Back to the Big Apple

It's true, I'm back in the good ol' USA and I'm already so tired that I wish I could just close the door to my bedroom and sleep for a week! Since I haven't blogged for almost an entire week, I'm going to try to back track and remember the highlights of last week.

Tuesday - Tisha B'Av day was much better once Buggy came over towards the afternoon. I was stressing over my final on Thursday afternoon and all the things I needed to buy/do before leaving Israel after Shabbos. Buggy suggested that, even though it was a fast, we go to the Mall and at least buy all the things on my list. It was the smartest thing he could have recommended we do, as after 3 hours of running all of my errands at the mall (and food shopping at Mega), I was thrilled to have all my pre-flight errands taken care of. We drove back to the apartment and waited for the fast to end. I made us a small break fast and then Buggy and I went out for his sister's birthday. Poor girl, I can empathize about having a birthday on a big fast day. Mine can sometimes fall out on Yom Kippur!

Wednesday - I woke up in the morning in a complete panic about the strike, it was nail biting nerves for me. I absolutely HAD to get back to the States! Ever single day in the States is planned for and, if I even miss one day, I'll be in trouble for the wedding. So, I called Buggy's travel agent and she was able to get me on the 10:40 a.m. flight out of Ben Gurion on Thursday morning. She thought that if they would end up closing the airport, that they would just move up my flight to 7ish and I would get out. I spoke to the folks and they decided it was worth the money and so I booked the last ticket. That left me with a final that I wouldn't be able to get to, and so I had to call Professor Harvey and plead my case. The man was absolutely wonderfully understanding and told me to get in touch after the wedding so we could figure something out. I was so thankful and spent the rest of the day packing and getting ready for the morning flight. Buggy was working all day and so I decided to cook most of the food I had planned on making him for Shabbos. I made him a carrot cake and macaroni and meat for dinner. A few hours before dinner, I got a text message that my flight was moved up and that I had to be in the airport 5 HOURS beforehand! That meant being in the airport at 2:00 a.m.! Buggy agreed that it was ridiculous to go to sleep and then get up and go, so we decided to leave the apartment at midnight and I would just try to sleep in the airport.

Thursday - Midnight on Thursday morning and I had my last crying jag on Buggy's shoulder. I didn't want to leave him for the next 3 weeks, but it means that we're getting married and will P"G be together forever, and all of the emotions that have been pent up inside of me just flooded out. Buggy was wonderful, as usual, and told me to just let go and let out the emotions. It was tiring! Afterwards, we left and got stuck on the #1 to Tel Aviv. Fortunately, I still arrived with PLENTY Of time before the flight. I don't think I've seen so many people in the airport at one time. And Duty Free was hopping! People were flinging things all over the place and running for gates, it was pretty insane. And, my 7:15 flight was delayed almost 2 hours. I was wiped out at that point, and freezing from all the AC blasting over night, that I grabbed a large cup of tea and just waited at my gate to board. Finally, around 8ish, they started boarding the plane. I joined the line and when it was my turn, my boarding pass was rejected. They asked me to step to the side and my heart started pounding. I asked what was going on and they said they had to check. I had to get on this PLANE! What was going on? The woman behind the computer suddenly ripped up my ticket and I thought I was going to throw up. And then, she said one beautiful word:

upgrade

Miraculously, I was upgraded to business class. I was so relieved to be getting on the plane, I don't think the magnitute of what was happening hit until I walked into the business class area. The leg room! The extension on the seat recliners! The really nice stewardesses and stewards walking around with glasses (yes, GLASSES!) of water! I was so exhausted that I just put my stuff overhead and sat in the seat, opened my blanket and buckled my seat belt. I was asleep within minutes, barely remember takeoff, and slept straight through breakfast. I slept for 3 hours before finally getting up to see what was going on around me. Folks, if you ever have the money to fly to or from Israel on business class ticket, I highly recommend it. It was an absolutely pleasurable flight. I hope that one day, P"G, I will be able to afford to fly business class to and from Israel. Touching down at JFK was bittersweet, it was really nice to be home but overwhelming with wedding plans really coming to the forefront. I can no longer avoid everything that needed to be done! I got back to Queens after sitting on the Van Wyck for an hour and immediately went to work! My bed was under a mountain of boxes and I had to open them all before I could get any sleep that night! Buggy and I got some really great wedding gifts, and I'm already hard at work with the thank you cards! I'm hoping to get as many written before the wedding as I possibly can! I stayed up until Midnight and called Buggy in Israel to wake him up. As soon as he was coherent enough to get out of bed, I crashed and went to sleep.

Friday
Jetlag and excitement caused me to get up at 6:00 a.m.! That's insane in terms of time of morning, but I had a ton to do so I got out of bed. I ended up running a lot of errands on Friday, first going to SuperSol on Main Street to do some food shopping before Shabbos. I don't know if it was the sugar free 60 calorie Jello pudding snacks or that they actually BAG my groceries for me, but it was nice to be shopping again the America. From there, I went to Fresh Meadows to pick up some coffee and hit the CVS. I bought my brother this funniest card ever - it was a musical expressions card from The 40-Year-Old-Virgin and it was great! It was the reenactment of the waxing scene - classic! Afterwards, I drove over to see my Grandmother and pick up some more packages. We chatted for a bit and then I came back home to get working on my list! I had a list 3 pages long of things to do. And, while I was making the calls, I decided to try on the wedding shoes I ordered months ago.

They didn't fit. All three pairs! I freaked out a bit because my fitting is slated for Tuesday and you needed your shoes for that fitting, so I decided that I had to go into the City on Sunday to find wedding shoes.

The pressure is ON!

My parents made early shabbos and I was actually grateful for the break from my phone and computer. I fell asleep on the couch after dinner and somehow managed to make my way upstairs around 11:00 p.m. I slept like a rock until 9:30 the next morning when my AC went off with the Shabbos clock.

Shabbos
Very quiet. Didn't do any sleeping but read a million magazines. Realized that Cameran Diaz looks like a muppet after third issue of InStyle and wished that I had Jessica Biel's body. I think I'm going to have to take up some Pilates when I get back to Israel! I spent Saturday night at my computer, listening to musical selections so I can choose who is walking down the aisle at the wedding to which tune, while writing personalized thank-you notes. I woke Gaby up at 12:00 and then spent 2 hours looking through baby pictures for the wedding video. I was a cute kid until puberty and then, boy, did hormones not do me good. I selected what I needed and then went to bed, Sunday was going to be one hell of a day.

Sunday
The alarm went off at 8:00 and I sprung out of bed, ready to get going on the full list of items we had to do. Mom waited while I ate a quick breakfast and it was back to SuperSol to replenish some of the food we ate of the weekend. After we did the household errands, we hit the second half of Main for the rest. We went to Paper Palace and picked up plates, tableclothes and utensils for the Sheva Brachot. We then went to Lilac to talk about flower centerpieces for Sheva Brachot and they were in the midst of preparing for a wedding that afternoon. He requested that I come back later in the week and I took his card to call for an appointment. Next, we went into Town to get shoe laces for the bathroom baskets of drugs that we are putting into each bathroom at the Hall. I have to make sure to pick up any outstanding items but I think, with the stuff that I already ordered from Drugstore.com we should be set. We moved on to Main Sweet where I inquired about gift baskets for our out-of-town guests staying at the hotel the Shabbos before the wedding. The price was pretty reasonable and now I have to wait for him to create the sample so I can approve and hopefully, place an order before the wedding.

That's when the thunder started to go and we abandoned going to Amazing Savings for the rest of the kiddies bags and I headed back home to get ready to go into the City. I managed to avoid the really heavy rain and got a bus fairly quickly into Forrest Hills. I got to Lord & Taylor without much of an issue and thankfully, was able to buy both wedding sandals and sneakers! Elated that I got that off my plate, I waited for Melissa to join me and we had a really nice reunion shopping through the department store. I went with her back to the Upper West Side where I hung out with my brother for a bit before hunger started tearing away at my stomach. I called Cousin Neil and apologized that I wouldn't be able to wait until after his nap to hang out, and caught the subway back home. While waiting to transfer at 59th Street, there was this homeless man singing to a Karoake mix and as I got off of the subway onto the platform, he started singing my wedding song. It sent chills through me - which was really a tremendous feat given how stinking HOT it is in the subways of New York - and I felt like it was a sign that taking things one day at a time is going to payoff with a wonderful wedding (B"H!!!). I managed to make it home in good time and Dad was waiting for me at the subway stop to drive me home. With Jessica Biel's body in mind, I managed to keep to the diet and only ate a light dinner. I had the munchies though, and so I made my way through an entire stalk of celery. It was really yummy!

And now, I'm finally able to just sit down and update the blog. Dad just gave me a bit of a pep talk because some things aren't going as planned, and it was good to hear. At the end of the day, Buggy and I will IM"G be getting married, and nothing else really matters. That being said, until I know that he is on American soil, I'm gonna be a bit anxious. It's going to be a long 20 days until Chupah!

Tomorrow, I'm staying local so I can run some errands like finishing up the kids bags that we're making for all the youngsters coming to the wedding. I also want to try to get a pedicure and finish up with the thank you notes. I need to start figuring out how I'm going to pack everything to bring back to Israel and - at some point - I'm going to take a break with a big bag of vegees and watch Top Chef.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

Ignorance is Bliss

It's Tisha B'av morning and I'm still in bed. Buggy won't be around much today, he's going to be in shul, classes, with his Father going to holy places in Jerusalem, and chances are he won't come around until end of fast. It's a good thing, I'm absolutely miserable. Before last night, I was anxious about my exam on Thursday but excited about the wedding.

And then, in the car on the way to Eicha, Buggy was listening to the news and we heard about a pending strike of the Histadrut. They are threatening to close the airports as part of the strike. And that means I will be stranded here in Israel. Three weeks before the wedding. When every single hour that I'm supposed to be back in the States has been carefully planned so that I'm ready for the wedding.

I've already started crying. Forget concentrating on the exam this week. I'm trying but it's really not easy memorizing Rambam's proofs of Creation and proofs for the existence of God (in case you're wondering, Rambam doesn't give us a definitive answer for the proof of creation but does for the existence of God). All I want to do is curl up into a ball and cry, cry, cry. Cry about the fact that I won't be able to get on a plane on Saturday night. Cry about the fact that I won't make it to my fitting at Kleinfeld's and so I won't have a gown that actually fits my body at the wedding. Cry because lord knows how long this is going to take and that means that I might have to get married here, in Israel, without any of my friends or family around.

This is even worse that my worst nightmare because it was something I just never, ever, thought about. I told Buggy I'm going to swin to Cyprus if I have to, I would cross the boarder into Egypt to get on a plane at this point! If there is a strike and it lasts for a significant amount of time, well, I will miss my bachelorette party, my wedding shower, my hair appointments (I need my highlights done before the wedding!), my make up trial, getting a marriage license!

All the things I have to think about is overwhelming. I think I'm just going to turn over, and try to go back to sleep. I'm going to spend the day in bed, crying. And hopefully, at some point, I'll realize there is nothing crying will do about my situation and so I'm just going to have to suck it up, study for my exam, and put the fate of my wedding in the Lord's hands.

Have an easy fast.

Shabbos Yerushalayim

TGIF! I am really, really looking forward to Shabbos! It's still extremely surreal that I now live in Jerusalem, but I have to say that I'm getting used to the temperature differences. When I left the apartment this morning, it was hot but pleasant. There was no stickiness, no humidity, so sweat bead starting to drip down my back. Just beautiful.

Yesterday was another busy day of trying to get organized and going to Supermarkets. While we were at the SuperSol Deal in Talpiot, Itai called to ask permission to show the apartment this weekend. I told him he could show the place all day on Friday but could not show it on Shabbos. Regardless of my physical presence, there's just no showing the apartment on Shabbos. It's Shabbos. Period.

Well, he got all huffy with me and said that it was in my best interested to be accommodating to him and his Aunt regarding the apartment.

And folks, that's when I lost it, and after all these months of biting my tongue I couldn't stay mute any longer. I went OFF on him for using the word "accommodating". I've been nothing BUT accommodating when I had the leak in my apartment, and the sinks both exploded and ruined all my stuff, and let's not forget the river of shit that I had to clean up! For the first time, he completely backed down. And while he didn't apologize to me, he did stammer, and that made me feel great. I'm no longer his punching bag! Good luck to whoever ends up moving in though, I hope it's someone that can stand up to him.

Well, Buggy was very proud of me, even though I made a bit of a scene at the supermarket. He was happy I finally stood up to the big bad bully! We went back to the apartment to put away our groceries and Buggy got to work. At 5:00 , we headed to Yad Vashem for a guided tour of the museaum. It was extremely powerful and the new museaum is absolutely incredible. We took more than 2 hours to go through it and it still wasn't enough time. The end of the museaum is basically a view of the hills of Jerusalem from the other side of the mountain. When you start in the museaum, there is this video montage of the Jews of Europe, so that we can get a sense of who these people were. There is this one video of the children of Munkatch singing the Hatikvah. It made me tear, my Father's side of the family is from Munkatch. I wondered how many of those children were once my relatives.

We were starving when we got back but emotionally not hungry, so I cooked us a quick dinner and we ate. Afterwards, I was pretty wired and so I got to cooking for Shabbos. I made the muffins and I put together the corn salad. I left the bulk of cooking for today, because I knew that I would have all afternoon to cook.

And, for the first time since I moved into the apartment, I had no trouble falling asleep and slept straight until my alarm went off.

Buggy had a meeting and work this morning and so I went out for coffee and breakfast to Caffit with his cousin Rachel. She is a wonderful person and I really get along well with her, so it was nice to just be in Jerusalem and enjoy the morning. Afterwards, I walked back down Emek towards the apartment and stopped into this one Supermarket that has some American products. I was thrilled to see my pie shells, Hunts tomato sauce, lime juice and whole berry cranberry sauce. I didn't buy anything thought, because it was Friday and the line was insane. But, I made a mental note of what they had for future reference.

It was the first time I walked back to the apartment by myself and I really didn't know which way I was going, so I just continued on until I saw a small path from Emek. I continued on the path and eventually ended up in Baka. It's about a 25 minute walk from the apartment to Caffit, and it's such a nice day that I enjoyed every minute of it. Baka is a beautiful neighborhood, especially during the day, when you can really look and appreciate the architecture of the community.



Of course, as soon as I got into the aparment and changed into my "cooking gear" my phone rang about an flower delivery. I assumed Buggy got me some flowers and the delivery guy wasn't very patient so I ran downstairs in my skivvies. Whatever, I gave him a 5 shekel tip so it was all good. Anyway, the beautiful flowers (seen in the first photo) were from Buggy's parents and siblings, welcoming me to the first Shabbos in our new apartment. I was very touched.

And then, a few minutes later, another delivery guy came and this time I got a dozen red roses from my Beloved. They're perfect and will fit into Buggy's Grandmother's crystal vase which he brought over for us. When his Grandparents passed away, Buggy kept a few items from their home because they were special to him. He specifically kept this vase because he hoped to "one day" have a wife to give it to.

It's beautiful and I'm very appreciative of the forsight.

I still have to cut them into water, but I've been cooking and decided to take a quick break to blog. I made steaks, rice with portobello mushrooms and onions, edemame, purple cabbage salad, and a cauliflower kugel. All I have to do now is make the shwarma chicken and I'm done with cooking. As you can tell, I already set the table for Shabbos and it just looks beautiful. We're looking forward to this weekend!

We're planning on going to shul tonight, although I can't tell you right now which one, but it should be very nice. I'm waiting for Buggy to get back so he can set the Shabbos clocks and the treisim clocks.

Wishing everyone a Shabbat Shalom!

Crave of the Day is my Mother's baked ziti. It's the nine days but since I'm not combining protein and carbs, I can't have noodles with marinara sauce and cheese. Anyway, my Mom's baked ziti is heavenly! I don't know which part I like more, the sauce and the cheese or the sauce and the noodles. It's just basically all around yummy! Maybe one day I'll learn how to make it with low-fat cheese and whole wheat noodles.

The History of Eggplant

I have a history with eggplant. It's not a pleasant one at that. At my cousin David's Bar Mitzvah YEARS ago, his Aunt (from the other side) was helping me navigate the buffet table. It was late at night and I was tired, we were flying back to New York early the next morning, but the spread was fantastic and I was on the kiddie table. That meant, Mom and Dad didn't control what I was eating, so I went to TOWN! Anyway, back to the buffet table. So, the waitresses were serving up from hot plates and I saw something nice and cheesy/saucy looking. I asked the Aunt what it was, and she told me that it was pizza. Well, who doesn't want pizza? I got a big fat piece and brough it back to the table. Halfway through the pizza and I wasn't liking it. It tasted funny and I couldn't find the bread. My Cousin (I think it was Larry but can't remember for sure) turned to me and said that it wasn't pizza but eggplant parmesan.

YUCK!

I abandoned my plate and joined my Zaydie on line to the big make your own ice cream sundae buffett. The next morning, about and hour before we had to leave for the airport, I was ralphing BIG time. Dad wasn't happy with me, and I was soo sick. I lost count on how long it took me to empty my stomach, but vowed to never again touch eggplant.

And, until a few weeks ago, I stuck to the vow. But one night, Buggy and I were out at our favorite Italian restaurant, and I ordered the antipasti. Well, it came with grilled eggplant and I decided to finally get over my eggplant fears and dig in. It was surprisingly very, very good! So yesterday, when we saw these little baby eggplants at the fruits and vegetable store, I bought it and decided to make it today as our vegetable side dish.

Here's how I prepared it..



Yup, pan fried baby in some olive oil with a little salt and black pepper. Yumm! I'll be pairing mine with a nice piece of salmon, while Buggy will get his with salmon and some pasta with sauted portobello mushrooms and onions.

I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen since we moved here. Cousin Neil was right when he mentioned that we eat out too much, and since we're both watching our weight, I decided to try to limit our eating out. I've been making 3 meals for us for the past 2 days and I'm already tired! How do people do this all the time? It was really easy feeding myself, I ate what I wanted when I wanted. But now, I'm feeding for two! It's a lot of fun though, I'm looking forward to getting some new recipes when I'm back in the States. I think I need to learn new ways to prepare some of my typical fare.

Last night, I didn't get much sleep again. This time, it's the alarm guys fault. He came and we set up some of the specific aspects to the system. One of the modes is a "night" mode and that means that we were able to alarm some areas of the apartment while not alarming the others. But, there I was, lying in bed and I had to go to the bathroom. It was 2:00 a.m. and I was soo nervous that I was going to set off the alarm. Finally, I couldn't lay there any longer, and I crept like a cat burglar to the bathroom. I did my business and then decided not to flush (sorry to be graphic, but the alarm is LOUD!). I repeated this two more times during the evening, so it's no wonder why my face has broken out and my eyes have big bags underneath. I'm dog tired peeps!

I flushed this morning and then told Buggy the story when he came over. He laughed and promised that things would get better once I'm used to the place. I'm just thrilled we've got an alarm! I had nothing in my apartment in Tel Aviv!

Today was a productive day. We spent the morning in town, going to various places to run some errands, and picking up some additional freezer items for the week. Tomorrow, we're going to have to get some meat and chicken for Shabbos. The men came to install the gate at the front of the building and they needed to hook into our juice to power their drill. So, my afternoon walk on Emek didn't happen. I had to sit and wait for the men to finish up. It was worth it, I think the gate is really a nice addition to the building.

Buggy just ran out to duplicate some new keys and I'm trying to figure out when to marinate the salmon and how much pasta to cook him. In the meantime, I think I'm going to have to go back to studying for next week's final.

Crave of the Day is Dunkin Donuts munchkins in all different flavors! I could use a nice big box of munchkins right about now! Hmmm, I wonder if I'll be able to pick some up on the way from the wedding hall to our hotel. Hahah, can you imagine what the Dunkin Donuts employees would think if I ran into the building in my gown?? They'll probably think I'm crazy but who knows, I might have THAT much of an urge!

Marking Territory

Buggy has marked his territory by moving his foosball table into the apartment. For now, we've left it in the living room but we're going to have to figure out where it will ultimately go. With no Machsan (storage room), we're going to have to improvise with the space we have.

We are both really, really tired. We haven't slept since Saturday night and it seems like we just keep getting less and less shut eye. The amount of stuff we did yesterday was insane, really, and I'm still shocked that I was able to get out of bed when the cable guys called this morning.

So, recap on what went down yesterday. After Mei Eden came and the contractor successfully moved the fridge into its spot, took the cabinet back to shave it down and left, Buggy finished his exam and came over. We had a list. We needed to go to the supermarket to pick up food! And, since it's the 9 days and we can't eat meat, I was trying to figure out how to be creative with dairy.

But first, Buggy's Mom wanted to come by and see how things were coming with the move. She came over and took a tour, walked around some of the boxes, and then offered to take us out to dinner. We happily accepted! We were both starving and realized that we should probably eat sooner rather than later. Then. Buggy's Mom asked me to pick out silver candlesticks, which she is buying me P"G as a wedding gift. This is what I selected, what do you think?



After Buggy's Mom left, the cabinet guy called about the handles for the bathroom cabinet. He needed to come in and install them but we were off to the supermarket. I told Buggy I wanted the handles more than I wanted food, so we told him to call us when he was near, and we left to try to get some food. On the way to the Supermarket, Buggy got a call from Fedex. His handheld computer broke a few days ago and the company was sending it back, so we now had to drive to his parents house to pick up the Fedex package. Well, we were so hungry and it was almost 4:00 that we went to Faza for a quick lunch. Buggy had the whole wheat pasta and I had a salad. Right before we were done, the cabinet guy called to say he was on his way, so we raced back to the apartment to let him in. It took him 10 minutes to literally drill in holes and add handles to the cabinets in the bathroom.

As soon as he left, Buggy had to rush out for an appointment, and I was left to clean up after the cabinet guy. You know, I'm happy to give people glasses of water when they come into the apartment to do work. Truly happy. But, when I then find the cup crushed and discarded on the bedroom floor, that just makes me angry. After Buggy's appointment, he went back to his apartment to move his computer, TV, and some other electronics. Since the computer desk is here and the cable guys came this morning, Buggy needed his whole set up ready for the cable guys to hook up.

That took almost 2 hours! It was heavy stuff, and Buggy and I coordinated watching over the car and bringing into the apartment his things. While I was waiting for Buggy, I started reading over my notes for next weeks Philosophy final. I'm up to Saadia Gaon and his introductin to the book Emunot V'Deot. I remember that Saadia came before Rambam and that he was writing his book to help people deal with the theologians of the time. I've got a long way to go before I'm ready for this test!

I couldn't read that much because I was so tired, so I looked out the window and waited for Buggy to come. While looking out the window, I noticed this strange man just hanging out outside. It looked like he was "casing the joint" as they say in the States and I got suspicious. Soon, two other men seemed to be doing the same, and now my suspicion was boardering on paranoia. When Buggy finally finished loading in the stuff, and we were now 30 minutes late to meet with parents for dinner, we locked up and left. I didn't like the way these two guys looked, so I asked Buggy to drive around the block and come around so I could see what was up. They were gone by the time we drove back but I'm definitely going to be keeping my "eye" on them.

And, to help me, Buggy gave me binoculars with a camera attached! I know, I know, I'm crazy but I just like to be on the safe side. And, I guess I'm a bit of a voyuer. Thank god Buggy already loves and agreed to marry me! Anyway, after a lovely dinner with his parents, we went back to their house to pick up some stuff and then drove to the Supersol by the Sheraton. It was the other supermarket we knew that was open at such a late hour and I stocked up!

We got:
soy yogurts (Buggy's), 5% cheese (Buggy's), Parmesan (me), goat cheese rounds (me), whole wheat pasta (me), regular pasta (Buggy), tomato sauce (me), marinara sauce (Buggy), 2 dozen eggs, tuna in olive oil (Buggy), tuna in water (me), edamame, kosher salt, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, light mayo (Buggy), regular mayo (me), bread, 3% cottage cheese (me), 5% yogurts (Buggy), pam spray, chocolate (Buggy), frozen cauliflower, frozen broccoli, lighbulb, lemon juice, tins, paper towel, toilet paper and little mini peaches.

Today, once Buggy gets back from his Dr.'s appointment, we're going to walk to Derech Beit Lechem and pick up some fruits and vegetables. I want to get cucumbers and tomatos for an Israeli salad, some garlic and cherries and maybe a nice mellon to have in the fridge. I would also love to pick up some frozen fish so I can make salmon and tuna for the week! We'll have to find another supermarket for that, I didn't like what I saw in the freezer section last night.

So, after the cable guys came bright and early this morning, and the electrician came back to fix some stuff, I sat down to cook breakfast. Poor Buggy, I called him once I heard from the cable guys and woke him out of a deep sleep and he raced over with his tefillin and toothbrush! He didn't even get washed up, he just jumped out of bed and got into his car and came right over. Is he great or what?

I decided to treat him and made him an omlet sandwhich for breakfast. After a relaxing time, with internet, phone, and TV now all B"H working, Buggy had to run out again to a meeting. And now, I have to go, because the cabinet guy is back to put up the new cabinet he shaved off to make room for my mamoth fridge!

Crave of the Day is a breakfast of french toast smothered in Aunt Jemima's syrup. When I'm exhausted, all I want is some breakfast comfort food. Chased with a big glass of hot chocolate, it's heaven!

Fridge Pics

Before....





After....




Now all they have to do is shave one part of the cabinet and put it back onto the wall. They're planning on coming back tomorrow and all should be fixed!

Yeah!

The great refridgerator challenge

You know how it's hard to sleep in a strange place? Well, that's basically how I felt last night. After Buggy and I had our final meat supper before the start of the 9 days, and figured out how to use the hot water in the apartment (it was actually quite comical!), and I watched two of my favorite Grey's Anatomy episodes, I just laid in bed and listened to the noises of the new apartment. To minimize the noises, I shut all the windows and also cut off all of the gorgeous breeze that you get in this apartment. I used the AC to cool the apartment down and, right before shutting the lights, I closed it off and opened the window in my bedroom. I could hear people walking and laughing outside, and also the creaks and some movement from our upstairs neighbors. It was a little weird, and also a bit scary (I have to admit) but I finally managed to get to sleep around 1:00 a.m.

The kids screaming and laughing next door woke me up at 7:00 a.m. The apartment is right next to a gan/kaytanah (summer day camp) and parents were dropping their kids off extra early! Oy, I'm not much of a morning person, but it was actually nice to hear kids. I'm sure that feeling won't last long!

I had to get up anyway and I shuffled from room to room, looking through bags and boxes, just to find all of the things I needed to get washed up and dressed this morning. Of course, I had to hop on the scale too, as is my morning ritual. Fortunately, even with all the crappy food I ate yesterday, the number didn't budge. That's a good thing for me!

Anyway, it was a good thing I got out of bed when I did because the Mei Eden guy came to deliver my machine and 3 waters at 9:15 this morning. He told me how much better it was to live in Jerusalem as opposed to Tel Aviv, and I just nodded my head, and he set everything up. At first, I had him put the 2 extra waters on the balcony, but he said it wasn't smart to keep them in the sun. In the morning, we don't have sun on the balcony but when it sets, that's when the sun really shines into this apartment. So, when he left, I moved the waters back into the apartment and I'm waiting for Buggy to finish his tests and come over so he can move the waters somewhere else. We'll find a place for them, somewhere.

And then, I sat down to the breakfast of champions in the new apartment. I had been saving this solid white tuna in water can for a special occassion and I opened it up and used some dijon mustard. With a big glass of diet coke with lemon, it was a fantastic breakfast! I can't wait for to get out to the fruit and vegetable store and start stocking up the place! I only have 2 cans of tuna left and I know Buggy is going to be hungry after his test.

The contractor and his worker showed up a few minutes ago and hence the great refridgerator challenge. For some reason, since my stolen wireless is very weak, I'm having problems uploading the photos of my fridge. But, it's MASSIVE. And, the space left for it is too small, as mentioned yesterday. Right now, they are shaving off the cabinets and raising them so that we can fit in the fridge. The contractor also noticed that all of the cable wires are outside of the wall, and he said it would be better to put them inside the wall. Hmmm, not sure what that means but will ask Buggy when he gets back.

Anyway, I love when Israeli worked show up and look at a job and then decide that they can do it on the spot. That's really, really great. I'd prefer to have that then someone who comes and tells me that it will take 2 weeks before they can do the job. This is teriffic. Plus, this way I can move the fridge out of the living room area and back into the corner where it belongs.

A couple of other people are supposed to come today to do some stuff in the apartment, which is why I'm just sitting here in my scrubs and a t-shirt and flip flops, chilling. I have some more unpacking to do but I'm too tired to even think about it. Maybe when Buggy gets back he'll help me sort some things out.

Will post pictures later when I get a better connection!

Crave of the Day is my Mom's baked ziti. With all the marinara sauce and two types of cheeses, it's really heaven. I promised Buggy I would make him my Mom's baked ziti, using 5% cheese of course, and he got really excited. With the 9 days upon us, we're going to be eating lots of pasta.

Holy City Home

I'm taking a break from unpacking to blog an I don't think I've ever been this exhausted. Last night, I didn't get to bed until 3:30 a.m. Between last minute packing and trying to prepare for the move, I was just too hyped up. But, I knew that I had the entire morning to sleep since the movers were coming until the afternoon.

My cell phone rang at 7:00 a.m. and I was jerked out of a deep sleep. The movers were downstairs. I laughed. I told him there was no way in hell I was letting him upstairs because I still had some packing to do and I was in bed! He insisted and I pushed back. I was holding 2100 shekel for these folks, he was going to have to wait. I jumped out of bed, called Buggy and woke him up, he was also up late helping me so he was in an even deeper sleep, and then I just raced around the apartment getting things done. I still had to pack 5 boxes, which included my linens and pillows and things! Buggy showed up just in time and he helped me get my stuff packed. Meanwhile, Itai called me and said that he doesn't want me to let the movers use the elevator. He said it wasn't meant for movers and they can't use it. I was frustrated with that but was happy that he was at least leaving to go to work and wouldn't be around to watch.

At 8:15, I was finally ready and dressed and Buggy let the movers up. I told them that they couldn't use the elevators for the boxes and they went off on me! They said the price they quoted was a price that included the elevator and they wouldn't have given me that cheap of a price if they knew they had to go up and down stairs. Finally, after some heated negotiations, I made them sign a form that said they were responsible for any damage to the elevator if they break it. And then, the movers got to work, and started loaded my boxes up and getting them out of the apartment. I was running back and forth to let them into the elevator and watching to make sure they wouldn't make any holes in the apartment walls. It was very stressful. At one point, I went out to watch the movers and the guy was smoking in the apartment hallway and then dropping the butts on the floor and grinding them out. I was not pleased with how filthy they were.

And then, the movers told me that they couldn't dismantly my bed. That the carpenter had messed up and they couldn't take it apart. At that point, Buggy ran to the parking lot to pick up the car so that we could head to his apartment in Jerusalem as soon as the movers were done. Well, I told him that he had to either figure it out or find another way to get the frame out of the apartment. He finally got his tools and took the frame apart and then the problem was solved. But, I saw that they were loading all of the bed parts into the elevator. At one point, the Hot cable guy came to pick up my modem and cable box and he shoved himself into the elevator with my mattress. I was NOT happy and told them that they couldn't do that. They promised they would only use the elevator for boxes. They tried to tell me to relax but I was really annoyed and, with less than 3 hours of sleep, I wasn't functioning well.

So, they finally loaded everything up and then one of the movers spent 15 minutes in the bathroom. It was gross. Thank god I hadn't packed the spray. Mr. no neck mover stopped traffic on Arlozorov (he was incredible looking, no neck, huge shoulders and chest and was "moving" me in sandals!) and we were off. Buggy and I were both so exhausted but we made it to the car and started driving to Jerusalem. I had also done some cleaning in the apartment as the floors were filthy, but I have to go back next Sunday for a meeting at misrad klita so I'm going to finish cleaning the place. I'm sure when Itai shows the apartment tonight he'll call me with some words about how dirty the place is. Oh well, he already has all my money, nothing more I can do about it.

Buggy and I beat the movers to his apartment in Katamon and were able to relax a little before they came to get his stuff. They only moved his computer desk, his foosball table, and three mini card tables. It took two seconds to do and then they followed us to the apartment in Baka. They moved everything in and I directed, while Buggy ran to the Makolet to buy them water and stuff. One of the movers got too rough with a door and now I need to have someone come and fix the little hole. We need to get a doorstop so it won't keep happening too. And then, they moved the refridgerator and just as we had feared, there is no enough room for it in the area that's left. Fortunately, the contractor who already did some work in this apartment, is doing work for our upstairs neighbors. He was in the building when the movers came and he came down and measured the area. He's going to be in the apartment bright and early tomorrow to shave off 10 centimeters for the fridge to fit.

And then I got to work, as Buggy chilled out because he has a big test tomorrow and I didn't want him overly stressed. And, little by little, I got things upacked. First, I tackled everything in the kitchen but the pantry items. Then, I put together my bedroom so I could have someplace to crash tonight. After that, I put together some of the electronic stuff. The shower guy stopped by to measure the bathroom for the glass door and so I had to stop and talk to him, and now I'm going to get to work putting the pantry stuff into the kitchen. After I'm done with the pantry, I'm going to stop for the evening. I'm so wiped, I don't know what to do with myself. I'm also pretty dehydrated, haven't gone to the bathroom since this morning, so I'm going to drink the water Buggy brought me and try to relax.

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy and early morning. A whole bunch of people will be in and out, including the Mei Eden guys and the contractor. He said he was going to be able to fix the area for the fridge, so at least that's good news. Tomorrow is also Buggy's big test, so I'm going to be solo for majority of the day. I think Buggy is going to have to pick me up some food since I'm going to be homeward bound until at least the afternoon.

Tuesday doesn't look any better as the cable guys are coming and we have to run out to do some errands with his family. In the midst of all this, I'm going to have to find some time to study for my final in a few weeks.

Good luck to me.

There is no Crave of the Day as all I want right now is my bed.

Till tomorrow's saga!

Eishet Freaking Chayil

My dogs are barking and my back is aching, but I have literally 3 more boxes to pack in the morning and then I'm all set to move to Jerusalem! I can't believe that, at this time tomorrow, I will be living in the Holy City! Yikes!!! I hope I'm worthy :)

Friday was a crazy, crazy day but boy was it fun! Buggy got me up at the crack of dawn and we headed out to Kibbutz Yavneh to hand deliver a wedding invitation to one of his favorite teachers from Yeshiva. Of course, we got lost. Well, we got really, really lost and ended up seeing a lot of Tel Aviv (no Buggy, everything is NOT Holon!!), Yavneh, and the Moshav Ben Zakkai. Finally, with the help of Buggy's GPS we managed to find our way to the Kibbutz. I had not realized that the Yeshiva, KBY, was on this Kibbutz and started getting excited as we approached the entrance. I told Buggy that I would have killed, 12 years ago while in seminary, to be in this very position.

Anyway, we got to his teacher's house and had a really, really great time. Avraham Stein is a brilliant man, fantastic teacher and interesting philosopher. He lost both his hands and his hearing while trying to defuse a land mine during the Yom Kippur War. The fact that he is also one of the nicest people I've met in a while is an understatement! We're really looking forward to seeing him P"G at our Sheva Brachot in Israel.

After our meeting, Buggy and I headed home (not getting late this time) and went straight to Pizzafino. This time, we split a salad and a personal pizza. It was so yummy, I'm going to miss Pizzafino's pizza's! With less then 4 hours to go until Shabbos, we ran some quick errands and then raced home so I could cook. Oren and Rachel were hosted a farewell meal for me on Friday night, and since I wanted to use up the contents of my refridgerator, Gayle offered to have lunch at her apartment.

In three hours I managed to make sesame teriyaki salmon (it was fantastic!!), barbecue pargiot skewers, 2 steaks, and a strawberry shortcake. Check out the photos! I was exhausted by the time Shabbos came in, but really looking forward to seeing my friends over dinner.

Buggy helped me schlep all the food to Oren's and El Jeffe, Gayle, Rachel, Nechama, Natalie and Rachel's friend were already there. Dinner was very lively, very fun, and very yummy! Oren made this great chicken with chestnuts! Yumm. For dessert, we had sorbet and strawberry shortcake and Nechama picked up popcorn in my honor! It was great, I didn't really want to share my popcorn with everyone else, but acquiesced. I still need to fit into my gown and knew if I ate ALL the chocolate popcorn the pounds would come back quicker than the blink of an eye.

I actually made it to shul this Shabbat, although it was towards the end. One girl I hadn't seen in a while greeted me by saying What, you're still alive??. I said yes, then introduced her to Buggy. She then asked Are you married yet? with such a rude tone, it was slightly obnoxious. As we were leaving to go to Gayle, Buggy asked me why she had a chip on her shoulder the size of an elephant. I didn't know and when I told Gayle the story, she said it was because I was engaged.

Oh well, I guess you can't be friends with everyone. Right?

Lunch this afternoon was really nice but I was starting to feel overwhelmed with all the packing I still had to do! As soon as Shabbos was over, I got to work. Buggy helped a lot, throwing out the garbage, packing up my printer and taking down the Shabbat clocks. Afterwards, he got on chairs to make sure that I didn't leave anything in the high cabinets in my bedroom, and then went through the drawers in the kitchen. I still have some more boxes to pack in the morning, but it's not much and should take me less than an hour. The movers aren't coming until the afternoon, although the cable guy is slated to come pick up the boxes in the morning.

Oy, and now my back is killing me but I'm hoping a good night's sleep will help.

Crave of the Day is Annie's Kitchen on Main Street in Queens. I would love to sit down with a container of beef lo-mein, some mini-egg rolls, sweet and sour chicken and some beef with broccoli. And then, wash it all down with some fun fortune cookies. I really miss Chinese food, and haven't had any good Chinese food since my move last August! Who knows, maybe Buggy and I will grab lunch at Annie's Kitchen the week before the wedding (after we go get our marriage license from City Hall).

Layla Tov!

Juke II

Yesterday was one of the most exhausting days I've had in a long, long time. Let me start from the very beginning. So, as usual, I am not sleeping very well. On Monday night, I spent hours tossing and turning in bed. Finally, at 4:30 a.m., I fell asleep. My phone started ringing at 10:00 a.m. and I managed to pull myself out of bed by 10:30 a.m.

So, rememeber the post when I mentioned that the post office is no longer open regular business hours. I guess I should have understood that to also mean that lines are going to be insanely long! After I downed a quick breakfast of 5% cottage cheese and 39 calories-apiece "toasting", I strapped on my New Balances and walked to the post office. It's also, not sure I've mentioned, stinking hot in Tel Aviv! The humidity is a killer people, I feel like I'm walking in the midst of a Russian bath.

Anyway, I got to the post office in decent time and the line was OUT THE DOOR! I couldn't even get inside the building. And all I needed to mail was the text of the Ketubah to my friend Eta's father, who is making us a beautiful version for the wedding.

2 hours later, my turn finally came, and I went up to the postal worker and asked her how much it would cost to have the letter get to the States by Friday. She told me 58 shekel! That's a ridiculous amount of money, for one tiny little letter. Well, I spent a little less for it to go "expess" and I hope it gets there within the week. Oh, and did I mention that once I got into the post office the AC wasn't working well. I was better off outside in the shade, at least there's a bit of a breeze in the shade.

So, after my post office experience, I had to walk all the way to Gordon/Dizengoff to pick up some perscription eye drops. While I was there, I called my friend Rachel to see if she wanted to meet at Dizi for coffee. I love that place, it's a coffee shop/laundromat/video rental store in one. You can also rent laptops while you're in the cafe and the place is really, really nicely designed and clean. I've definitely blogged about this place before, but in case you're heading to Tel Aviv and want to check it out, Dizi is in Dizingoff Center, right across from the Rav Chen movie theater.

Rachel and I had a really, really nice chat over some ice coffee and mint/lemon ice tea (mine, it was terrific!). I don't remember the last time I had such a laugh, it was nice to get out of my own life for a bit and just enjoy talking about other things. After a few hours, I bid Rachel adieu and headed back to my apartment to continue packing.

So yesterday, I packed up all of my books, my comforter and a pillow (these boxes don't fit much folks) and a box of linens and glass items (i.e. vases (2), decanter, candles and candle stick holders, etc.). I also packed up the rest of my hanging items and just left out the items that I am taking back to the States with me. Since I have no idea when the closets are going to be delivered to the apartment, and there is a chance that I won't get it before I leave in 2 1/2 weeks, I wanted to at least make sure my clothes for home were in one place. Anyway, by this point I'm pretty tired, having walked a long time and been out in the heat. But, I was set to meet El Jeffe and Gayle for coffee after dinner to talk about Sheva Brachot.

My friends in Tel Aviv offered to make us Sheva Brachot on Wednesday night after the wedding, and I JUMPED at the chance! How great does a beach BBQ sound? El Jeffe could only join us for a bit because he had a date (I better get a full report later!!) and so Gayle and I quickly went over the logistics and I gave her the guest list with some phone numbers. We hung out some more and discussed Shabbos plans, and then I walked back to the apartment.

Buggy was already practically asleep in his apartment in Jerusalem, so I wished him good luck on his big, big test today, and then stopped off at the AM PM to pick up 5 bottles of Mei Eden. Since I have to move my own Mei Eden water cooler, I didn't want to start a new liter. I don't know how the heck the movers would move it with water attached! So, 5 bottles of water should get me and Buggy through Shabbos (I'm hoping!).

I got back to the apartment and hopped into the shower. I'm up to twice a day at this point, once in the morning and again before bed, because of this weather. It's like New York in August but for 6 months folks, it's just nasty. The only nice thing is that I'm getting tan and I don't even have to sit out on the beach for it! Just walking outdoors is browning my skin nicely.

After my shower, I forced myself to stay awake so that Mom could call me when she got home about the new response cards. I get so excited to hear about the people who are RSVPing to the wedding. Sadly, all of the response cards yesterday were regrets, but many came with very nice and appreciated checks!

So finally, I thought I was in the clear, and I got out of bed to hit the bathroom quickly before getting some much needed sleep. And, when I was in a bit of a compromising position, is when I spied the HUGE juke. It was just hanging out on my bathroom floor, inches away from my barefoot toes. And it was massive. I couldn't do anything about it at that point, and as soon as I washed my hands, the juke raced into my living room.

Now, when I was in High School, I once accidentally woke up to a new station instead of my beloved Z100. That morning, the interviewer on the news station was talking about Manhattan cockaroaches and how much they LOVED cardboard boxes. In fact, the roaches see cardboard and almost always drop a load of eggs (they love cardboard for breeding). I freaked because the juke ran into my apartment and headed straight towards my packing area. Well, the adrenaline was pumping now, there was no way I could just ignored the juke running loose amounts my boxes? I cannot risk letting it either lay some eggs of make himself comfortable in my box and then end up bringing the box with the juke to my new apartment.

So, I decided to try to kill it myself. I grabbed one of my New Balance sneakers, a broom, and a can of bathroom airfreshner. I figured if I could spray the juke with the air freshener, the chemicals might stun em and then I could smoosh him with my shoe.

It took me a few times to move bags and boxes to find the bugger, but when I finally did, my plan worked! I stunned em with the spray and then SMASH down with my sneaker. I then disposed of the carcas with three big, heavy, thick pieces of paper towels and wiped the area clean with an antibacterial cloth.

But, there was no way after that little episode, that I was going to be falling asleep anytime soon. I stayed up until 2:00 a.m., continued reading the same book I've been reading for the past 4 months, and finally calmed down enough to get some sleep. The 2 Advil helped too, it just relaxed my muscles and my aching knee, and I was able to get some sleep.

My alarm went off at 8:00 a.m. and I immediately called Buggy to wake him for his government exam. He was awake, which was good, so I didn't have to talk long and so I went back to sleep. I got a few more hours of rest and now I'm awake and locking myself into this apartment until I finish my story for Professor Kramer. Yonatan from my class is going to meet me for lunch tomorrow and, if I finish the paper in time, offered to bring it to Bar Ilan and drop it off in Professor Kramer's box. That would be really, really helpful for me so I'm hoping to take em up on the offer.

OK - time to stop procrastinating. I'm off to work on my paper.

Crave of the Day is the neighborhood ice cream truck! I miss the familiar jingle and the friendly man dispensing the soft ice cream swirls onto big cones or into cups. My favorite thing from those trucks are the Good Humor toasted almond ice cream sticks. I like those much better than the chocolate eclairs or the strawberry eclairs! Although, sometimes, you just want to have some fresh soft vanilla/chocolate swirl on a cone with rainbow sprinkles. Call me childish, but I've got some great ice cream memories from back in the day!

Passive Aggressive and Packing

It's only Monday but I feel like this week is already taking forever! Friday was very busy, I spent almost the entire day in the kitchen cooking for Shabbos. It was just me and Buggy, but I cooked enough for an army. As soon as Shabbos was over, we quickly cleaned up and headed out to Jerusalem. Buggy had a big test on Sunday and we had to get back so that he could meet with his tutor to study. I spent a few hours in his apartment playing this awesome iLike Music Challenge on Facebook and really started driving my score up! After Buggy got back, we packed up and went to his parents house to get some sleep. His Mom was in the dining room working on her invitations, so I stayed up with her until 3:00 a.m.! Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time I got to bed.

Sunday was a very, very busy day too. Buggy woke me up before he left for his test and I snoozed a bit before going furniture shopping in Talpiot. The area has EVERYTHING, which is nice, and I was able to find a really nice 9 door closet for the apartment. The good news is that the closet will only take 30 days, so I will be able to unpack all my boxes and suitcases as soon as I get back from the wedding!

When Buggy finished up his test, he met me at the apartment and we went back to his apartment to eat some leftovers. Cousin Neil sent me an e-mai the other day that the two of us eat out a lot, so we're trying to be better about that. We had some yummy leftovers and then we relaxed a bit before Buggy drove me to the bus. I got off at the station and walked, with my laptop in my knapsac on my back, straight to the apartment. It felt good to move, although my shirt was sticking to me in the humidity.

The streets of Tel Aviv are super crowded these days and I can't even count the number of different languages I hear. The tourist have INVADED in mass and it's really, really interesting. I'm hoping to hit the beach on day this week, as a farewell to the beach before I move, and I'm sure the sand will be crowded.

Today was a really busy day. I packed up all my hanging clothes and all of my winter stuff. I also packed a huge box full of hangers and started to organize a bunch of other stuff. Tomorrow, I'm going to pack up my toiletries and some books. I'm trying to do everything efficiently and also slowly, so that on Saturday night I'm not scrambling to pack up my entire apartment before the movers come.

OMG - I'm moving on Sunday! It's insane! How did that happen? I feel like I literally JUST moved to Tel Aviv from New York! Well, no quite, but I feel like I've finally really gotten to know my neighborhood, that I can't believe I'm moving away from it.

After I did some packing up, I decided to walk to the post office to mail a letter. Get this - the post office workers only work from 8-3:00 p.m. in July! Can you believe that? What a great life they have, huh. Disappointed, I walked back towards my apartment and took out some money to change so I can pay my movers. I stopped off at AM PM on Dizengoff to pick up some salmon for dinner and then headed back to start cooking.

So, here's how I've been passive aggressive and yes, I know it's childish, but I feel good about it. Itai called me yesterday and said that he wants to show the apartment to some guy who answered his ad on homeless. He asked if the guy could come at 10:00 p.m. and, since I knew I would be in the apartment, I told him that would be fine. They showed up on time, took the tour, opened all the cabinets and drawers and everything as I sat here and tried to watch The Constant Gardner. I was annoyed because Itai was such a tool about asking me to show the apartment, that when he called this morning to say he wants to show the place to someone else at 10:00 p.m. tonight, I decided to take action.

And so, I cooked 16 spicy chicken sausages on my grill pan for lunch and then, for dinner, I grilled two huge pieces of salmon. The windows stayed tightly locked. And lord, but the gorgeous scent of chicken sausages mixed with salmon is absolutely incredible. I can't wait for them to come on over.

OK - they're here - gotta run.

Sketchy Hassid

I blogged this morning from YouTube but for some reason it hasn't posted yet. It was all about my experience sitting on the bus last night with SNL's Lunch Lady as my companion. I hope it posts soon, it was a funny video.

So, here's a rundown of the past few days:

Tuesday was the fast day (17 Tammuz) and I stayed indoors and tried to keep cool. It was hard because I was really, really thirsty but with the AC running most of the day, I managed to muddle through. I did some more writing on Professor Kramer's final paper, and also did plenty of cooking! I made chicken with tomato, garlic and mushrooms, I baked sole with a soy sauce, ginger and lemon dressing and then steamed some brussel sprouts (I have to use them up, they're in my freezer!), and I made some more of my Italian dressing. I started planning the menu for Shabbat and did some thinking about that, and then spoke to some folks back in the States for a while, and then that was pretty much it! The fast way over and I was off to bed for an early night. I have a 7:00 a.m. wake up on Wednesday and, since it was my last day of classes, I really wanted to be refreshed.

At 3:00 a.m., I was still bouncing off the walls. That's the problem with fast days for me. I serve myself breakfast food at 8:30 p.m. and my body thinks it's morning time. I think I called my Mom four times to complain. Finally, Dad called me back and told me to get up and just start packing. Since I really, really didn't want to do that, I read a bit and then went to bed.

When my alarm went off at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, it was very, very painful! I forced myself out of bed and into the shower, and then quickly went about getting my stuff together. Since July 4th was my anniversary (8 months since Buggy and I first started dating), I was going to Jerusalem after class to celebrate! So, for the first time in a number of months, I actually put on makeup and work a nice outfit and shoes (yeah, I left my jean skirt and sneakers at home). Class was really good, it was sad saying goodbye to Professor Kramer, but I've thoroughly enjoyed his course. Then it was off to Professor Harvey's, which was really, really hard for me and not just because the topics we're had to cover in such a short period of time was intense. Some people hated the course, I loved it! I found the topic fascinating and I thought Professor Harvey did a good job with the teaching. Anyone who can intellectually stimulate me is A-ok in my book. Anyway, very sad that Jewish Philosophy is coming to an end, but it was nice learning some Maimonides this semester. Professor Harvey tried to cram in a quick review, which was a little confusing, and then the year came to an official close.

Wow! I can't believe it. Where did this year go? Time, sometimes, goes by really, really fast.

I bid my friends in the class a good summer and good luck studying for the final, and then I walked across the Geha bridge to pick up the 400 bus to Jerusalem. Buggy picked me up and we were OFF on our fun afternoon which included me watching The Blair Witch Project while Buggy did some work. We paid a shiva call to his Grandfather and saw some of his relatives and then we went to Ragu in Baka for dinner. It's a very nice meat Italian restaurant and the service was pretty decent.

I ordered the kabobs and Buggy had the meat lasagna. We were both very happy with our food and ate fairly quickly because I had to still get the bus back to Tel Aviv. As we were walking to the car, which was parked a few blocks away on Isaccar street, we saw a 24 hour makolet. I like to see what these places have and, since Buggy and I are P"G going to be living in Baka, wanted to familiarize myself with the neighborhood bodega. The selection wasn't too impressive, but they had enough of the basics that I would need at 2:00 a.m.

Anyway, as we left the bodega and started walking down Reuven street, we noticed a Chasid (decked out in full Chasic garb complete with hat, coat and gartel) fall in line with us. He started looking at us and I got a little wierded out. Then, the Chasid started talking to us. The conversation went as follows:

Chasid: Hello, do you speak English

Buggy & HLH - yes

Chasid: Do you know how far it is to Geula?

Buggy: you're pretty far away, it will take about and hour? Are you walking?

Chasid: yes

Buggy: yeah, at least an hour by foot and it's in that direction (hand motion away from where we were going)

Chasid: ok, thank you

HLH & Buggy: Good luck

Chasid still continues walking with us, and HLH is starting to feel more uneasy.

HLH - you know, if you go back up towards Derek Beit Lechem you could probably catch a bus into town and that would be closer to Geula

Chasid: oh okay, great, thanks

Chasid continues to walk with us.

Chasid: where are you from?

HLH - New York

Chasid: I'm from England (not hint of an accent)

HLH - ummm, ok

At this point, Buggy pulls on my hand and we slow down. Chasid passes us and keep walking, but stops to look back at u s, and then keeps walking. The light on the street has blown out and it's dark. Sketchy Chasid makes a left by the car. We catch up a few seconds later and see the Chasid make another right and head back towards the way he came.

I asked Buggy if he thought the guy was trying to rob us. He said no, he thought the Chasid was looking for a prostitute and that he was talking to us to try to allay his guilt. I asked him why the Chasid would be in that neighborhood looking for a prostitute! Buggy told me that apparently, a few years ago, prostitutes would hang out on Derek Chevron and pick up some John's.

Lovely. So looking forward to running into prostitute seeking Chasids with guilty consciouses.

Anyway, I got to the bus station and a 480 to Tel Aviv was loading so I got in line. Then, the big Lunch Lady sat next to me and I was uncomfortably squished the entire ride home. The rest of the Lunch Lady blog should hopefully post soon!

Today I just could not get out of bed. Buggy and I kept calling each other to wake each other up, and then begged for 30 more minutes of snoozing. Finally, I was out of bed by 10:45 a.m. I had a ton of errands on my list for the day and I really didn't have the luxury to keep sleeping.

After getting dressed and grabbing a peach for breakfast, I strapped on my sneaks, grabbed some laundry for the dry cleaners and headed out of the apartment. Apparently, I had another package waiting for me at the post office all the way down on Hayarkon 61. This is 2 blocks past the American Embassy, and is about a mile from my apartment. It's all good, I needed some exercise! But, it was stinking hot walking at Noon, so I tried to take it easy and cool off with my water bottle.

Once I picked up my latest issue of The Southern Review, I went back up Ben Yehuda street to check into my gym. I wanted to sell my membership because I have until the end of September on it. Well, the told me that in order to switch my name to someon else's, I would have to pay the gym 150 shekel. Extortion! Don't use Pure in Tel Aviv, it's a crappy gym that likes to take your money.

I hit the SuperSol next door and picked up some stuff for Shabbos and, while I was waiting to check out, this American woman in line next to me had an absolutely s**t fit for no real reason. She wanted to check out but the cashier, after finishing up with the person in front of her, left for a few minutes to check on something. The large American woman yelled: Where are you going? What the hell is with you people in this country! Finish up and let's go!

I was embarressed for her, there was no excuse for her attitude. Some people need to chill out, the cashiers take their time in this country, it's just something you need to learn to deal with. Otherwise, it's going to be an unpleasant experience food shopping in Israel.

I got back to the apartment and took the gfilta fish out to thaw. This weeken is all about using what I have in my house! So, the menu is as follows:

Friday night - marinara gfilta fish, Israeli salad, roasted broccoli spears, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, chicken in tomato garlic sauce and sorbet for dessert
Kiddush on Shabbos - apple nut muffins and fruit
Shabbos lunch - edemame with dipping sauce, grilled steak salad with warm shallot dressing, pargiot served two ways (one way I can eat, the other Buggy enjoys), quinoi with sauted mushrooms and onions and sorbet for dessert

I've got the muffins in the oven now and have to go to the Super again to pick up some pargiot. They were out over at SuperSol.

On to the wedding front - LOTS of interesting and exciting developements have been happening! First of all, most of our friends and family have received the invitations and we're getting responses! A lot of people are coming and I'm super excited!!! On the 4th, my parents went to the hall to have a meeting with the caterers about the food. Wow, when my Mom told me about all the schmorgasbord items I started salivating! The dinner also sounds fantastic and there is a really nice thing the hall will be doing for guests as they arrive.

BUT, the absolute BEST news of them all is that the wedding cake is going to be exactly what I wanted! A 5-tiered strawberry shortcake!!!! And, with the flowers that Stefan's will be using to decorate the cake, I know it's going to be absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to shove Buggy's face into a big hunk of cake! Yea!

No Crave of the Day today because it's so hot outside, the thought of eating anything makes me nauseated!

Wedding Gown Update

I feel like a great, big slug. I spent today indoors, didn't change out of my writer's uniform (a pair of scrubs and a tank top) and tried to finish my final project for Professor Kramer's course. I am well into the story, entitled "Steinberg's Pardon" but have at least 2 more big sections to write before I'm ready to submit. I'm hoping to finish the piece tomorrow, so that all I'll have to do is study for Professor Harvey's final and rewrite my last story for Professor Hoffman.

So, I called Rochel Leah this afternoon and left her a message about my paranoia. She responded fairly quickly to tell me that I should be paranoid about lots of things, but not my gown. Apparently, my gown arrived at Kleinfeld's on Friday and it looks exactly the way it's supposed to. Phew! We scheduled an appointment for my first fitting and I happily hung up the phone.

I spent a few hours tonight learning the Halachot of Niddah and Mikvah, as I no longer have a Kallah teacher but need to know what to do once we're married. I'm hoping to find someone willing to give me a crash course once I'm back in the States, but in the interim I've been learning from Deena Zimmerman's book A Lifetime Companion to the Laws of Jewish Family Life and going to the Yoatzot website to ask any questions I might have. They have been wonderful and I usually get a response to my questions withint 24 hours. I had a lot of questions tonight, so I'm hoping to get the answers in the next few days.

I've been searching the web for new chicken recipes and a recipe for fillet of sole. I bought a package of frozen fillet of sole yesterday and it's thawing in my fridge. Since my favorite thing to do on fast days is cook, and read recipes, I've got a package of chicken and some sole in the fridge to make tomorrow. I'm hoping to also sleep in so that the fast goes by well, faster!

Wednesday is July 4th, Independence Day, and also my very last class for the year. I'm so excited but sad at the same time. I really enjoyed Professor Harvey and Kramer's classes and I'm going to miss the structured intellectual stimulation. But, I have so much to do between now and the wedding, I just don't think I'll have that much time to be sad.

Here's wishing everyone a very easy and meaningful fast tomorrow!

Lychee and Labor

I've been neglectful of the blog, and for that dear readers, I do apologize. Its been quite a weekend and I've got loads to write, so settle back and maybe pop yourself some popcorn and enjoy!

Thursday, I spent the entire day curled up in the fetal position on Buggy's bed as he sat at his desk and worked. He ran out a few times to pick up a thermometer, some cold medicine, water and more tissues. I was so sick, I couldn't even watch the TV that he put on to keep me company. He was in and out, running to meet classmates to review joint projects or photocopying stuff for school, but he kept coming back to make sure I was ok. I think I got up a few times to go to the bathroom, but otherwise, I stayed in that position. We finally got back to his parent's apartment later at night and I went to bed and slept.

Friday, I woke up early when Buggy stopped by to tell me he was off to school for his final project presentation. I was feeling a lot better at that point, so I got up and got into the shower. By the time I was dressed and catching up on back e-mails, Buggy was back and we went off to town looking for some breakfast. I also had to stop by the bank and pick up some money and then run a few more errands. Buggy went to the photo copy store and, since my errands ended earlier than expected, I walked to meet him. Boy, the hills of Jerusalem are difficult! It made me miss the flatness of Tel Aviv - but the major walk on hills were to come much, much later in the weekend. After Buggy finished doing what he was doing, we went looking for a place for breakfast.

This GREAT new place opened up recently on King George called Beitzah Ayin House of Food. It's this egg restaurant and they can make eggs almost any way you want it. Buggy ordered a Toad in the Hole, which came with 5% cheeses (his request) a salad, some olives, butter and 2 types of jam for the extra bred. I got an omelet with mushrooms and onions and full fat sour cream and cheeses on the side. I obstained from any of the bread products and loved my salad. The only problem with this place is that it's too darn SMALL! They can barely fit the 6 tables they already have, although you can sit at the bar (but it's not very comfortable). Towards the end of breakfast, these 4 18 year olds walked in and ordered coffees and then stood right next to our table and waited to see if any of the other tables would clear. The problem now was that they kept elbowing me and shoving their bags in my face. I was patient until one of the girls stuck her elbow about 2 inches away from my nose. If she would have jerked suddenly, I would have been a candidate for a nose job. So, I politely asked her to please move away from the table. She glared at me and then one of her friends responded that they had no where else to stand and so that's why they were hovering. I responded that I understood their plight but they need to be aware of their apendages so that it's not in my face.

The group decided to pay and leave. Buggy told me that I obviously got my point across, but my tone could have been nicer. I didn't feel that ashamed, although we did leave the waitress a generous tip. And then, it was off to run our errands for the day. We ran to town to pick up a cake for his Mom for Shabbat (as a thank you for hosting me) and then went to the fruit store to get some fruit for afternoon snacking, and then it was our pre-wedding meeting and then back to his apartment to work.

The meeting with Buggy's Rabbi really, really drove the wedding home. OMG, I thought while sitting there and discussing the logistics of the ceremony, we're really getting married! And it's 50 days away! Wow! The meeting was a bit surreal, and I took copious notes so that I could amend the program I'd already began writing. After an hour, we were on our way to Buggy's apartment and I was a little spaced out from all of the directions. I hope I get everything right!

At his apartment, I polished off the watermellon fairly quickly, I felt that my body was just aching for some sugar, and then I started on these teeny, tiny peaches that I like to call "kvetched". Why? Because it looks like the Lord Himself came down from heaven and kvetched the peaches between his two gigantic fingers. They're also super sweet and juicy and have a teeny, tiny pit. At some point, Buggy turned around and asked me to pass him some more watermellon. I smiled and then told him that I ate it all. Hehehe, he had another kvetch.

We got back to his parents with a couple of hours to Shabbat and started getting ready. His parents had a guest, who was this 34 year old pregnant woman from England. And, Buggy's Mom and this guest spent the entire Shabbat talking about pregnancy and birth. Yeah, I didn't really need to listen to talks of episiotomies, labor, epidurals, breaking of "membranes" and the like. But, while the men were in shul, that's exactly what I listened to. And, this talk basically went on until Havdala.

Oy.

The highlight of Friday night dinner was my very first experience with a lychee that didn't come in a tropical drink. I asked Buggy what all these pink fruits were on the fruit platter and he told me that they were lychee. I was shocked as I just assumed lychee's were white. His parent's guest was very familiar with the fruit, and so she taught me how to peel the fruit and then warned me about the pit inside. I have to say, it was one of the most refreshing experiences! Eating the lychee's were just wonderfully thirst quenching and I couldn't wait until I got back to my apartment to buy a few for the week!

Shabbos afternoon, after a nice, relaxing lunch, Buggy and I decided to walk to our soon-to-be-apartment in Baka to time how far it would take to go to and from his folks apartment. It took up 1:15 to and from, and the walk there was absolutely wonderful. Granted, it was completely DOWNHILL. The walk back, however, was really, really hard. At one point, I thought Buggy was going to have to carry me up the steep, steep hill! But, we finally made it, and I was thrilled that I took a bottle of water with me along for the trek. We got back and I think I drank two liters of water on the spot. My face was so red, that I dipped my hand into the ice water that was pooling in the ice bucket (from lunch) and just tried to cool off. It didn't help that I was still congested, which made the hike up hill much harder. I'm hoping once I move to Jerusalem, and get used to the hills, it won't be as difficult.

We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, had some Shalosh Seudot, and then made Havdala and raced out of the aparment. I told Buggy that I MUST spent the evening doing work, and the plan was to go to his apartment and just lock ourselves in for a few hours. Buggy had to be in bed at a decent hour because he had another final project due on Sunday morning. I have to still hand in two more papers and the last class is this Wednesday!

Sadly, his Father called to tell us that his Great Uncle passed away on Shabbos and that the funeral was 11:00 p.m. in Sandhedria. No matter what happens while we live, B"H, here in Israel, I will never get used to a burial without a coffin. It is very difficult for me to watch, and I had a very good view of the burial. After they put the body into the ground, they covered it up with heavy slabs of stone. I asked Buggy why they were doing this, and he said that it's in lieu of a coffin. Once the stones are completely covering the body, then the men finished up by shoveling dirt on top. It was very sad and, even sadder for Buggy's Grandfather, who is now the only surviving child of his parents. We joined Buggy's Grandparents at their home and covered the mirrors and prepared for the week of Shiva. I will probably go back to Jerusalem next Thursday to pay a Shiva call.

We didn't get back to his parents until late and, since Buggy had another final presentation this morning, we went to bed quickly. Buggy woke up nice and early, ran to his Grandfather's apartment for minyan, and then straight to school for the presentation. Somehow, I managed to sleep until 11:00 but not without an awful and terrifying wedding dream. This is my second wedding nightmare that involved me gown (this time, I was somehow given someone else's gown and there were 10 minutes before the wedding began and I had nothing but an oversized, shapeless, blue strapless lace ugly dress to wear in its stead). I'm not sure what my sub conscious is trying to tell me, but Rochel Leah over at Kleinfeld's is getting a call from me tomorrow to find out what's the story with my dress.

After I got up, showered, stripped the bed and packed, I went downstairs to wait for Buggy. Right when I got downstairs, Buggy got home and we sat at my computer for a bit to do some work. I wrote the fax for the army and then we sent it over, and I also printed out the agreement with my movers. We are using Eliezer Movers from Jeruaslem and they are costing me an arm and a leg. I really, really hope they are 100% worth the money! Anyway, afterwards, we had a few minutes to relax and so we ate some lunch and then headed out to pick up Buggy's niece and nephew. We decided to take them to see Shrek 3 as a treat, and boy was it a fun afternoon!

We went to the mall and bought tickets, and then went to the food court to get everyone slushies! (Passion fruit, lemongrass and 2 grape). I still get a little thrill when we walk into the food court and I realize that we can eat EVERYTHING that's there! Good thing Buggy plans on keeping us far, far away since my waistband couldn't afford for me to eat at the food court. Then, we were off to the movies where our shoes stuck to the floor and our seats were full of filty and grime. The kids couldn't care less and they really, really enjoyed the movie. During intermission, I bought them a box of popcorn and then we watched the end of the show. Afterwards, we reazlied that Buggy's nephew lost hist kippa and they started looking on the floor. I told Buggy that there was no way I was going to let his nephew put a kippa that was on THAT floor back on his head, and so we were off to the center of the mall to buy him a new one. He picked one out that "was just like his Abba's" and then we went to the eye glass store so I could get started on my driver's license.

I took the absolute WORST DRIVER'S LICENSE PHOTO IN HISTORY and then waited for my eye exam. After the exam, I paid 40 shekel and took my piece of paper and was off to buy the kids some giant helium balloons. We left them off at the apartment happy and excited, with presents and treats! I was really happy that we were able to spend time with the kids and then Buggy and I went back to his parents. He had only a few minutes before he had to go to his Grandfather's for Mincha/Maariv Minyan and I just relaxed and caught up on e-mails and spoke to the folks back in the States.

Yuda came and picked me up, which was great, and took me back to Tel Aviv with all of my stuff. I immediately went out to AM PM to pick up some protein and decided that tomorrow and Tuesday I am going to be in the apartment all day working on my two stories. I really, really hope to finish them both before Wednesday's classes. I would love to hand in my story to Professor Kramer, but I think that I'm being a little too optomistic. Either way, I need to get everything done until the big move!

OMG - 2 more weeks left in Tel Aviv! Wow, I can't believe this is really, really happening.

Pinch me.

There is no Crave of the Day because I indulged myself and ate what I wanted to all weekend. Tomorrow it's back on the diet and back on craving some stuff that's not good for me. Oh well, Tuesday is a fast day, I might as well store some fat up for then.