Lehitraot!

I'm shutting down the blog. For some, this will be a disappointment. I apologize to that person - my sister - who reads the blog while eating her breakfast every morning. For others, it won't even be a blip on your life. But basically, censorship has forced my hand and it's time to close up shop.

I've truly enjoyed sharing my life this past year and a half with the blog, it's been an experience that I can now say has been well documented. I'm proud of myself for sticking to it for so long - a feat for someone who tends to start projects, get bored, and move on. Buggy and I will miss sharing our lives with you all - but it's for the best. If you're a friend/family member, feel free to get in touch the old fashioned way (via e-mail or phone) whenever you want an update about us. If you're just a random reader, thank you for coming to this site. I hope you were entertained.

With that, Buggy and I would like to wish everyone a Chag Sameach!

Lehitraot (Goodbye) from Jerusalem.

HolylandHipster

Visit from a Lone Star

President Bush is planning on riding into Jerusalem on a white horse to save the Middle East. Reports by media in Israel, and this morning's article in the Jerusalem Post implies that El Presidente is coming for a 2 day trip starting January 10, 2008. Well, Buggy and I are going to try to make it a LOOONG weekend away from Jerusalem when Prez Bush is in town. We'll be locking up out liquor too, just in case, and hopefully finding a nice weekend getaway that won't break the bank. Hmmm, maybe Switzerland? We'll see.

Happy First Day of Chanukah to everyone! Buggy and I attended the family Chanukah party last night and, all I can say is that it's much better than last year. This time, instead of calling me fat, his Aunt told me that I looked so skinny that I could eat all of the potato latkes she won't be eating since she's on a diet. I told her I gained 10 pounds since the wedding and am back to wearing my fat pants, but thanked her for telling me that I looked so nice.

Other highlights included a fantastic roast beef, a major announcement from my sister-in-law about her pregnancy (she announced that she was pregnant) and lots of tears that didn't come from either myself or Buggy. Speaking of Buggy, he was so disappointed this year with the gifts that I feel pretty terrible. Now that he's no longer flying solo, we get "our" presents as opposed to "his" and "hers" gifts. Which makes sense that this year we got 2 bathmats and bath towels, 3 hand towels for when we wash, 2 beautiful rose candles, body cream/perfume and 2 mini-silver spoons to match our silver salt and pepper pots.

Two things about the gifts I want to highlight:

1) This year, Buggy's Aunt didn't give him hand cream. For the past 5 years or so, his Aunt gave him hand cream. I was there last year when she presented him for foot cream, actually, and was pretty shocked by the gift. Of course, he gave it to me and I did use it and enjoyed it, but we get a big chuckle out of the present. Note to all Aunt's/Mother's and gift givers of the world - don't ever give a single male, or marriageable age, hand cream for Chanukah. It just send the wrong message....

2) Buggy's sister got everyone CD's this Chanukah and we were fortunate enough to receive Sting's Hit's that no one has ever heard of and Cat Steven's Remembered. Now, Buggy and I are music snobs. I admit it, I'm not nice when it comes to music, I have very, very distinct taste. In fact, I would never listen to either Sting or Cat Stevens. Buggy, of course, is the same as me when it comes to music (one of the first things we discovered about each other and one of the major reasons we went out on a second date. The man loved The Killers, it was Bashert!). Anyway, I really appreciated the gift because it was a nice present, but what the heck was I going to do with it? Well, Buggy's Aunt got a Bob Dylan CD and she has loads of Dylan and truthfully, I only have a handful of songs from iTunes so I wanted to trade for the Dylan. Buggy's Aunt liked Cat Stevens and a trade was made, but not without slightly offending Buggy's sister (mind you, she SAID we could trade CD's if we didn't like what we got). I ask you folks - why did we get the crappy music selection? Buggy's brother got Led Zepplin (another great pic for us), his Aunt got Bob Dylan, his Mother got Mika (which wouldn't be good for us but it showed that at least his sister put thought into the present since my MIL loves pop music), and we got the CD's you find in the bargain basket at checkout. I kid you not, this gift showed not thought or forsight on his sister's part. Now, I got them two really nice children photo albums and I have to say, I put plenty of thought into the gift. I also spent 84 shekel on her gift, 75 shekel on the present for her daughter - and Gaby and I merited two CD's that roughly cost 25 shekel. Where is the love? It's ok, I learn my lesson once. Next year, she gets scotch tape for Chanukah.

Well, I've been up since 6:30 a.m. and it's amazing that I've got some energy. Buggy has his BIG presentation today and he was a nervous wreck when I woke him this morning. Fortunately, he was able to get up and out of the apartment by 7:10 a.m., with both breakfast and lunch and a Chai to drink. I waited for Avi to come and then we went next door to our neighbors to check out the two leaks in their apartments. First, according to Avi, the living leaks are actually not leaks at all but the water that leaked a few months ago drying in their apartment. The worse we'll have to do is paint the wall because of the damage, but he doesn't think there's any new water damage and if there is, it's not coming from our apartment. That was a big relief. The second leak is HUGE and it's in their kitchen but, fortunately, the only way it could be coming from our apartment is it our Mamad had water in it and was dripping. Avi pointed out that, based on where their kitchen is, the water is actually coming from our next door neighbor's apartment. Avi showed us that our neighbor recently had work done (he did, I remember) and they installed a section of the rood pointing downward as opposed to pointing upward. So, all of the rain and even the dew that collects onto that roof is pouring directly into the roof of our neighbor's kitchen. So, Avi suggested they contact the neighbors to let us know. We also encouraged them to get another opinion, in case they weren't comfortable with what Avi said, and they were just going to have their Kablan called Avi to discuss some of the other options. In the meantime, we're waiting for the next big rain to see if it's from our apartment or leaking from the second balcony. The good news is that, based on the current water damage, it doesn't appear to be anything leaking from our bathroom. That really, really made me feel better.

So now, I'm trying to figure out what we're doing for dinner tonight. Buggy has been so stressed lately because of school that I want to do something nice. I think I'm going to bake him some latke's for dinner, so I have to go to the fruit and vegetable store to pick up some necessary ingredients. We're also almost out of toilet paper and paper towels, so I need to pick that up too, and I think I'm going to make some chicken for dinner so I'm going to go to Falcon to get some meat.

Well, my Heroes video is almost done loading so I'm off to watch an episode before getting on with my day. Hope everyone is having a Chag Sameach!

National Cookie Day!

December 4th is literally my favorite day of the year. Not because this year the date happens to coincide with the beginning of Chanukah, but because it's National Cookie Day! Oh yeah - Buggy and I both harbor the cookie monster within (admit it, you know you do too!) and so, I began prepare for this fabulous holiday by baking! For the first time in my entire adult life, I actually made my Aunt Irene's (TZ"L) cookies and they were just as good as I remembered!

While sifting the flour, baking powder and salt together, I remembered this one summer I had gotten kicked out of summer camp (long story, not worth retelling the reason why in this blog) and I had about 6 weeks left until school started and nothing to do with my days. Since my parents worked, and my siblings were all either away at sleep away or day camp, my days were long stretches of boring. Well, my Grandmother and Aunt Irene both chipped in to help me out and one day I would spend fruit and vegetable shopping with my Grandmother at Kissena Farms. That's where I learnt how to pick good grapes (my Grandmother would pop them into her mouth to make sure they were sweet) and how to tell if a grapefruit was ripe. While, Aunt Irene, would take me over to her house and we would either go errand shopping together on Main Street or we would go to the house and bake! I'll never forget the afternoon we baked her cookies (she let me add chocolate chips even though you really don't need them!) and she let me eat a whole bunch (I was always dieting so cookies were a big NO NO in my house). Aunt Irene was really cool though, and I missed her a lot while baking cookies for Buggy. Anyway, I'm going to bake another batch tonight and bring it over to the Chanukah party.

Yesterday, I was a bit down, but I felt a lot better when I went into town to run some errands. I had to hit the bank to change my name and address since my Teudat Zehut has been changed. Afterwards, I just walked around a bit and looked into shops and stores. Everyone has some sort of Chanukah decoration out in their storefronts, and I was just getting so excited by the holidays that I practically skipped the rest of the way to Buggy's office. He was the only one still there, so I popped over to a computer and lent him moral support as he finished his project. We left around 8:00 p.m. and then I started dinner. We had a nice, balanced and nutritious meal of grilled salmon, brown rice with soy sauce, and three bean salad. Oh yeah, I did it, I actually served us three bean salad! We're way passed not eating certain food items that might be deemed offensive since we live in such close proximity. Anyway, it worked out great, and we were able to watch the latest episode of CSI New York before going to bed.

We had an early night, which was great because Tuesdays are our early mornings, and I had some interesting dreams that included a baby rhino and a dalmation puppy on a remote Island in the Pacific. Anyway, I must have had some sort of dream that Buggy was falling because I woke up - around 3:30 a.m., and lunged at him to make sure he wasn't falling off the bed. Of course, that woke him with a start and he was a little surprised with my sudden, early morning, lunge-to-safe-his-life moment and we had a good little chuckle. He started telling me he was having weird dreams, but since it was so early in the morning, decided to save the retelling until the alarm went off. So, we both went back to bed and I was up before the alarm went off at 6:50 a.m.

Buggy left for school around 7:30 with a tuna melt for breakfast, a deli sandwich for lunch and a whole bunch of goodies for snack (including an apple because it's true that an apple a day really DOES keep the Dr. away) and I, of course, went back to sleep. Four blissful hours later, I was up and on the move because I have so much to do today! First, I had to wrap my Mother-in-law's Chanukah present and, of course, I can't really wrap anything. So, I struggled for about 30 minutes to wrap the two boxes of trivets we bought her, and well, I just hope she doesn't notice the jagged lines or the sloppy tape jobs. We were way past due for a laundry run, and so I put up a colors wash and then got to work on the kitchen. I had to wash up and wipe down the counters and that just led me to my broom and, before I knew it, I was sweeping the whole place. Mind you, our cleaning lady comes tomorrow, but I prefer she not have to clean in a pig sty.

As soon as I sat down to update the blog, though, the doorbell rang and I thought it was the package I've been waiting for. Buggy's getting a delivery today, so I'm home until they come, and for some reason the intercom wasn't working. So, I slipped on my slippers and raced downstairs to find our lovely neighbor leaving us a note. Apparently, she has two leaks into her apartment that she fears is coming from our apartment and now that it's spreading she felt she should let us know. Well, since we're going to have to pay for any damage, I got on the phone and called our contractor ASAP and made an appointment for him to see the leaks at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. I guess tomorrow is going to be another early day for me, but I really hope we get this fixed and soon! She was really sweet about it though, and invited us over for Shabbos lunch of vegetarian Chulent. I told her I had to get back to her after I spoke with Buggy, but we'll probably go since we have no other plans and it would be nice to get to know our neighbors!

OK - I'm off to do some cookie baking in honor of Chanukah and National Cookie Day! Chag Sameach everyone; enjoy the start of this fabulous Festival of Lights!

Product of the Day



Oxo makes three sizes of cookie scoopers and I could really use the medium sized one for Aunt Irene's famous cookies. Since I'm supposed to drop them in 1/4 to 1/2 spoonfuls at a time, what I've been using ends up being a bit insufficient and I get cookies of all different shapes and sizes! With the Oxo cookie scooper, it would be perfectly shaped cookies every time!

Defeated

I'm tired. I'm so tired of fighting the system that I'm done, I've given up, I'm waving the white flag. Yesterday, I got a letter from Maccabi saying that my health insurance has been cancelled. Apparently, Bituach Liumi (the National Insurance Agency) no longer recognizes that I made Aliyah and therefore, all health insurance privileges have been revoked. Now, I could understand that this happens to someone who doesn't pay their bills. But folks, I literally got a bill from Bituach Liumi the other day and we paid it immediately. I even have all the codes to prove that I paid my bills. So, what the hell went wrong?

First, we called Maccabi and the person on the phone said that he didn't know the answer because that information wasn't available to him on "his system". When pressed, he claimed that Maccabi has many systems and all are not accessible to everyone, and my situation was on someone else's system in the Aggrippas office. Well, we had to wait until today to call the Aggrippas Maccabi phone number and ask about the situation. They looked into it and told us that it was a Bituach Liumi problem. So, Buggy called Bituach Liumi to ask what's up and they said "they're looking into it". They didn't tell him when they would get back to him, they didn't allude to the fact that anything was even wrong to begin with. They didn't even tell him when we can expect the problem to be fixed. And so, I am no longer covered by health insurance and therefore cannot go to any Dr.'s. Well, I wish I would have known this before I made an appointment for December 16th - I guess let's just hope this situation is completely resolved in the interim.

But, I'm just defeated at this point. I'm tired of fighting every single thing in this Country. I'm getting it from school, I get it from all the of the government agencies, I get it from my bank and the contractor and anyone and everyone. I'm fighting to get my license and I've been doing that since October. It seems like the only one I'm not fighting with is Buggy, and all I can say is B"H for that. I'm even fighting myself to get out of bed these days, today was particularly rough. Buggy had to be up and out of the apartment early, so for his sake I got up and made him lunch and breakfast. I waited in the living room until he was finished davening and then, as soon as he walked out the door, I went back to my bed. I tried to go back to sleep, but it didn't come, and so I started writing instead. Fortunately, I wrote about 5 pages of a new story and so at least I felt accomplished, but it still didn't make getting out of bed later on any easier.

The thought of raising children in this Country absolutely frightens me and, with no way of opting out, I wonder what I can do to make things better?

The storm clouds are rolling in and the apartment is quite cold. I'm too miserable to turn on the heat and so I just put on another sweatshirt and try to get warm. The only task I left myself to do today is work on a spreadsheet of expenses that my Father requested early this morning. I'm biding my time - there's at least another 10 hours to my day and I don't want to do things all at once. At least I still have to make dinner, that's something else I can do with myself.

I wish I knew why it's so hard to live here. I just don't understand why these organizations are just completely ass-backwards. Well, at least I have an appointment at 4:00 p.m. so I have no choice but to get out of the house. I also have to go to town to deal with yet another bank issue. If life keeps going this way I'm either going to end up doing one of three things:

1) Hitting the bottle
2) Start Smoking again/develop a dependence on my Valium
3) Develop an ulcer

Fortunately, tomorrow is the first night of Chanukah and we have Buggy's big family Chanukah gift exchange evening. Hopefully the presents will be good. Well, at least I have that to look forward to...

Earthquakes!

OK, so this morning there was the fourth earthquake in Israel in 2 weeks. Buggy and I heard that the ground started to rumble and move around 9:40 a.m., and we both were up and didn't even feel a thing. Now, some dooms dayers are predicting that "the big one is on its way" and that's just the last thing I need to even think about. Oh, and this picture is not from here in Jerusalem but from Indonesia after an earthquake that was more than 6.0 on the Richter square. Today's earthquake measured in at 4.0. I've lived through a couple of New York earthquakes in my life, and I only really remember one that woke me up on a Friday night and left a big crack in the pavement outside of our Shul. I don't know what year it was, probably sometime in the late 80's or very early 90's. Anyway, my point is that I'd like to keep it that way - I'm one of those people who doesn't need to experience certain things in life just to say that I've "been there, done that". I'm content never having to live through a big earthquake - it's why I never settled in California folks.

So, Buggy and I had a BIG busy and productive morning. We got up early and drove the car to the Mosach (garage) to get some things fixed. Buggy's back blinker wasn't working and the car needed other servicing, so we left it with the grease men and hiked it back home. It was a very nice, long walk through Talpiot and the weather was beautiful, sunny with grey clouds rushing towards us. I warned Buggy that it looked like rain was coming, but he was certain that we would make it home okay, and then we decided to stop off at the Hadar Mall to pick up the last of our Chanukah presents. At first, Buggy wasn't excited about our options, but then we found a Bug. The Bug store is a place you can go to get your computer serviced (although, I don't think they work with Macs, just PC's), buy computer and Playstation games and other cool electronics. We decided to get his brother a plastic keyboard that would work with his laptop, and his Dad a pair of rechargable batteries that you charge through the computer's USB port. I also picked up some wrapping paper so I can wrap his Mother's gift, and then we decided it was time to head back home for some brunch. Of course, we weren't too surprised to see the rain pouring down! Buggy had this great rainjacket, which was smart of him to take before we left the house, and I only had a sweatshirt with a hood. So, we waited for the raindrops to slow down and then walked the rest of the way home. We didn't get too wet and I made us a nice, big and warm brunch to chase away the chill.

Shabbos was very nice and relaxing. We ate Friday night dinner at Buggy's parents and I even made it to shul for Maariv and Kabalat Shabbos! We went to Chovevei but decided to daven upstairs, which was nice and smooth - no speeches - just the way I like it. Dinner was great and then Buggy and I walked back home. Right before we crossed the train tracks into Baka, though, we heard this loud BOOM. I looked at Buggy and asked him what he thought that could be, and he said that I really didn't want to know. And then, we heard the sirens. This being Jerusalem, we both assumed terrorist attack and all I wanted to do was rush home and crawl into bed. Buggy assured me that it was far away and that I had nothing to worry about, but I didn't want to take any chances. I just wanted to be home. Well, we spent the rest of Shabbos close to the apartment and lunch was very comforting. The soup turned out really, really great - as did the lamb chops - and then we just slept Shabbos away. After Havdala, we both went online looking for news about what could have happened but didn't find anything. That was a little bit of a relief.

Saturday night was quiet, we stayed at home and just relaxed and caught up on some TV. Today, we both have some work to do. For me, I have to write a new business proposal and Buggy needs to work on a big project that's due on Wednesday. Good thing we don't have to be outside - it's cold, grey and raining. Who said rain in Israel isn't a blessing?

Product of the Day

Patagonia makes quality rain gear! I moved to this country with the ugliest, most impractical rain coat ever and - of course - I never wear it. While we were in the States, actually the day after our wedding, we went to the Patagonia on the Upper West Side and bought Buggy his rain jacket. It's amazing - he absolutely loves it - and it really does protect from "the elements" and the rain! Perhaps I'll pick on up during the after-Christmas sales! Either way, if you're planning on visiting Jerusalem in the next few months, bring rain gear - winter has finally arrived!

Approval

Yesterday was an incredibly productive day for us. It started off with an early morning when our cleaning lady came an hour earlier than she normally comes. I really like her, she's a Brazilian transplant who is studying to become a chemical engineer. She's cleaning apartments for extra money to pay for rent, school, etc. She showed up really really ill, a bad cold, and I tried to get her to go home and rest but she insisted on staying. And, for the first time since she started working with us, she did an amazing cleaning! Go figure.

After she left, I got down to business with my thesis proposal. I've been going back and forth, and back and forth with the powers that be and I just wanted this aspect of my thesis done. So, I did the necessary revisions, got the final approval from the powers that be, and decided to go to Bar Ilan today to personally hand in the document. I also needed to go to school to deal with this Minhal Hastudentim issue, which basically is a mess and I hope to g-d gets cleared up before the budget closes on December 15th. I had to physically come to school in order to request a transcript, which has majority of my grades from last year, that I will in turn submit to Minhal Hastudentim so they can pay for my courses this year. Since I already laid out the money for a semester that - as you all know I'm not having actually classes in - I want my money back. More on what happened at school today in a minute.

After I did some work, I took a quick cat nap and waited for Buggy to come home. Wednesday night, about one a month, we go do a big shopping and stock up on supplies. Since we're eaters, we had to replenish our supplies which dwindle quickly especially when I entertain. Since I pledged not to do any more entertaining until the end of the month - having my sister-in-law and Buggy's cousin over for dinner during Chanukah doesn't count as entertaining - I was hoping we could be a bit leaner this month. Well, we decided to try a different supermarket than the ones we normally go to, and we went to Rami Levi in Talipot. First of all, the place is really, really huge! I was extremely overwhelmed initially, and so I didn't do the best job in the beginning, but I got really into it towards the end of our shopping excursion. First of all, the fruits and vegetables were extremely cheap. It was 9 shekel a kilo (about 2.2 pounds) for artichokes, and we picked up 4 really nice ones. Of course, I always shop with a big list, and so Buggy and I split the list and went about our shopping. Now, I am making Marnina and Shulamit's meat and barley crock-pot soup for first course on Shabbos day, and I needed to get Flanken. No one, of course, knows how to say Flanken in Hebrew. Buggy didn't believe me that Flanken was even part of a cow - he thought I was talking about some strange animal he's not familiar with as Yiddish was a language never, ever spoken in his house. Another cultural difference between us - as a side point - is that I use yiddishisms quite a bit and he looks at me blankly. Who doesn't know what Zozah is? I told him it was "sauce" and he wondered why I just don't say sauce. I don't know - in my house - gravy/sauce is just Zozah.

I digress...Back to Rami Levi. Buggy had me call his Mom to ask about Flanken, who passed me on to a family friend who basically told me to ask for "Basar Rach for Chulent" or basically tough meat for the chulent. I sent Buggy to the meat guy while I hit the dairy section, and he came back with 1/2 a kilo of something. Hopefully, it will be the right thing and the soup will turn out ok. Now, the misconception with Rami Levi is that it's a cheaper supermarket. Wrong, wrong, wrong! I still managed to spend 850 shekel last night and granted, we got a lot of stuff, including expensive cleaning materials, but I marvel at how people in this country pay for groceries. On many anemic salaries, it must be very difficult feeding a growing family. Can you imagine what my food bills will look like once P"G we have kids? Fortunately, I don't need to worry about that tomorrow.

Today, we got another early start as our contractor came to fix the hot water boiler, which blew on us (and blew ALL of our electricity) Erev Shabbos. For 400 shekel, he fixed the necessary piece and then waited as we flipped back on the switch to the hot water boiler. I'm really hoping that this will fix the entire problem. After he left, we got ready and Buggy drove me to the Central Bus Station. I haven't been there in at least 2 months now, but it was so nice to be back and see that the place was ready with their Chanukah wares. There was a huge table of menorahs and candles and oil, it was amazing. All of the bakeries are churning out Sufganiot (jelly donuts) and people are walking around with wrapped gifts. I can't believe Tuesday night P"G will be the first night of Chanukah, and my second here in Israel! I really need to learn how to make potato latkes!

The ride out to Bar Ilan was uneventful, I did a bit of work brainstorming for a potential client, and then I went to the English department to drop off my thesis proposal. Yonatan was on campus and we met up, which was great as I really needed his help getting my transcript. Turns out, the woman who was supposed to collect my thesis proposal was not in the office. I ended up making another copy and leaving it for her on her desk. I hope on Sunday it's still there when she gets back to work. Afterwards, Yonatan and I went to the administration building to deal with my transcript issue and it was confusing - my Hebrew is decent but I just didn't understand this woman. For some reason, the 30 shekel I paid entitled me to 4 copies which I asked she send to my apartment. I wanted her to send it directly to Minhal Hastudentim, but it looks like I'm going to have to do a Tel Aviv day sometime next week to deal with that too. Hopefully my TA friends will be around and I will be able to at least get together will my friends so the trip isn't all about dropping off a form. And then, 25 minutes after arriving on campus, I was done with what I needed to do. Yonatan and I grabbed a quick bite and then I was back on the bus heading to Jerusalem. Buggy picked me up and I was starving - I didn't eat lunch with Yonatan cause I knew Buggy was waiting for me to eat - and so we went to Al Dente for some good Italian. Well, I actually think they changed chefs - or the one I'm used to just wasn't there - because the food was disappointing. Buggy liked his ravioli though, so it was worthwhile.

I'm hoping not to cook so much tomorrow as we're eating out at Buggy's parents tomorrow night. It would be great if I can get a quick walk in in the morning, so I can get some exercise. It was sad that the walking I did today at school was the most physical excursion I've done in weeks! I'm feeling like a bit, lumpy, couch potato so I need to get my butt in gear and soon! Anyway, I'm also leaving all of my Shabbos lunch cooking for tomorrow, but I'm hoping not to have to make too much. As a treat for Buggy, I got us lamb chops so I'm making my Aunt Amy's skillet lamb chop and spanish rice for lunch, and I'm making Marnina and Shulamit's soup for first course, roasting some cauliflower and also trying my hand at my sister-in-law's "Full" recipe, which is a French/Algerian origin. I'm thinking the marinade includes garlic, olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper but I need to get in touch with her to get the real deal. Hopefully, it will turn out great and Buggy will really, really enjoy lunch!

Product of the Day

Oxo Good Grips mixing bowls are the product of the day. I have no mixing bowls and I am in dire need of the Oxo ones! First of all, I believe that Oxo products are just great, great quality products. And, when it comes down to it, I just have nothing to use to make any of the foods I'm preparing. These days, I use salad bowls as a substitute and now my salad bowls have turned grungy and oily from all of the varying ingredients I use to make - well - whatever. Anyway, if anyone reading this can tell me if I can get the Oxo mixing bowls somewhere in Jerusalem, that would be great! Otherwise, the folks over at Oxo, please, please import some more of your amazing kitchen products!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Today is my Dad's 59th birthday! Happy, happy birthday Dad! May this year be full of only the best, until 120!

I've been up since 5:30 a.m. and, as soon as I finish updating the blog, I hope to get some more sleep. I don't function well on less than 6 hours a night.

Last I wrote, I was at the beginning of our London trip, so I'll just pick up from there.

Thursday
Buggy and I walked to Piccadilly Circus and went shopping at the HMV. I bought him the new Killers CD, which turned out to be very unimpressive, and then we walked down Piccadilly Street. We went to this beautiful, huge, book store akin to a Barnes & Nobles and Buggy picked up three books by this new author he is really liking. Her name is Noami Novik, and she writes Sci-Fi novels, and her books have captured his attention. I was happy he was able to get three new books - which should keep him busy for at least a few more Shabbatot, and then we continued walking down Piccaddilly. I wanted to walk back to the Tube station at Green Park, even though there were a couple others in the vicinity we could have gotten on. There was the Burlington Arcade that I wanted to walk through, to see all the beautiful shops and decorations they already have out for the holidays. We got to one store in the Arcade that was just watches, and the window was gorgeous, that I wanted to take a picture to send back to my brother. He's a big watch guy. Anyway, just as I was about to click, the shopkeeping banged on the glass and told me that I was not allowed to take pictures. Apparently, they're really afraid that people are "casing the joint" and I could potentially want to rob them. It was disappointing, but then we continued through the Arcade and landed up on Bond Street and I was in designer store heaven. Mind you, I didn't walk in anywhere, but just seeing Prada, Gucci, Chanel and other brands made me feel like I was home. It was nice. Anyway, Buggy and I got back on the tube at Green Park with a bit of an incident with a very pushy Brit. How the heck am I supposed to know she's walking right behind me? If I stop, is it my fault? Well, this woman was clearly in a hurry and I stopped on the street corner during rush hour, right near the train station, and all of a sudden I hear this extremely loud and annoyed "JESUS!" And she steps around me and mutters under her breath like I just killed the Pope for stopping on the street. So, being the pain in the butt New Yorker that I am, I responded "You're Welcome!". She actually stopped and shot back"For what? Cutting me off?" Buggy was enjoying the exchange and I think he was waiting for a throw down on my part, and at that point I just let it go..I don't have eyes in the back of my head people, so just chill.

We got to the Brent Cross station and decided to walk back to his brothers house, which is a nice and relaxing walk. We ended up going out to dinner at Novolino, which is a nice dairy kosher restaurant in Golders Green. I ordered the salmon with soba noodles, which was tasty, and everyone else went with pasta. Of course, we indulged on dessert, and I was very happy with my triple tiered chocolate. That was, of course, before I learnt I'm allergic to chocolate but more on that later.

Friday
With Shabbos coming in so early in London, we were up at the crack of dawn with the kids and got dressed and caught a ride with Buggy's sister-in-law to Brent Cross mall. It was a busy, busy shopping excursion. First, we stopped at the Starbucks so we could fuel up for the day, and then we hit the shops and followed my list. Buggy was pretty much the person we were shopping for, and we definitely hit the jackpot. First, we stopped at Timberland and got him a new pair of shoes for Israel's winter. He loved them, finds them so comfortable to walk in, that he wore them out of the store. Once we got him a pair of shoes, we went looking for Salt and Vinegar chips for Buggy's brother. Sadly, I had no idea what the kosher symbols look like in England so I couldn't tell which ones he could eat, and we left without anything. Then, we stopped off at Russell and Bromley and Buggy treated me to a new pair of suede boots. They're lovely, and actually pretty comfortable, so I was very happy with my find. After that, we went looking for a birthday gift for Buggy's other brother in law, but didn't find something that interested us and was in our budget. So, we went to Marks and Spencers and we bought the place out! Buggy was in desperate need of some new Shabbos trousers and casual wear. When we got married, I was shocked that he only had 2 pairs of Shabbos pants (one for winter and one for summer). So, we got him about 4 new pairs that he can wear most of the year. They were having a decent sale on slacks, so we also picked up two pairs of casual pants. I like how Buggy looks in Rugby's, so I picked up three for him that he really loved. A cashmere Shabbos scarf, a beautiful lavendar button down silk shirt, and two packages of handkerchiefs later and we were all set to go home. Buggy wore the shirt underneath his sweater on Shabbos and he looked amazing! We ate dinner Friday night at Buggy's cousin, and it was a lot of fun. I passed out when we got home - shopping is very draining - and looked forward to the rest of our trip.

Shabbos
Very relaxing. We davened at my friend Susie's shul in Hendon, and Buggy's brother got an Aliyah which was very nice. Then Susie, Elliot and Rena came over for lunch and before we knew it, Shabbos was over in an hour. So, Susie stayed with Rena and everyone else went to sleep while Elliot walked back to shul for Mincha/Maariv. Once Shabbos came out, Buggy's sister-in-law kept trying to find a babysitter but apparently it's impossible to find one on a Saturday night, so me, Buggy and Buggy's brother went into town to see a movie. All the ones they wanted to see were sold out, so we bought tickets to Brick Road, which was excellent. Both men enjoyed it, which was shocking as there were no aliens, guns or lasers in the entire film. We got home, had some late night leftover Chulent, and went to bed. Sunday was going to be a busy day!

Sunday
We actually slept in, since we didn't have to be at the London Eye until 1:30, and then got everything together to leave the house. Being the anal person that I am, I packed our suitcases on Saturday night, so all Buggy had to do was shlep them downstairs. I stripped the bed and put everything I could away into the laundry, and then we set off on our day. It was super cold and grey, but fortunately the rain held out while we went to town. We took the tube to the London Eye station and it was extremely efficient. The kids had a great time on the streets before we got on the wheel as there were plenty of performers. There was an invisible man in a box, which the kids found fascinating and the adults found to be a bit creepy. Here's a shot of Buggy's niece mesmerized by the invisible man in a box.




Anyway, the London Eye was when I discovered that my husband is really afraid of heights. He sat back in the middle while I took plenty of video and pictures of the skyline. At one point, I saw this huge tower and I swear I thought it was the Eiffel Tower so I got really excited. This man in our cabin laughed at town me it was called Crystal Tower and then said we couldn't see all the way from Paris even from way up on the London Eye. Shame...that would have been cool. When we got out, our plan to go to Covent Gardens and to have a picnic were shot as the first rain drops fell. We walked all the way to Covent Gardens and stopped off at a Starbucks for some warming up and hot chocolate. We decided we wanted to go home, as Buggy and I still had a late night plane to catch, but managed to be persuaded to go to Covent Gardens. I'm a moron - I had no idea it wasn't a park but a place with lots of shops and events. Well, I ended up going shopping and getting a pair of gloves, a nice present for Buggy's brother-in-law and a pashmina! Yea! I've been looking for a nice pashmina for a while, so I was really, really happy to pick one up. At that point, I was done with all the things on my list for the trip and ready to go home. We got back to Buggy's brother's house and, in no time, it was time for us to get going to the airport. We got there right before the throng of people on our flight showed up, and I had to deal with El Al security. The guy was training, and so he thought I was a terrorist, and he asked me a lot of weird questions. Finally, they cleared us and we went through to baggage check. For some reason, they made me open up our luggage because I packed 2 magazines. It made no sense, but we did it and I was appreciative of the security. It might be annoying to me, but I'd much rather they be vigilant. I hate Heathrow airport though, they stuck us on this way out terminal and they didn't bother to heat the place. I was really, really freezing and Buggy and I were already starting to feel bad. I knew in the cold that we would both end up coming down with something - I wasn't disappointed. Anyway, after an annoying delay, we boarded and took off in the pouring rain.

London was a lot of fun - and for me, 4 days is the perfect amount of time needed to enjoy the place. Next time, I hope Buggy and I plan it so we can also catch a good concert.

We landed bright and early Monday morning and I was really not feeling well. Buggy was also sick and we ended up staying in bed all day long. Buggy called the Dr. and she told us we might have caught the flu on the flight, and perscribed lots of fluids and sleep. Unfortunately, I didn't have that luxury as 27 people were coming to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. So, I spent the next three days and pushed myself through the pain to cook, clean, prepare, shop, and take care of Buggy before our first ever Thanksgiving as a married couple!

And with that, I'm going to log off and get some sleep. Buggy's in school this morning so I'm hoping to catch up on some much needed shut eye.

Product of the Day


Nyquil is my product of the day and I'm hoping the folks over at Vicks will read this and start importing their cold medicines and products to this country. I brought at least two bottles with me when I got back here after the wedding, and I'm slowly going through them. I like the cherry flavored Nyquil, and they really, really work. Unfortunately, I didn't take any last week because of the entertaining for Thanksgiving and so my cold has still lingered. Last night, I chucked a capful and the little sleep I got was very restful. This darn cold is still lingering though, and boy do I wish my eMa was here to make me some of her chicken soup, I could use a bowl right about now!

London Pictures

We finally got our internet back after a Friday blackout, so I wanted to post a few pictures from London:



Big Ben on a grey, cloudy Sunday



Street art - man acts like statue at the base of the London Eye

Looking up at the London Eye before it's our turn - and the scariest part it getting on and getting off because the ferris wheel never stops moving!

Black Friday

Wow, I've been gone from Blogger for a few days and things have gotten a lot more interesting! For example, now I can upload video directly to my blogger template from my desktop. Fortunately, I accidentally took a 4 second movie while on top of the London Eye. In case you're wondering what I'm shooting, there was a Star Wars exhibition near the London Eye this past Sunday and my husband spotted the 4 storm troopers from all the way up in the sky and told me to take a picture. Here's the video - those white things in the background are the storm troopers and yes, I'm married to a Sci Fi lover :)

I love Black Friday and am extremely jealous of all the folks shopping right now. Buggy and I have to get some shopping going ourselves for the big family Chanukah in a few days. Buggy had an interesting suggestion on how we can save money on gifts this year, and I'm against it but we're still negotiating. So, our friends and family were very generous for us during our wedding and we have a lot of gifts in our home that we can't really use. Either it's just not our taste or it was just impracticle. At this point, it's just adding to the clutter and I have no clue what to do. So, Buggy suggested that we actually regift them to the family - but TELL THEM that that's what we're doing so no one wonders. I think that's a little umm, rude, so I think we're going to have to go pick up presents but my husband keeps working on me and trying to convince me. We'll see (aren't you happy you're not exchanging gifts with us this year hehe!)

London was wonderful! I took some pictures with my Nikon Coolpix on Sunday, which was the coldest, darkest, rainiest day of our entire trip. We spent the day sightseeing, and took the kids to the London Eye and Covent Gardens. It was so cold that we had to stop at a Starbucks on our way to Covent Gardens.

But, before we get to the end of our trip, let's start at the beginning. We got to the airport 2 hours before our flight and Buggy and I zoomed past everything. Security took the most time and then, since the line to get through border control wasn't that long, I decided to to the hand recognition card. What that means is that, next time I go in and out of the country, I bypass that HUGE line of tourists and citizens waiting for their passports to be stamped and I go to the machines on the side, swipe my hand dandy card, and put my palm on the machine. Within seconds, my fingerprints are read and the machine spits out a form that says I can enter (or exit) the country. It literally saves us 15-30 minutes depending on how many flights are taking off/landing. Unfortunately, only citizens of Israel can do this, but I'm hopeful that soon anyone can do this!

We raced to duty free to buy Buggy's brother some whiskey, and to get us a couple of bottles too, and then decided that we needed a video camera for this trip. I've been the video camera champion for a while, so I insisted that we go get one, and Buggy was in agreement. We ended up with a great Canon that took both video and stills, and we managed to board the plane with 20 minutes until takeoff. The flight was uneventful and I was shocked when we got to Heathrow. It's a crappy airport folks! I was actually missing Ben Gurion while we waited around the dilapidated baggage claim for our stuff. Buggy helped a nun off with her bags and then our stuff came around and we met Buggy's brother for the trip to Golders Green to their house.

So, impressions of Golders Green/Hendon was not so great. It's literally the Jewish ghetto of London and everyone is one top of one another. It's extremely claustrophobic, with the houses shoved in next to one another on each block. I was exhausted so we passed out and slept very well. The kids woke us up early the next morning and I took some cute video. Buggy's nephew cried when he had to go to school because he wanted to stay with us, and then Buggy and I got a move on into the City to do some touristy things.

First of all, last Thursday in London was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and it was crisp cold but it was very comfortable because we were prepared and dressed appropriately. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. We were coming through the Park as the band marched past and we raced to the gates to get a good shot. Unfortunately, there were a ton of tourists - many of them were Hassidim! - and I couldn't get such good pictures. I managed to get some video of the procession though, and of course the horses, you can't miss the horses. It bored me a bit so Buggy and I decided to do the bus tour around the city. It was fantastic! I counted at least 15 Starbucks and 25 Pret a Manger's and I told Buggy that I wasn't leaving the Country without some Starbucks! We practically saw everything I wanted to see from the bus, and then we ended up back at Leicster Square at this great vegetarian Indian restaurant called Woodlands. The food was terrific and we were starving, so we really enjoyed ourselves. We decided to walk off our eats by heading up to Piccadilly Circus to the HMV and then down Piccadilly where we went window shopping.

Sorry to stop mid-trip but I just realized it's an hour until Shabbos and I still have to get ready. Enjoy the video and more pictures and updates to come!

Sawdust

The Killers released their new album today and, from what I'm hearing on iTunes, it's pretty decent. It's about time they released All the Pretty Faces, I managed to get my hands on a live version they tested out a few years ago and it was great. The album version is clearly synthesised, but it's still a good song nonetheless. Hmmm, perhaps I'll pick one up for Buggy and surprise him while we're in London.

Speaking of London, I packed today and boy did I overpack! I know, we're only going for 4 days, but I have no idea what to expect weather wise and so I needed to bring lots of layers and lots of options. Specifically, I need at least two skirts and three tops to choose from for Shabbos wear. Lord knows what my waistline will look like after 2 days of eating out in the Queens Country, so I needed to bring skirts of different sizes. One thing I didn't do was overdo it on the shoes. Buggy warned me not to bring too much, and so I'm just bringing a pair of walking boots and a pair of sneakers. I'm hopeful that we'll get a nice pair of black platforms/pumps on Friday so that I have something to wear over the weekend. If not, my black ankle boots will just have to do. I have no idea where the day went though, it's already 3:30 and I'm still in PJ's.

As usual, I was up with my husband at 6:45 a.m. and made sure he got out the door with both breakfast and lunch securely packed away in his knapsac. I tried going back to sleep 45 minutes later, but couldn't, and right as I was about to drift off the doorbell rang and it was Mei Eden with my water for the month. So, I threw on a sweatshirt and let him in, which was good because it's heavy trying to schlep those canisters!

Once he left, I decided to try to go back to sleep and this time, I was successful. Until my friend Tamara called and woke me up, which got me out of bed around 10:30. And that's when I got things into gear, pulling things out of our closet and stacking them on the couch for packing, doing a load of sheet laundry so it's all clean when we get back next week, pitching a potential new client with a business idea, etc. I just finished putting away our dishes from dinner last night, which I like to leave drip dry if I can, and now I'm ready to get back in for another nap.

Fortunately, I have plenty to do which will keep me away from some much needed slumber. Buggy and I are going to the Kelim Mikvah tonight in Katamon so that we can toyvel some of the pots I bought at IKEA. We also have some glasses that need to be dipped too, and so I'm going to try to take off all the stickers from the house so we don't waste anytime trying to do that at the mikvah. Last time we went, there was a lot of people waiting on line and it's a tiny, little, hole in the ground so we really need to be efficient.

I also have to go through my Time Out London book because, well, I think I know exactly what I want to see on Thursday but Buggy has no idea how to get there. I'm hoping I'll be able to figure out the tube map and plan an itinerary so we don't waste any time.

I can't believe that I'm actually, finally, going to London. I represented the British Government for almost 4 years, and kept waiting for an all-expense paid trip across the pond, but it never happened. No matter, going with someone I love is going to be much, much better.

Product of the Day

The SONY HDR-UX7E AVC HD DVD Handycam 'PAL' Camcorder, 3.2 Megapixel 1/2.9" CMOS, Carl Zeiss Lens, Optical Image Stabilizer, 3 Megapixel Still Images, 3.5" LCD Display. I would love to bring a camcorder with us to London, so we can take some great video. I am a big camera/video person and, since we only have my old Nikon Coolpix between us, think that a camcorder is the next step. Too bad I couldn't register for this type of thing when we were getting married! We're hoping to pick it up when we go through Duty Free at the airport, and let's pray that the price won't be as staggering as it is on websites or in stores.

London, here we come!

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

Taking Control

Friday night dinner was a really big success. We had a nice group of folks, including El Jeffe (my turkey expert), Gayle, Merav from school, Rabbi Avi, and Buggy's friend Josh. I warned everyone that it was a Thanksgiving dry run, and encouraged honest feedback. To their credit, everyone was really, really honest with what they liked - and what they didn't like. Gayle thought the cranberry crunch was too sweet, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Buggy wasn't a fan of the marshmallow's on the sweet potatos, but I think the kids on Thanksgiving will love it. I hated my botched pecan/chocolate chip pie and sent the leftovers home with Josh, who seemed to like it. I also gave him a doggy bag including all the cakes from the house, the cookies, and the rest of the corn bread muffins. Since Buggy and I will be away for most of the week, I didn't want that food to go to waste. Plus, we both don't need it.

What shocked me this afternoon was the lack of leftovers. Oh, we have PLENTY of white meat turkey left over as most of our guests either ate the dark meat or enjoyed the side dishes. But, we have no more bread pudding - that went over real well - and no more string beans and shallots. There was a little cranberry crunch left so Buggy and I had that for dessert today, but our guests polished off all of the salad. Normally, I have a ton of left over salad so I was surprised at how much food was consumed. Now I'm worried that I won't have enough food on Thanksgiving, and so I'm trying to rethink my plan.

Meanwhile, I had a slight meltdown on Buggy on Friday afternoon, right before I had to run into the shower. With 2 hours until candle lighting, I had an unhappy epiphany. So, I told Buggy that I was upset and needed a few minutes to figure out why, and then I went outside to the back porch and smoked a cigarette. I'm not happy that I'm smoking again, but it's an indication of things overall being a little rocky for me. Halfway through, I realized what was wrong with me, stubbed out the cigarette and went inside to talk things through.

I'm basically bored. I told Buggy that I went from managing Fortune 500 companies to obsessing over Thanksgiving? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy entertaining and am looking forward to having a nice Thanksgiving, but even I read my blog and want to click over to someone elses. It's boring! Do you really care about our turkey or my Thanksgiving dry run? I don't! What upset me most is that I realized, I would never be happy being a stay at home Mom, and I'm worried that because I need to have a career in order to feel fulfilled that I will be a bad wife and mother. Buggy reassured me that he doesn't think I'm a bad wife, but sometimes I feel like I should be enjoying the domestic aspects of married life more than I am. I love Buggy, I love being married to Buggy, I still wake up singing because I'm happy being married and that I found my soulmate. But, when all I have in front of me each and every day is housework and cooking, I'm just not happy. I try to make it more interesting, scouring the web for new menu items and ideas, or trying a new cleaning product on our floor/toilet/bathtub, etc. But folks, it's just not doing it for me.

And, the more I'm unhappy, the more weight I put on and I am embarressed to say that this evening I had to put on my fat jeans. A week before the wedding, not even 3 months ago, I was down a size and almost down another half. I was so happy, I bought 2 pairs of jeans in the new size, but today these jeans feel like they're gonna split when I bend over. Now that's just depressing! Meanwhile, I threw all of my energy into Buggy's diet and he's down almost 4 pounds since last month. I'm so happy and proud of him, he worked really hard at watching his weight. On the flipside, I put on all the weight he's lost and in my attempt to put him first, I forgot about myself.

Tonight, Buggy had to go to the office to work on his homework project. Since we're going to London in a few days, he really has to cram all his work in before we go so he's not behind the eight ball when he gets back. I get it. Intellectually, I am completely on board with it. And, I totally support him and all that he needs to do. But, that didn't stop me from eating the following in the 45 minutes since he left: about 40 grapes, the leftover string beans and bread pudding, a cup of tea, a handful of toasted almonds and 2 glasses of water. I had Top Gun on TV on mute, and I was just mindlessly eating because I was bored. Since I didn't nap this afternoon while Buggy slumbered, I did all of my Shabbos clean up well - on Shabbos. I washed the dishes I normally leave until after Shabbos and tidied up a bit - things I would have done tonight. But, shortly after Buggy made Havdala, I did the last minute clean up and then realized the expanse of time this evening where I have nothing to do. And so, I ate. I ate out of boredom, and loneliness.

Anyone who says that being married automatically means you're not lonely is a fool. You can be living with someone, married to them, see them every single day, love all the time you spend together, and still be really lonely.

But, I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm tired of feeling depressed and bored and lonely. I'm tired of eating mindlessly because I have nothing better to do. Yes, my reality is different. I am in a foreign country where I don't speak the language. I moved to a new City where I have no friends. We joined a gym but because I have no car, I cannot go by myself and therefore have to go only when Buggy can take me (I also have no valid Israeli license so I couldn't drive even if I wanted to). And, my entire family is living in the States so I can't spend time with them even if I wanted to. Plus, Bar Ilan is on strike and Merav told me that the head of our department told her they will make the strike worse because no one is paying attention. I'll be lucky if we have school in December!

So yes, it might seem a bit bleak, but I am taking control of my life. After polishing off the last morsel of bread pudding I looked down at my bloated stomach in disgust and got my ass off the couch. I got out of the PJ's I was wearing all day and put on clothing, brushed my hair, and put up the wash. I made the bed and put away the clothes that were piling up on both of our chairs. I then dug through the box of books in the third bedroom and unearthed all of my Weight Watchers materials. Tonight, after I finish updating the blog, I'm going to sit down and write out a food plan. And, I'm going to stick to it with the same determination as I stick to maintaining this blog, or helping Buggy with his own diet.

I also told Buggy that I need a routine, and STAT. And, as soon as we get back from London, I'm going to create one that works with our lifestyle. That means, every day including Saturday and Sunday, I wake up at the same time. And I get up. And I do something besides making lunches, thinking about dinner, washing dishes, washing toilets or thinking about sponga my floors. I'm going to call the headhunters, whose names we got from a friend who is working in a very good job in high tech, and I'm going to figure out what my future career options are. I'm also going to continue sending out my resumes and looking for projects in the States, so that I can fill my day with opportunities that will earn us money. And, when Buggy gets out of the house to go to school, so do I. Whether that means I strap on my iPod and take a walk around Jerusalem, or I go to a local coffee shop with my laptop and work on my thesis, or even if it means that I take a ride with him to school and then head over to the shuk or into town just to see what's new in the country. I just need to get out. I'm also looking into taking Ulpan, and there's apparently a very good one in Baka, so I'm going to try to get enrolled in their next semester.

Hopefully, my resolve won't wane and I'll be able to yank myself out of this funk and make a life for myself in Israel. It's also not productive that I keep imagining what my life would be like if Buggy and I lived in New York. I fantasize about being married and living in on my old studio apartment on 74th and Columbus. We would get up at the same time each morning, he would go to work at some amazing architecture firm and I would walk him to the subway on 72nd and CPW, give him a kiss and his brown bag lunch and a Starbucks coffee, and then go to the gym. After my workout, I would go home, shower and start my own day. I would work from home the way I always did, leaving my apartment occassionally to do the laundry or to pick up groceries at Fairway on 72nd and Broadway, maybe meet a client or friend or reporter for lunch in the neighborhood, or for fun run down to the Mac or Kiehl's stores and stock up on some new products. Around quitting time, I would put up a nutritious dinner and relax until Buggy came home. We'd have a nice, relaxing dinner, and then either walk down to the Lowe's on 68th and Columbus to catch a flick, meet some friends for a drink at Dive 75, have dinner out with my brother, or just cuddle and watch some Must See TV and get ready for the next day.

Is that kind of thinking pathetic? I miss New York, but what I find so difficult even in Jerusalem is the lack of options. I just don't feel comfortable leaving our apartment alone at night, walking through the quiet Baka neighborhood, until I get to the semi-crowded Emek Refaim. It's not like living in Manhattan, where there's life teeming on every street corner and no matter where you're situated, you're never alone. Is it pathetic that I felt safer in Manhattan than I do in Jerusalem? I'm afraid to leave my apartment at night by myself, I just don't like our neighborhood. And yet, in Tel Aviv, I would walk around by myself at all hours of the night. Living on Arlozorov, right off of Ben Yehuda and a block away from Dizingoff, there was always people around. I was never afraid of leaving the apartment, of walking by myself on the beach at night, of walking to friends apartments on Emile Zola, Bogroshov, Aronovitch Streets, etc. I walked to Dizingoff Center by myself all the time, and I would even walk alone from the bus stations on Arlozorov street to my apartment a mile away, in the dark, with my iPod on, without thinking twice. So what is it about Jerusalem that scares me so much that I feel like I'm trapped in the apartment?

Buggy doesn't really understand, although in all fairness I never told him that I'm scared of our neighborhood. But, he was born and raised in Jerusalem, so he's so comfortable here that I'm afraid he would find my tentativeness as irrational behavior. I bet I'd be happier if I wasn't so afraid of where we live. Any ideas on how to get over that?

It's funny, but it makes me think about the years I was afraid to walk by myself in Queens. I was 12 or 13, not really sure the age, and my parents finally told me that it was time for me to start doing errands and getting around the neighborhood by myself. I was absolutely petrified. I remember trying to bribe my Dad to take me to a friend's house on Shabbos afternoon but telling him it was good exercise, just so I didn't have to walk alone. One Shabbos afternoon, my parents were asleep and I was invited to Terri's house. Now, I really, really wanted to hang out with Terri, and so I had no choice but to walk alone. I tried to get my older sister to walk me, but she was going to a friend in the opposite direction and didn't want to take me. I was almost in tears by the time I got to Terri's house - when I was on the block behind the gas station on Main Street I actually starting running until I cleared past the library because I was so scared - and the nerves from walking the 10 blocks alone had really eaten away at me by the time I arrived. But, I did it and nothing happened. A couple more times walking around the neighborhood myself, and I had not only conquered my fears but absolutely LOVED walking alone. I loved walking alone, no matter what time of day, and I felt so free. So you can understand why, all of a sudden, I'm so unhappy that I'm afraid of my neighborhood. It's as if my freedom has been taken away from me, and I'm trapped inside as soon as the sun goes down. Hopefully, it's another fear that one day (hopefully very soon) I'll be able to conquer.

Well, Buggy just called to let me know that he finished work for the night and is on his way. We're going to take a walk to Emek Refaim and see what's open, just so I can get out of the house today and Buggy can get something to eat. I'm actually not hungry, so I'll probably just keep him company while he has dinner.

No Product of the Day today, but check back in tomorrow, I'm bound to have found something in the interim.

Have a great week!

Tomer, the Israeli Turkey

Meet Tomer, the Israeli turkey. This morning, Tomer weighed in at an IMPRESSIVE 12.4 pouds (I used our bathroom scale) and
that was while he was still wearing the three plastic bags we wrapped him in when we brought him home from Falcon yesterday.


Here's Tomer after his paprika, black pepper and garlic powder bath...


Here's Tomer sunning himself in the kitchen before his 4 hours in the oven...


Can ANYONE tell me what I'm supposed to do with Tomer's tusch? That was certainly unexpected..


Getting into stuffed position!


BOOOOOOOOO!

I put Tomer into the oven at 9:05 a.m. and the house smells wonderful! I'm so excited about tonight, I just hope I don't somehow mess up the turkey. We're 8 all together and, fortunately, majority of our guests have eaten here before so I'm not that concerned. Yesterday though, I worked so hard that I literally passed out by the time my head hit the pillow. I did almost all of the side dish cooking, cooked 2 turkey legs, AND vacumned and washed our floors. I also managed to do a load of laundry and we went to the mall to pick up gifts for Buggy's brother and his kids. The last thing I made last night was baked sweet potatos, which I'm going to be serving with white marshmallows. Yum! Fortunately, Buggy chipped in and cleaned the toilets. I can never say he doesn't help out because he really, really was helpful.

Buggy is going to spend the day today working and out of the house. Meanwhile, I'm actually on a conference call with him right now because HOT, our telephone/internet and TV provider somehow managed to give away our new home phone. I kid you not! Two days ago, I used the phone to call a friend in London and then this morning, when Buggy was in the car on his way to an appointment he called the house phone and someone else's wife answered. He thought he dialed wrong, and so he dialed again, and the same woman answered. We're on this conference call with HOT because they're trying to figure out what happened. For a minute there, they didn't believe us when we said we even had a HOT phone in the house. I just hope they stop wasting my time and send someone to check it out and give me BACK my new phone number.

So much to do today before our guests arrive this evening! I still have to make the bed, set the table, put together the salad, make the dressing, set up the hot plate, heat up the soup, toast the almonds, and dust. Hehehe, the tables a little dusty for my taste so I'm gonna have to do some pledging.

And so, I have to cut this blog short because the day is even shorter with Shabbos coming in around 4:10! Will try to upload "after" photos of Tomer once I take him out of the oven!

Product of the Day

Empire and their fantastic frozen turkeys are my pick for today. And, even though some US agency only ranked them 23rd in terms of turkey integrity (what that heck does that even mean?), I would give anything for a frozen turkey than the fresh one we picked up yesterday. Seriously, the guy at Falcon looked like he was holding a baby when he brought Tomer out from the back. It made me a little queasy. The beauty of a frozen turkey is that, someone else already did all the hard stuff for you. Someone ELSE stuck their hands up the turkey's behind and scooped out the junk inside. And someone ELSE picked out all the feathers from the skin. Lord knows how much turkey I'll even eat again, it was a bit traumatizing when I had to clean the tusch area this morning. But hey, it's a Thanksgiving dry run , and I guess this is what I need to do to get it right!

Pearl necklace

For my Bat Mitvah, years and years ago, my Aunt Irene (TZ"L) gave me a beautiful pearl necklace. I even remember when she gave it to me, right as people were arriving and the wait staff were circling with the pizza rolls. I really liked those pizza rolls, but not as much as the pearls, which I asked her to put on me right away. In all of my Bat Mitzvah photos, the pearls are just a lovely addition to my punked out 80's Bat Mitzvah dress. I wore the pearls often until, one day, the strand broke and I was fortunate enough that all the pearls landed on the carpet by my feet. I scooped them up, put them into a ziplock baggie, and kept them in my jewelry drawer. I kept them there for a long, long time and even though my Mom told me that I should just go get them restrung, I was lazy and left them in the drawer. Fast forward to my wedding day, and I thought that perhaps a pearl necklace would look nice to wear with my gown. I ended up not wearing a necklace and opting for big, beautiful earrings instead, but the idea had me searching for the pearls. And, sure enough, there they were in the jewelry drawer of my bedroom in my parents house. So, I told Buggy that I wanted to bring the pearls back to Israel to get them restrung here. I remember last minute packing before we left for the airport and grabbing the pearls and putting it in my handbag. After Sheva Brachot were over, we went back to my favorite person Mr. Meltzer and brought in my rings to be redipped (don't ask, it's one of the things that having a white gold band entails, sometimes the gold needs to be dipped a few times because it turns yellow) and to have my pearls restrung. I also changed the clasp from a yellow gold one to a white gold one, so that it matched my rings. When Mr. Meltzer called to tell us everything was ready, we drove over and picked up my engagement ring and the pearls.

So, here's what happened. I was so happy to see my engagement ring that all I did was look at the pearls, check out how nicely they were restrung, and put them back in my handbag. That's the last time I saw them. I have looked all over this apartment for the pearls and, I just have no clue where I put them! I am really upset about it, especially because of the sentimental value of the pearls, and I'm just going to keep looking for them. Hopefully, they're in a drawer or a cabinet or even another handbag somewhere and I just don't remember where.

Yesterday was very busy with food shopping and Buggy and I went to the Supersol by Derech Hevron so I could stock up on my Thanksgiving supplies. I picked up 5 cans of cranberry sauce (3 whole berry, 2 jellied), 4 cans of pumpkin, 5 cans of mandarin oranges, 4 boxes of whole wheat pasta, 2 packages of crazines, 3 packages of marshmallows, 4 pie shells, 4 cans of spaghetti sauce, etc. The bill was quite high, but I was expecting it so I didn't freak out. Especially with this Friday's Thanksgiving dry-run, I know that things are very costly. Fortunately, we reserved some of our wedding money in an "entertaining" fund and holidays fits that bill. While we were shopping, quick and efficient like I like it, this woman came barreling down with her cart and starting just shoving herself into my cart. Well, I was not happy that she was being so pushy, so I said to her "sleicha" which in that instant was Hebrew for "excuse me" or "WTF?" She just ignored me and pushed her way past, shoving my cart into me. So, I said to Buggy, "what a bitch" and continued pulling whole wheat pasta boxes off the shelf. Buggy leaned over and whispered into my ear: "baby, next time wait until she passes before you call her a bitch". I shrugged it off and kept on shopping, happy that she was on the other side of the store and ready for a confrontation in case she came after us.

What I DIDN'T except was that she would be our check out girl. I kid you not, she was the only lane open and I had no choice but to use her. I'll admit, I tensed up a bit, thinking that she would somehow exact her revenge while we were packing up our goods. But, to her credit, she didn't say or do anything. Of course, Buggy knew that I was on edge and so he tried to calm me down and reassure me that nothing would happen. Let's just say, I was very happy once we loaded up the car and got out of there. Maybe she just didn't understand the word in English? Whatever, live and learn. Next time, I curse people out when they're not in earshot.

We were too tired last night so I didn't do any of my Shabbos cooking or cleaning. We just watched some episodes of CSI and Boston Legal and went to bed. I was already under the covers by 10:30! That's really early for me!

I got up a bit late today and quickly got my cooking started. The most annoying thing to make is the bread pudding, which you have to soak and then drain. You know, I've never actually made a bread pudding before but I remember sitting in the kitchen watching my Mom make them. She made them whenever the freezer got too full of left over Challah bread and, since there was a time when I was banned from actually cooking in my parents kitchen, I got to watch. I guess I took note because this morning, I did exactly what she does when she drains the bread with a wire strainer. The bread pudding came out great and then Buggy and I took my HUGE hiking knapsac and we went to Falcon to pick up the turkey.

People, I have no idea how big the male turkeys are cause our turkey is MASSIVE! Seriously, I don't think we'll need to make two of these for Thanksgiving because I think one might be just big enough. Buggy could barely hold it, it was that heavy. He made some comment about my nephew Sammy in terms of weight and how he thinks the turkey is just barely bigger than Sam, and he's 27 pounds! I decided to do all the rest of my Shabbos cooking today and tonight so that I can spend HOURS cooking the turkey tomorrow. I also asked them to cut the legs and the neck off, so that I can cook those at a different time. I might even put them in the freezer and save them for Thanksgiving, because Buggy's family tends to like dark meat.

I'll take a picture of the turkey tomorrow before I prepare it so you can see just how big it is. In the meantime, I think my pecan chocolate chip pie is done and ready to come out of the oven.

Oh happy day!