted vegetables and toasted pine nuts, the mocha frosting for the chocolate cakes, noodles for the soup and then Buggy convinced me to put up the soup and then transfer it to the crock pot and have it simmer for 24 hours. It was about Midnight and I thought it was a good idea, as it would mean all I had to cook on Friday was the shallots for the warm shallot dressing and grill the steaks for the steak salads.

Unfortunately, when Buggy went to unpack the crock pot we discovered it was TINY! So, we prayed it would be ok and left it over a low "flame" (we have an electric range) overnight.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep much on Thursday night, I was really afraid to leave the range on overnight. Fortunately, when I jumped out of bed at 7 yesterday morning, everything was great. I removed all the greens from the soup and tossed them and then got to work on the cleaning. I was so nervous about Buggy's parents coming to dinner, I was very short with Buggy and had to apologize later. Fortunately, he is a very forgiving man and he understood and tolerated me.

We got dressed and made it to the bris one of the first. It was really nice being the kvaters, and it was such a great honor, that I was happy we decided to attend. We hung out with Buggy's other good friends and then left a bit early to come back and get the house ready.

And that's when my husband turned into such a SUPERSTAR! He cleaned the toilets, again, and helped set the table and move things out of the living room and into the bedrooms (you know, when you move the junk from one room to another type of thing). He was amazing, I was soo appreciative!

Check out the tables in our succah!





I was a stressball by the time I lit candles for Shabbos, but was relaxing because everything was ready and just waiting for the company to come. And, it was so nice to have Buggy's family here! Buggy's Dad LOVED the chocolate cake and ate three pieces (for a man who stays away from carbs, that was a big compliment) and Buggy's Mom really like the grilled steak salad. Overall, everyone had a great time. It was nice that the first thing his 2 year old niece did was knock over a big glass of red wine. I was able to show off my new black tablecloth that just let liquids beed up on the fabric instead of soaking it in. My MIL was so impressed, she asked me to find her one for her house too. Everyone was a bit on edge though because we were using nice stuff, but I told them that they shouldn't be nervous and that everything is replaceable (except for people). I hope that calmed everyone down :)

Buggy's Dad brought us scotch, which really helped a lot, and I look forward to sharing it with him in the future. When everyone checked out around 9ish, they were satisfied and happy. After cleaning up, Buggy and I passed out! Now, we have 15 people coming for Simchat Torah dinner and that's gonna be a whole different kind of fun!

Buffet style!

Moed Tov everyone!

And, a BIG Happy Birthday to my sister! Welcome to the wonderful world of 28 Rick! May it be a fantastic year! We missed you TONS today but ate chocolate cake in your honor!

I'm off to finish picking photos for our wedding album. I managed to narrow down 800 pictures to 84 - only 14 more photos to weed out!

Till tomorrow!

PS. The new Maximo Park song, Girls Who Play Guitar is fantastic, Buggy and I both highly recommend it!