Kvater vs. Kneidel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check out the tables in our succah!





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

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

Buffet style!

Moed Tov everyone!

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

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

Till tomorrow!

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

Mango Season

It's officially mango season in Israel and I am so proud of myself because I picked us the sweetest, juiciest, tastiest mango I've ever eaten! It was such a good afternoon snack! Buggy and I split one and then I did one of my favorite things: I sucked on the mango pit. But then, I was distressed, because whenever I do that I end up getting threads of mango stuck in my teeth. I flossed at least 3 times yesterday just to get out all those threads. But it was yummy and worth it!

We were busy people yesterday! We woke up at 7:00 a.m. to go to the Wolfson Medical Center for blood tests. Since Buggy and I have different health insurance plans, we were fortunate to find that the medical center will do blood tests for both Maccabi (me) and Meuchedet (Buggy). Anyway, it was a zoo when we got there at 8:00 a.m. with tons of people waiting to do blood work. Unlike in America where your primary care physician will just take blood after your examination, in Israel they only draw blood during certain time periods of the day. Mostly, it's early in the morning and they are only open for 3 hours each day. So, you have to make a special trip in order to do any blood tests. It's a bit more efficient the other way - I think - but it's not terrible so we suck it up and do it.

Well, the woman who took my blood is a newbie and of course she couldn't find my vein. I have weird veins - which I told her from the beginning - and so she went poking around both arms looking for one. Finally, she called her supervisor over and the lady helped - but not before she stuck the needle into something that wasn't really a vein. She finally got the flow going and within seconds I was done. Buggy finished a bit later and we were off to our next pit stop.

Which was breakfast, at Faza, which is a great little cafe restaurant in Katamon. They make Chai tea with 1% milk and since Buggy and I are on diets, it's a nice treat! Buggy was exhausted after our breakfast so I took the keys and drove us all the way to our next stop:

Jerusalem's Department of Motor Vehicles - which is located in Talpiot! I think I drove pretty well and Buggy agreed, although he did a lot of clenching and slamming on the invisible break on the passenger side. The rules here are different, as are many of the signs, so I just need practice in order to learn. That, and Buggy's car is a Peugot sports car and I'm used to more humble a vehicle. P"G, when we buy me a vehicle it will be something familiar that I can drive.

Anyway, the DMV was pretty typical for a DMV. Lots of people, not enough workers, take a number system. We were number 312 and they were serving 270 when we got there. We settled in for a long wait but it really didn't take us as long as we thought. Of course, I came armed with practically all of my Aliyah papers cause I had no idea what I really needed. The lady was nice when we got up there and said that I had 3 years to switch my license - and not 1 like everyone else told me. At this point, I have all the paperwork and now I just need to find a driving school, take 1 lesson and pass the test, and I should be done. Of course, passing the test is going to be difficult. I've heard that driving school's like to fail people not because of ability but because they like to get them back to get more money. That, and the driving instructor won't tell you after the test if you passed or failed. Buggy said it's for the instructor's safety, because a disgruntled Israeli who hears that he/she failed might try to kill 'em.

Ain't that nice?

So, now we have to add finding a driving school and taking the test to my "to-do" list.

After the DMV, we went to drop something off for Buggy and then we went food shopping. We're having 10 people over for dinner in our Succah on Friday night and yes, those people are Buggy's parents and family, so I'm trying to cook to impress! Here's my menu:

Appetizer: grilled steak salad with warm shallot dressing

Soup: chicken noodle with matza balls

Main: cranberry/onion soup mix chicken (all bottoms, they are not top people)
spinach chicken rolls
cauliflower kugel
salt and pepper noodle kugel
green beans sauteed with onions and toasted almonds
orzo with grilled vegetables, basil and pine nuts

Dessert: velvet sponge cake and chocolate cake with tea and fruit

Good thing it's not Yom Tov for me on Thursday night/Friday cause I'm going to be doing plenty of cooking those days! Plus, tomorrow, I have to cook for Yom Tov lunch as Buggy and I wanted to eat alone in our Succah. We might be a bit anti-social, but I think it will be better for us to just experience having our own Succah for the Chag.

So, after I bought all the ingredients I need to cook for Friday night and for Chag on Thursday, we drove to 4UGifts on Derech Chevron and picked up the things I needed for dinner off of our registry. I picked up 6 place settings on dinner plates, cake plates and salad plates. We picked up 12 soup bowls that are slightly smaller size than normal soup bowls and are also square not round (I love the look of square bowls!). We picked up this cute glass water pitcher with the hole in the middle and 12 drinking glasses. Well, now the car was absolutely loaded, so we drove back to the apartment and I got to work unpacking.

Thinking I would have the rest of the afternoon to write my thank you notes, I got into comfortable clothing and got to work. Then, Buggy's Mom called and told me that the "hat ladies" were at the Kings hotel and that I should come if I need a new hat. Well, I didn't get a black felt hat when I was in the States, so I said sure and she picked me up and we went. They had some great stuff: Louise Green, Naftali, etc. and I was able to find a nice hat in no time. The nicest thing was that my MIL picked up the tab on my hat, which was very, very kind of her, and so now I have to write another thank you note!

I decided also to walk home from the Kings hotel cause I've notice my body has started to loose some of it's tightness since I don't do as much excercise like I did in Tel Aviv. When you live by yourself, it's easier to fit it in, but now that I live with Buggy and we always have so much to do, excercise has falled to the wayside. So, I walked from the Kings and it was a heart pumping 25 minutes! I got in nice and sweaty, a bit thirsty, and happy to have been moving!

And then, I settled down for a few hours and cranked out those thank you notes. I am happy to annouce that of the 145 thank you notes I had to write from the wedding, I now have 5 left, and those 5 are basically family ones. Now, don't think I only had 145 to write people! I had 30 from people who bought off our registry, 25 for my shower, and 85 for people in Israel who gave us gifts at our Sheva Brachot. I have 75 to go and I hope to G-d I can get these done before Succot is over! I think it's important to send thank you notes quickly after the wedding - especially since people really were generous and they deserve to be thanked in a timely fashion.

Yeah - Buggy thinks I'm crazy and he would love it if I joined him on the couch at night for some CSI or Law and Order, but I am on a mission.

I wrote almost 50 thank you cards yesterday! My tongue is nasty from all that licking too!

I'm up extra early today and Buggy is snoring lightly besides me as I update this blog. Today, I hope to decorate the succah, unpack some more boxes and clean out the apartment so that it looks in semi-decent shape for our company this Chag. Tonight is going to be busy as we are taking Buggy's cousin out to dinner for her birthday. And then, I have to start cooking!

Oh, and yesterday I made us a nice dinner of chicken burgers, salad, 2 individual servings of french fries and Jerusalem artichoke. I decided to try it again, even though the last time I ate the Jerusalem artichoke I was sick for 2 days with an awful stomach. We both had a bit of minor discomfort but fortunately, I think it passed and I might even make them again!

Oh, and my sister Rick RULES! She faxed me a bunch of baking recipes so that I can bake for all the things I need to bake for. I have to help make dessert for Buggy's Aunt on Wednesday night, I need to bake dessert for our dinner Friday night and since Buggy's MIL does a huge open house for Simchat Torah, I am baking brownies and blondies for that too. Plus, well, we're having almost 15 people over for dinner on Simchat Torah night (I'll fill you in more in my next post) and I'm gonna be baking for that as well!

Happy cooking everyone!

Buggy Danish

We hope everyone had an easy fast! Ours was T"G absolutely amazing! I guess that's what happens when you go to a 7:00 a.m. minyan that lets out at 11:00 a.m. I was asleep by 12:30 and didn't get up again until 3:30 p.m. for Mincha. The davening here was so great - no KVETCHING! Someone needs to clue in the folks over at my parents shul that you can have a meaningful Yom Kippus without the Chazan who drooones on and on for hours.

Anyway, we broke the fast at Buggy's parents and it was a little weird for me being in a new place that has different post-fast customs. I miss good ol' G&I on Main Street and my apple turnovers. Can you believe Buggy has no idea what an apple turnover is? I have a friend coming from Queens for Succot and I have half a mind to ask her to bring me one, just so Buggy can see the fantastic pastry!

So, as you can see, I was craving pastry when I got home and we had gone to my favorite Jerusalem bakery called Pe'er before Shabbos/Yom Tov to get pre-and post-fast provisions. Well, I had picked up an assorted box of mini danishes and rugaleach and cinnamon buns and when we got back to the apartment last night, I went straight for the box. We curled up on the couch to catch some news on TV and I was pulling a part this plain danish when I saw a BUG!

Well, I spit out any of the danish in my mouth and then made Buggy check out the Bug. Well, once he confirmed that it was in fact a bug, we launched into this whole debate on whether or not I will go there again. See, it wasn't like the bug was in the box, or on top of the danish. It was BAKED INTO the danish folks, and that means that the bug was in the DOUGH and that just skeeved me out a bit.

Buggy tried to nicely point out how much I like their Chalot and I think this incident is just too fresh in my mind and I'm going to refrain from the bakery for a bit. Good think we got a bread maker as a wedding present! I need to hit my little sister up for her Challah recipes - especially since we're having 10 people over for dinner on Friday night and they're gonna want some bread.

Last night, we decided to go see The Nanny Diaries, Buggy's very first official chick flick. It was a pretty bad movie and now I wish we had seen Knocked Up instead. Either way, it was nice to be out together at a movie - we hadn't done that since before the wedding!

Today we're staying close to home as we both have work to do. Buggy has to work on his project and I need to get back to writing thank you notes and planning our Succot meals. We're eating at home, just the two of us, on Thursday lunch and then we're having a bunch of people over for dinner on Friday night. There will be LOTS of cooking going on in this apartment and I'm getting excited - please let me know if you have recipe recommendations. I need to get some good bar recipes from my sister - I will be doing a lot of baking within the next few days!

Repent

I think I need to seriously reprent this year, and I already have a basic handle on the sins that turn out to be my "go to" sins. The typical ones like Lashon Harah and Rechilut, etc. I did a lot of thinking last night about Yom Kippur starting this evening and well, I'm just hoping the 25 hours of reprentence will be meaningful for me. I really have a lot that I'm sorry about.

Before I continue, I know that I didn't get a chance to call a lot of people before Yom Kippur. I'm not making excuses but when you read the rest of the blog you'll understand how come I've been crashing each and every night this week and not able to even pick up the phone. Nevertheless, I'd like to take this opportunity to ask for Mechilah for anyone I could have offended or upset or hurt this year. It was never intentional and I truly hope that you can forgive me.

Tuesday
Ever wonder how to get into the right frame of mind for Yom Kippur? Go before a Beit Din, it will shake you to the core and make you wonder what it would be like to actually stand in front of the Beit Din Shel Malah. (the Bet Din up above - as in the ultimate beit din). So, Buggy and I were up really early because we had to meet with his lawyers. Buggy rents out an apartment in Katamon and he met with his new tenant, so we were at the lawyers to go through the contracts. I wish Buggy could have been there last year when I was dealing with all this stuff out in Tel Aviv; he really is a wonderful and compassionate landlord. We had 3 minutes until our appointment at the Beit Din so we ran up Hillel Street to get there on time. Fortunately, our two witnesses were already there and we proceeded to wait....for 2 1/2 hours. Buggy had to run out in the middle to Aroma to get us drinks and lunch because we were all so hungry. Anyway, when it was finally our turn they called the two of us in and asked us a lot of questions. They were trying to establish that we were both Jewish, that our marriage was in accordance to Halacha, etc. I dressed for the day 100% appropriately, which included covering up all of my hair in a big shmata. I wore the longest skirt I own and I opted for long sleeve t-shirt even though it was very hot outside. Nevertheless, my garb didn't necessarily convince them but the letters from my parents Rabbi stating that my mother is Jewish and that my parents are religious and the copies of their Ketuba helped. They questioned our witnesses extensively - asking whether or not my parents were religious and if I came from a religious home. They didn't relax until I told them about my Yeshiva education. As soon as I said that I spent my time in seminary at Michlalah with Rabbi Cooperman, they finally relaxed. We are waiting for a letter to arrive that states that the Rabanut of Israel recognizes that our marriage in America was 100% kosher and we "officially" married. Then we can get on with the next step of beurocracy.

As a side note to the Beit Din issue - they actually force women not dresses appropriately to put on long robes to cover up before they stand before the Rabbi's. Just a helpful hint, in case you ever have to go before Beit Din in Israel. Personally, I hope that's the last time I'm there.

Since they didn't see us until 1:30, we were 30 minutes late to my genetic testing appointment and had to sprint across Yafo and Aggripas to get there. Fortunately, the woman was kind and saw us anyway and we went through the proper paperwork. We decided to do all of the 16 genetic testing on the Ashkenazi panel. Sadly, there are a lot of genetic issues with Ashkenazi Jews so I wanted to be safe rather than sorry. Buggy agreeds and 2,050 shekels later and after they took 3 vials of my blood, we were off to get me some ice cream. It's a HLH family tradition - we always get ice cream after a harrowing medical experience. Giving that much blood definitely called for some Twix ice cream at Aldo on Emek.

Sadly, I don't remember what we did the rest of the evening but I think Buggy ended up going to work for a bit and I cooked us some dinner. I wanted to surprise him so I made him fresh tortilla chips - I fryed them in a bit of vegetable oil and we had them as an appetizer to our Tivol (soy patty) and quinoa with peas dinner. It was yummy eating by candel light and just relaxing after such a busy day. By the time we fell into bed, we were both really wiped.

Wednesday
We woke up really early because Amos came to build our Succah. It was really, really exciting and he was here for 4 hours! Since the parameters of the balcony are atypical, we hired Amos to build us a custom made Succah. He spent hours here putting it together, even though it's not as difficult as some of the Succot in the States.



This picture is the left side of the Succah if you're standing in the sliding doors to the balcony. We have 2 windows too - which is really nice and we'll probably leave open in the evenings and during the day if it gets too hot inside.



Here is the right side of the Succah if you're standing in the sliding doors to the balcony. Amos put up the one Succah decoration I had - and then told me that it wasn't a Succah decoration at all but a wall decoration. I looked at it again and then said - "that's great, I like it better for the Succah, can it work in there instead?" He laughed and helped me hang it and now Buggy and I have to go decoration shopping for some more. I want to go at some point on Sunday to the mall to get some more stuff, and I saw a place in Town that were selling some decorations that looked familiar. There was a shiny nice apple that my folks have at home and I can't wait to get another one for our Succah!

Well, Amos is not just a Succah man but he's also an electrician. After he finished building the Succah, we asked him to look at our Shabbos clock and tell us why it didn't work. Buggy at that point had to run an errand and was out of the apartment, and that's when Amos loudly blew a fuse with a huge expolsion....3 TIMES! It was very scary - we lost power and then it came on again, we lost power, and then it came on again, etc. He told us that the only way to connect it properly would be to rewire the entire panel in the apartment and he couldn't do that until after Succot. I was appreciateive and thanked him and then paid him and he left. And a few minutes later, when Buggy returned, we realized that the AC wasn't working, the lights in all three bedrooms were off, and the lights in the bathroom was off. Unfortunately, Amos was nowhere near the apartment and couldn't come back to fix it until later that evening. So, we sucked it up as best we could and I showered in the dark and used the light from Buggy's hand held computer to pick out my clothing for that eveinings festivities...which I'll get to in a minute. Our cleaning man didn't show up as arranged, so I was really disappointed, the apartment could use a really good scrub down. But, I spent the afternoon running my own errands like putting in our cleaning, going fruit and vegetable shopping and writing and mailing 25 thank you cards! Phew, by the time the night came, I was beat. But, we threw Buggy's Mom a surprise birthday party at Pear E Mela (Agas V'Tapuach), this extremely quaint Italian restaurant just outside the old City walls and next door to City Halls in Town. She was very surprised, very happy, and everyone had a great time. The food was really good too but the highlight was dessert - which was raspberry and mango gellato, fresh whipped cream and chocolate blitzes. Yum! We came back home satiated and very happy.

Thursday
There is no rest for the weary and, once again, Buggy and I had to go into town to take care of bank issues. We waited in line forever and then did all 3 transactions that needed doing. Then, it was off to Har Nof to pick up my Fall which the woman did an excellent job with! I was really happy and, 110 shekel later, walked out of there with a clean and freshly blown out fall and a new styrofome head. We then went to Buggy's parents house to get hair cuts. Buggy's Mom arranges for a stylist from Tel Aviv to come and cut her friends hair in their home in Jerusalem. He was cutting 8 people's hair that day, and Buggy and I were 1 & 2 on line. We showered at the house and then Buggy was up and I watched and chatted with the stylist. He looked great and when it was my turn, I decided to go drastic. And...since it's no longer summer here and it's already Autumn, I cut bangs.

Yup

Straight across and long - so that it's slightly over my eyebrows - I am now sporting a nice haircut with bangs. It's going to be a pain to maintain, but it's a lot more flattering that what I had before and I'm happy with it.

After the haircut, we came back to the apartment and I put up a load of laundry and decided it was the day I would get out of boxes! The closet people came at 9:00 a.m. that morning and fixed the drawers that needed to be fixed, so I no longer had an excuse not to be out of boxes. I spent 4 hours and put away all of my socks and shoes and the HUGE box of drug supplies in the cabinet under the bathroom sink. It was exhausting work and then Buggy had to leave for work and I ended up just hanging out and relaxing. When we do so much in one day, I get really tired afterwards, and had to fight myself from falling asleep on the couch. We were supposed to celebrate my Hebrew birthday (oh yeah, that was yesterday for me, Happy 31st to me) but our photographer called and told us that he was in Jerusalem and we could come pick up our proofs. We were very excited so we cancelled our dinner and a movie plans, drove into town to his apartment, and picked up the 800 wedding proofs. We spent the rest of the evening looking at pictures and it was so overwhelming that we have to narrow it all down to 70 that we ended up going to bed at 11:30 without making any big decisions. My folks also go their set of proofs, so it will be interesting to hear if they liked the pictures!

Today
Which brings us to today, Erev Shabbos Yom Kippur 2007 in Jerusalem. Buggy woke up at 6:15, which means that I've been up since that time, and he left for Slichot. We are going out to Kibbutz Chafetz Chaim this morning for an Azkarah for his Grandmother, who passes away on Yom Kippur 4 years ago. Afterwards, we're going to come back and I'm going to start cooking for our Seudat HaMafseket. Buggy and I both missed dinner last night and I woke up starving, so I hope today we'll be better about eating in light of the fast ahead.

We wish all our loved ones - and anyone who haphazardly stumbled upon this blog - a Gmar Chatimah Tovah. May all your sins be forgiven, and may all of your Tefilot come true! We hope to see you all next year in Jerusalem!

Emmy

Ever wonder, after 3 days of Yom Tov, what kind of conversation one would have with their new mother-in-law? I bet you never thought it would have to do with nursing homes. Yup, that was me. Somehow, and lord knows I have no idea how it happened, but on the 3rd day of Yom Tov I asked my mother-in-law what she thought about nursing homes. We actually had a wonderful conversation about it and her stance was very informative. It was such an unremarkable conversation that I promptly forgot about it when Buggy showed up at lunch after his minyan finished. Which is why, when we were in the car yesterday, I mentioned it to him because I finally remembered. He laughed hysterically and then ad-libbed (So Mum, where WOULD you like us to put you in a few years? And no, I'm not bringing it up because you're turning 60 this week).

I completely forgot about her 60th birthday this week, and I certainly wasn't asking the question because I want to put her away (G-d forbid!), I was just curious.

Anyway - highlights of the 3 day holiday:

1) Ate like a complete pig - Buggy and I were elated that yesterday was a fast day. We needed to take a break from tons of heavy meals. Although, Buggy's Aunt made this chocolate Kahlua cake from the Kosher Palate that was amazing. Well worth the calories.

2) We spent the holidays with 2 seminary girl from HAFTR (Hebrew Academy Five Towns and Rockaways) and it was deja vu all over again. Last year, I spent the holiday with 2 seminary girls and I tell you all these schools tell the same stories for scare tactics. I'm starting to think that these stories are just Orthodox Jewish Urban Legends gone wild but, I guess if these young women learn the lesson NOT to get wasted at bars in Tel Aviv and pass out in cabs, then they're effective.

3) Buggy's 10 year old cousin asks us where babies came from and was "gay" meant. We told her to go ask her Mother/Uncle. Well, she asked her Uncle who gave her a very honest answer about eggs and sperm and fertilization. So, as we were leaving, she asked us how the sperm got to the egg to fertilize it. Yeah, we left chuckling - and without answering!

4) My salmon, carrot kugel and blondies were a BIG hit! Nice to know that, in a pinch, I can produce some good stuff.

5) Shofar blowing the first day was excrutiating, sounded like the ram was dying all over again. Fortunately, he was much better on the second day.

6) Went to services on the first day with Shimon Peres, the new President of Israel. It was great - tons of SHABAQ guys standing the whole time. Slap an oreo outfit on them and they could pass as really frum yids davening.

7) Did tashlich in my MIL's backyard pond - threw in the bread even though Buggy didn't think it was such a good idea...Now there are 10 bloated pieces of Challah floating in the pond and, like bobbing for apples, the neighborhood cats are trying to eat up my sins. Not sure if there is anything poetic or ironic about that but give me a few days and I'll come up with something.

8) Slept in the afternoon on both days of Rosh Hashana - now Buggy and I will have a sleepy New Year. Oy!

9) Wore a sheitel to shul on the first day because my hat didn't match my outfit, and not one of my MIL's friends recognized me. Who knew a wig could really make you incognito. It was great!

10) Drank a ridiculous amount of 21 year old scotch during Friday night dinner. It was such a nice way to start the New Year!

Yesterday, Buggy and I tried to limit our errands because of the Fast but we ended up spending a lot of time in Town. We're still trying to get married officially in this Country and it's taking a while. Who knew that during Aseret Yemei Teshuva, the Rabanut gets out of work by Noon. What are they during this week? Flogging themselves for their sins all afternoon? Fortunately, we changed the clocks back so now we're only 6 hours ahead of the States. The great part was that the fast ended by 6:05 p.m. last night, so Buggy and I were okay and had some pasta. Unfortunately, we went food shopping during the day and I stocked up on lots of stuff that we probably don't really need yet. Oh well, I definitely will eventually get to everything.

Today
What a busy day! We woke up really early and had to leave the house so we could get to the Rabanut before they closed. Well, the good news is that we officially started a file but now we have to go back tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. to stand in front of the Beit Din. I hope to G-d that they will recognize our marriage and give us what we need so that we can move on. The paperwork is far from over - as is dealing with the government entities - but at least we've got the foot in the door. We also went to Maccabi so I could get on with the genetic testing. It's a big PAIN to do anything with the health insurance people in this country but I'm really trying. Anyway, we managed to make an appointment for tomorrow, so at 1:00 p.m. I have to go to the clinic to take the blood tests. Meanwhile, we are in the midst of getting a Succah! Stay tuned P"G for some pictures in a few days! The man who is building our Succahh is hopefully going to be here on Wednesday morning and is doing everything for us! I can't wait to go out to the Kenyon and buy some Succah decorations. We got a really nice one actually as a wedding gift, but I saw these strings of Chinese lanterns that I would love to get for the Succah. Any suggestions on what else we should put it the Succah would be great! Ooh - I can't WAIT for Succot!

Emmy
I was able to see some of the Emmy's on YouTube which was great. The parody by Family Guy characters were absolutely hysterical and it was nice to see a tribute to the Soprano's. I also heard that FOX censored Sally Field's anti-war diatribe, very interesting. Gotta love that Republican Rupert.

Well, hopefully tomorrow's blog will be full of good - successful - news!

We hope your Rosh Hashana was meaningful at that this New Year is already a blast!

Happy New Year!

Buggy and I are extremely devout leading up to this Rosh Hashana. We have been getting up with the 6:00 a.m. Sephardic Minyan as they sing their Slichot each morning. Today was no different and, rather than waste the opportunity to update the blog, I decided to try and squeeze it in before the day gets crazy.

Yesterday was so busy, I am shocked that I managed to get into bed at the end of the night with teeth brushed and flossed and face washed. I was beat! We were up and out of the apartment early because Buggy had a nutritionist appointment. Fortunately, he only gained 1 pound since the wedding so we were all thrilled to hear that news! I, of course, gained 5 pounds since our wedding so yes - we are both on diets. But, lord knows that the three day holiday here will be extremely challenging!

After Dr. Diet, we went to Buggy's folks so I could pick up my passports for the army. We were determined to get my pitur yesterday and, since I had no idea what I needed to get one, I had to pick up all passports. We then went back to the Central Bus Station to pick up some things from a couple of the shops and I bought an InStyle and a Glamour and 2 comics for my husband as a Rosh Hashana reading gift. Since we aren't allowed to sleep over the Chag, we will have to have plenty to keep up entertained.

Buggy had to be at work at 2:00 and traffic in Jerusalem these days are INSANE! It takes forever to get around because everyone is driving and doing errands for the Chag. It took us 45 minutes to get home from the Central Bus Station while normally it would take much shorter.

Anyway, we began our adventure with the army and for me it was like stepping into Animal House, complete with hazing. Buggy dropped me off and had to look for parking because the PERFECT spot near the front was available, but there was a children's toy in the gutter and Buggy didn't want to run it over. While we were "arguing" about the toy that was obviously garbage, some other guy came and ran over the toy and took our spot. I was not pleased. So, Buggy left me off and I went upstairs to the floor that gives out Piturs. It's also on the same floor as the lunchroom and boy was it boisterous. I realized then and there that I was at the mercy of a gaggle of 18 year old drunk with power! When Buggy tried to join me, they wouldn't let him come upstairs because he wasn't there was any specific reason. I put on my extremely-sad-face, like this:



And, sure enough, one of the 18 year olds felt bad and they let Buggy come up. Anyway, the rest of the process was extremely painless and we were in and out within 10 minutes!

The rest of the day was a blur so I can't really recap right now, but I cooked a great dinner with fresh corn on the cob, Israeli salad, some broccoli and dressing sauce and sesame teriyaki salmon.

Today
Was just as busy, if not busier! This morning, we spent at least 2 hours at the bank moving money from one account to another, cashing checks and getting back one check that bounced (ouch!). Then, we went to change some money so I could pay the contractor who did some work on the apartment and then we raced to Buggy's dentist appointment. We also figured out a GREAT birthday present for Buggy's Mom's 60th next week and we were struggling with a fax machine and photocopies of my credit card and teudat zehut, etc. It was a pain, but we managed to make it back to the apartment for a quick lunch and to pay the contractor before Shabbos, and then went off to visit out registry at 4UGifts. We picked up a beautiful present for Buggy's folks, a funky honey and apple sterling silver set (by this new Italian designer - it's really stunning) and then swung by their house to drop off the gift and send the Carmel Forest Spa the fax for Buggy's Mom's birthday present. Then, we had to go to Emek to pick up some last minute provisions so I can cook tonight. I bought 2 big slabs of salmon fillet and some toasted sesame oil. I'm planning on making sesame teriyaki salmon for Buggy's folks, some blondie's for Buggy's sister (we are eating by her on Friday afternoon - a BBQ! I've never had a BBQ on Rosh Hashana before, should be fun!) and some carrot cake for Buggy (he likes it much better than honey cake).

Tonight, I'm praying to be able to write some more thank you cards while I do my baking, and I already have another wash up. I had to wash all the bath towels, it was really time, and that will take at least 4 hours to do. In the interim, I'm hoping to make some calls to the States to wish everyone a Chag Sameach.

But - for those who read this blog and who I would normally call but chances are won't be able to because of the hectic nature of the day and the time difference - CHAG SAMEACH! Happy New Year! May all of your prayers for this year come true, and may the bombing stop in Sderot and throughout the South of Israel.

Hungry for the Holidays?

This afternoon, as Buggy and I were trying to tackle all of our errands, we were driving up Aggripas Street and stopped at one of the red lights. I looked over to my left and saw this huge crowd of people, many with head scarfs and a couple of black hatted men dotted throughout, clustered around a door. I was jubilant about something else, perhaps just the happy mannerism that hasn't really rubbed off since the wedding, and I excitedly asked Buggy what he thought these people were waiting for. As the traffic inched us forward, I got a better look at the group and was able to read the sign above the warehouse door. It was extremely sobering; these people were all waiting in line at a food shelter. I also got a much better look at the faces of some of these women, who looked downcast and grave as they waited their turn in line. One woman was crying on a cell phone while another woman seemed to be yelling at her. I felt terrible and asked Buggy if there was anything we could do to help these people before the Chag.

And that's when I remember what my friend Tova in Beit Shemesh told me about this wonderful organization called Table to Table which is dedicated to feeding Israel's poor. Their website has some incredible statistics, which are extremely shocking to read and very upsetting. In the spirit of Rosh Hashana, I urge all my readers if you had a minute, please check out the site and maybe - if you have the means necessary - make a donation to help feed Israel's hungry. The website is able to accept credit card donations as well and, well, not to sound corny but every bit really does help!

Friday
I woke up on Friday to the sound of liturgy. Loud and clear, the Sephardic version of Shacharit wafted like a cloud through the window and tickled me awake. It was the 6:00 a.m. minyan and they were a couple of men there with amazing sets of lungs. I had to be up at anyway in a few minutes, so I got out of bed and got the apartment ready for the workers who were coming to finish up the kitchen. They all arrived together, around 7:15, along with our cleaning guy and I spent three hours supervising and being shuttled from room to room so that the fixing/cleaning could take place. I let Buggy sleep until our bedroom needed to be cleaned, and so he was able to get some extra hours before the 10:00 a.m. wake up call. I shipped him off on a few pre-Shabbos errands and then started to cook as soon as everyone left the apartment. For the next 4 hours I made spaghetti and meat sauce (ok, ok I'll admit it - I was trying to make a meat loaf but used WAY too much tomato sauce so we ended up having whole wheat spaghetti and meat sauce), a cauliflower kugel, green beans sauted with onions, chinese five spice pargiot (soo good!) and montreal chicken spiced pargiot, and steamed edemame. You'd think I was entertaining - this was just two meals worth of Shabbos food for me and Buggy! Well, you can imagine how exhausted I was once I lit Shabbos candles! I was practically falling off of my face, but Buggy was great and helped me a lot over dinner. We both passed out early and made a resultion to try out a new shul in the neighborhood.

Shabbos
Once again, the davening woke me up but it was a very good thing because we really wanted to go to shul. So, I woke Buggy and told him he could snooze while I got my fall ready, and picked out my hat and outfit. We were on the road withint 30 minutes and had a nice davening at Nissanim in Baka. Afterwards, we had a kiddush where Buggy enjoyed his herring and I had a peach (and some left over blondies) and then we read while lunch warmed up. We took a 5 hour nap in the afternoon and then Shabbos was over! I spent Saturday night writing thank you cards while Buggy went to do some work, and then he brought back a video (Deja Vu - very unbelievable and weird) and we tried to go to sleep. Didn't work, which is why I tried to call my folks at 3:00 a.m. but it was apparently still Shabbos. We both slept fitfully until the alarm went off bright and early.

Today
Errands, errands and some more errands. We went food shopping at the Wolfson Center because I had to pick up a referral for some tests and Buggy had a dermatologist appointment. I asked him to leave me the keys and went food shopping alone while he had his appointment (trying to be efficient!) and somehow I managed to get into some mischief. Well, I know Buggy likes these parve soy chocolate puddings and upon further inspection of the dairy aisle, realized they were ALL the way in the back. There was no way I could reach them myself and I spied a little step ladder one aisle over so, well, I grabbed it and was able to get 4 puddings for Buggy! There was some casualty, but not to worry, the soy choose was a-ok after the avalanche. Check out was going smoothly until the huge jar of pickles exploded on the belt and covered the poor check out woman. I felt terrible, even though I was pickle juice free, and even though she offered for me to go back and get a new jar (after, mind you, she mopped EVERYTHING up and the stench of brine was enough to make you sick) I decided to cancel the item. But folks, my adventures did NOT stop there! You see, I had to get the contents of my cart into the car and well, we parked on the wrong floor and there was no ramp access to the vehicle. So, that's right, I did what I thought was the smartest thing and I took the elevator one floor up and went down the winding parking garage street with the cart. And of course, gravity pulled and the weight of our food was pretty heavy, and I could barely hold on. I ended up going sideways at one point and prayed that I would bust into any of the cars. Finally, I got everything into the trunk and was feeling pretty good about myself until I realized that I now had to push the cart all the way up the big hill! I was huffing and puffing the whole way, but it was all good, another interesting afternoon in Jerusalem.

We're getting ready now to go to a BBQ at Buggy's friend's house in Beit Shemesh and tomorrow is going to be another fun filled day of thank you card writing, cooking for Rosh Hashana and errands.

Oh, and tomorrow is my army day. Wish me luck!

2 Rusty Nails and a Sorbet

We're back from our marvelous, fantastic, amazing, relaxing honeymoon at the Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Dead Sea. It was really 4 full nights and 4 1/2 days of blissful relaxation - where we completely vegged and just enjoyed ourselves. This blog will be a partial recap so, if you're interested in seeing some great pics and hearing some fun stories, read on!




This is the fun water shoot at the pool. Unfortunately, the lifeguard ruined my shot, but when this water shoot is on the current sucks you in and pushes you almost across the entire pool! On Monday, our first full day at the pool, Buggy and I decided to go through it together and somehow I got catapulted across the pool and almost into the prone body of some French guy lounging on the side of the pool with his girlfriend. Buggy was right behind me trying to catch me, as I was literally unable to keep myself upright.



The Dead Sea was absolutely beautiful and Buggy and I didn't go near it the entire time! Here's the situation: basically, I don't like the way I feel in the water. It leaves this really slippery residue on the body, the sulpher smell lingers on you for an entire week, and the thought of not being able to control my legs so that I'm basically stuck in the floating on the back position until Buggy has no choice but to tow me to shore, kept me close to the pool! Fortunately, Buggy wasn't too keen on the whole Dead Sea dunking idea either so we enjoyed it from afar.



This is the view of the pool area from our suite. Did I mention that we were upgraded to a suite because of our Honeymoon status? And, it was the first time I didn't have to wear my "Just Married" sweatshirt to get preferential treatment. The room was really, really nice and we had a balcony view of Jordan and the Dead Sea. We loved this pool as our daily schedule was as follows:

sleep till 12:00/12:30 p.m.
shower/dress/daven until 1:30/2:00
1:30/2:00 - lunch (we skipped breakfast except for the last day as checkout today was 11:00 a.m. and we had to be up anyway)
2:00 - 5:00 - pool (except for yesterday when we had 5:00 p.m. anti-stress massages
5:00 - 6:30 - shower/relax in the room
6:30 - 8:00 - movies that we brought with us on Buggy's travelling DVD player which, conveniently, hooked into our large in-room TV.
8:00 - 8:30 - dinner
Evening - movies/sleep

We had a hard, hard schedule - as you can probably tell. Lots of rest and relaxation, some nice pool time, a massage yesterday and PLENTY of sleep!



When we checked into our room, they had left us a bottle of red wine (which, I drank some of even though I'm allergic and sure enough, I had a terrible headache!) and a platter of fruit. I brought some of the fruit back home with us in the cooler that we got as a wedding gift from Buggy's Aunt and Uncle. Nice present - I packed us some snacks for our trip which helped stave away the hunger when we went to late dinner and kept us munching along as we watched our movies.



This is, what Buggy calls, "Mount Shmoigel". He kept joking that we would try to climb it but fortunately my couch potato lovin husband was just bluffing. The closest we got to a mountain was today, when we stopped off at Masada to go through the new museum. Since I was just on the Masada mountain less than a year ago - and Buggy has been there plenty - we got back on the road to Jerusalem after we went through the guided tour of the museaum.



Evening at the Dead Sea are terribly, terribly dull and boring. There is absolutely nothing around for MILES! Strips of hotels clustered in Ein Bokek have lots of tourist feeling the boredom during the night. Fortunately for us, we were covered as we came prepared with plenty of our own entertainment. But, for everyone else at the hotel, they were greeted by "in-house entertainment" in the form of dancing one night, bingo the next night, a Hebrew version of West Side Story and some carnivalesque show last night. We missed them all but someone did manage to drop off some bingo slips as Buggy and I imbibed in the hotel lobby/bar on 2 Rusty Nails (drambuie and whiskey - yummmmmy!) Buggy needed to cut the alcohol with some sweetness so he ordered two scoops of sorbet and, when we skipped back to the room after all that good stuff in our bellys, Buggy sang his "2 Rusty Nails and a sobet" song. I guess you had to be there - it was fun!


So - those are the only photos I can share with the blog but there is more to tell.

1) Mikvah - there is a Mikvah at the Royal Hotel in the Dead Sea. I needed to use it one night during the honeymoon, and Buggy and I had made all the arrangements in advance. We called and reserved a time, they told us that we needed to bring 100 shekel and I brought a robe just in case they had no towels. Well, I honestly don't know what I paid for, because the experience was really, really lousy. And, if you're new to using the Mikvah, it's definitely not something you want to have happen to you the second time around. Basically, we waited for a security guard to come and take us through the darkened labrynth of the hotel's spa. He opened the door labeled "Ritual Bath" and then pointed the way up these dillapitated stairs. Once inside, I saw that there WAS a shower and bathtub (I had asked in advance and they said there was none. Obviously, the woman dealing with us had never stepped foot into the Mikvah). Anyway, the problem was that they didn't heat the water. I don't know why we needed to reserve a time in advance if they didn't even bother to heat the water. The water, unlike ANYTHING else in the Dead Sea area, was absolutely freezing. But, I sucked it up and shivering from the shock of the cold, did what I needed to do. It's a good thing I didn't have glasses with me either, cause I really don't think I wanted to see what was floating in the water. The reason I share this with the blog is for any woman who will need to use a Mikvah in the area. I highly recommend making other arrangements - perhaps even traveling the distance to Arad - or insisting the hotel heat the water before use. It's ridiculous that I paid that kind of money for some guy to just flip the switch.

2) Survival kit - when traveling to the Dead Sea, it's really crucial that a woman bring all the products she needs as there really isn't anything close by. For me, the essentials items included plenty of SPF! My days of tanning with baby oil are long, long over as the fear of wrinkles have set in a few years ago. I used, daily, SPF 30 on my face and SPF 30 sunscreen spray on my body. I got the sunscreen spray in the States and I have to say, it's a great invention. Easy for me and Buggy to use on each other before we got into the pool. Now, I also spend a lot of money on my hair. I dye it - I'm not ashamed to admit it - cause it's the truth. Two essential items for women who DO NOT want their hair color to bleach in the sun are Redken's Sun Milk, which has UV protectant so that your hair doesn't lighten and also Frederick Fekkai's new sunscreen spray which fight humidity and helps keep your hair healthy in terrible climates. I also brought with me special shampoo and conditioner, and did a hair mask each night to try to keep my locks night and moisturized. Bring PLENTY of water as most of the water at the hotel is way over priced and the other half is not fit for drinking. I packed 2 big bottles of water and 3 little bottles that we took to the pool each day. Also, don't forget your lips in the Dead Sea heat! Blistex lip balm with SPF 15 and some color is nice, as I got a sweet red tint with the SPF I needed to avoid burning. There is also this GREAT aftersun with cooling beads that I brought with me and didn't use (even though I should have). You'll need it to cool off any possibly burnt areas. Finally, make sure you bring a razor with you if you don't wax in advance. Otherwise, if you forget like I did, you'll spend the honeymoon begging your husband to let you use his shaver to get at the hairs underneath your arms. (For the record, Buggy was firm and didn't let me use it. It was ok until this morning, when I really felt like I had Tina Turner stuck underneath my pits)

3) Did you know that, if you fart in the pool, bubbles actually come up?? Note to others - if you have some gas, go to an area where the water is already frothy (like the shoot at our hotel or underneath the waterfall) so no one else in the pool knows what you're doing.

I won't lie to ya, it sucks to be back - life is always amazing on holiday. But, I guess there comes a time when everyone has to just, well, get back to work!

At least I still have a few more hours until that happens (conference call already at 11:00 p.m. this evening!)

To quote one of my Dad's favorite sayings: the honeymoon is over

Out to Lunch

This blog will be on hiatus until Thursday as Buggy and I are going on a much needed honeymoon. We're looking forward to the beach, the pool, the kosher hotel food and - the most important reason for going on a honeymoon - for all the movies we'll be watching on our portable DVD player!

Have a great week!