Fourth of the Fourth

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Leora (who seems to not be on my blogroll, how did that happen? Must fix that as soon as this posts.) tagged me the other day for a fun photo meme that's going around - to play, you open your fourth photo folder (gee, you think I could put any more alliteration in there?) and then post the fourth photo you find (see, there are those "fff" sounds again).
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I cheated a tiny bit - the fourth folder of my main pictures section was a crappy out of focus barely distinguishable photo of a street performer taken in Victoria, British Columbia a few years ago on my old point and shoot. I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't bring myself to post it. Instead, I headed over to the fourth folder of my "photography" section, which is where I put all the photos I take just for photography's sake, as opposed to family snaps, vacations, etc. That time I had better luck - a hibiscus. I think I shot this in the parking lot just outside my building a while back. Wherever it was, it looks a lot better than the oh so blurry snap of Plasterman that popped up the first time.
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Click to enlarge

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I'm not sure who's done this already so if you haven't and you're interested in playing along, consider yourself tagged. Go ahead, try it, it's fun. You never know quite what will pop up when you delve deep into the archives.
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Around the world in 80 clicks - a motherhood journey

Hannah from A Mother in Israel tagged me for the latest meme circling the blogosphere. I don't do memes all that often but this one, started by Catherine of Her Bad Mother (a a wonderful and insightful writer - go check her out if you aren't already subscribed) and David of It's Not a Lecture (a new to me blog that looks very intriguing, I'll be back for a good read after I finish this post), definitely speaks to me. (As a small egotistical aside, I read the original post announcing the creation of this meme and was secretly delighted that it took only one day to arrive at my blog. Go me.) The idea is for mothers around the world to share five things that they love about motherhood.

I like this - this forced stepping back for a bit of self-serving introspection, taking time to not only live my life but to examine it and distill it, or at least the part of it that revolves around my being a mother, down to its essence. Motherhood can be full of lofty heights and stomach-churning lows, often spinning dizzyingly between the two over the course of a single day, with random stops at the utterly mundane.

Which of all these parts do I love most? The act of choosing seems an impossible task, but a few highlights did spring from my mind of their own volition.

I love the way my daughter, at nearly five and a half, still launches herself at me from across the playground when I come to pick her up each afternoon. I love seeing her grow and change and begin to claim her place in the world. She hasn't always had the easiest path to walk, and my heart swells with pride when I think of how far she's come and how far she has shown she can go.

I love the way my son, at age eight, still asks to snuggle on the couch - when he's not busy being Mr. Independent and making plans to go visit any one of a multitude of friends. His social life is infinitely more successful than that of his father and I and he is speeding towards self-sufficiency. I treasure these fleeting moments of little boyness even more for knowing that their days are numbered.

I love the chance to experience magic, actual magic, through their eyes with each new experience. To be the one to open new worlds to discover.

I love getting to know the people my children are becoming, both because of me and despite me, as I walk alongside them on their journey.

And I love what motherhood has done to ME - how it has made me more loving, more patient, more giving. Less selfish. More vulnerable. More accepting.

And just like that I've reached five, with so much still left unsaid. It's an impossible task of course, but I've made my dent in it.

Now it's your turn to make yours. To honor the international spirit of this meme I'm going to pass this task along to mothers in five completely different parts of the world, as well as to anyone else out there who wants to participate:

Meredith from Poppy Fields (France)
Vanessa from Daffodil Campbell (Maui)
Grace from Sandier Pastures (Dubai)
Elizabeth from Planet Nomad (Morocco)
Stacey from Is There Any Mommy Out There? (Pacific Northwest)

More about me-me-me

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Yup, it's a meme. Sunshine tagged me for this one a while back and since we're getting down to the NaBloPoMo homestretch it was high time to pull it out. Sunshine's always fun to read, and she's got fabulous taste in music ;-). The meme even comes with its own nifty award, which will go beautifully with the lovely one that Dawn from Weldable Cookies passed my way. I love reading Dawn's blog. Her life and experiences are so very different from mine that it really underscores how underneath it all people are so much more alike than they are different. She's got a heart of gold and apparently golden hands too, I'd wish I could get her over here to tackle a bunch of projects around my house too!

Now without further ado...

First the meme, and then The Granting Of The Awards (can you hear the drumroll?):

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1. Where is your cell phone? Either in my bag or in a basket on a side table. Not sure.

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2. Where is your significant other? Work

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3. Your hair colour? Auburn with wayyyyy too many dark and gray roots showing (MUST get to the hairdresser this week!)

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4. Your mother? At home in New England, I'd imagine

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5. Your father? Same

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6. Your favourite thing? My family and friends

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7. Your dream last night? Something very odd involving the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I don't remember the details, but we've finally just gotten caught up to the current episode and I've obviously been watching way too many in a row in our quest to catch up to the current episode (finally made it last night - and while we're on the subject, Izzie is really sleeping with a ghost? Come on! Jumping the shark anyone?)

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8. Your dream/goal? to see my children grow up to be happy, healthy adults, successful in whatever path they choose

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9. The room you're in? living/dining room (open plan)

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10. Your hobby? blogging and photography

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11. Your fear? I've got some heavy duty ones, but how about we just go with bugs for now, okay?

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12. Where do you want to be in six years? Right here.

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13. Where were you last night? Home, recuperating from an afternoon of company

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14. What you're not? Drinking coffee. Need to fix that.

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15. One of your wish list items? an updated version of PSE - should be getting that in just a few weeks, and it should be a LOT easier to work with!

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16. Where you grew up? Suburban NY

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17. The last thing you did? Ate some leftover tortilla chips

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18. What are you wearing? jeans and a tank top

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19. Your TV? off

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20. Your pet? the last fish finally died, so none. We're thinking about getting an aquarium though.

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21. Your computer? piece of crap provided by my company

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22. Your mood? not bad

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23. Missing someone? Yes. Since I finally joined Facebook I've been feeling very nostalgic and missing a bunch of old friends.

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24. Your car? nothing special

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25. Something you're not wearing? socks and shoes

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26. Favourite store? The gourmet place down the road, and Target, where I can get hundreds of dollars worth of stuff I never knew I needed in the first place LOL. (It becomes a bit of a pilgrimage when you don't have regular access to one.)

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27. Your summer? Long, hot, dry and wonderful

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28. Love someone? three someones :-)

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29. Your favourite colour? changes from day to day

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30. Last time you cried? Last week

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31. When is the last time you laughed? Maya cracked me up this morning

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Now for the bling :-)

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From Sunshine - this one goes with the meme, so snag it for yourself if you grab the meme. I'll award it to anyone who needs a little extra help with blog fodder this month:

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And this lovely one came from Dawn, who made my head swell with her kind words about my blog and my photography. I'm going to pass it along to Stacey from Is There Any Mommy Out There? whose writing can make me keel over with laughter or well up with tears, AND, she's just packed up three young children and taken them to live on Saipan for three months, to Leora from Here in HP, whose blog runs the gamut from deep thoughts about religion to recipes to lovely photos and original artwork, and to Elizabeth from Planet Nomad and Grace at Sandier Pastures for sharing glimpses into their lives in far away places so different from my own. Grace has just received a new camera, too, and is becoming quite the shutterbug.
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Happy reading :-).
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PS I know someone else tagged me for a meme about two weeks ago, but for the life of me I can't remember who it was. Speak up and remind me, would you? I'm not ignoring you on purpose.

TT - Random Meme on Steroids

Follow That Dog just tagged me for a six random things meme, and since I hadn't done a meme for a while and didn't have anything lined up for this week's Thursday Thirteen I figured I'd go for broke and give you not six but thirteen, yes thirteen, random facts about me me me. Now, to come up with them...

1. It drives me crazy when tv writers don't fact-check well enough. I'm sitting here watching CSI New York as I type and they keep talking about the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, putting emphasis on the hard g. The thing is, the g is supposed to be silent, the word is actually pronounced "Aya".

2. I know this because before I had kids I spent the better part of a year working in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

3. It's not nearly as exciting as it sounds.

4. My husband took my son to the championship soccer match between the Israeli and Italian youth (up to age 21 so including several stars). Last time I flipped channels, we were losing 3 -1 with not much time left.

5. I was all set to eat a salad for dinner tonight (not my usual fare and I was feeling quite virtuous) when I found a nasty caterpillar in the bag - and caterpillar poop all over the place.

6. Needless to say I didn't have salad after all.

7. At that point nothing really appealed and I ended up eating a bowl of honey nut cornflakes.

8. Now it's a few hours later and I'm hungry but still nothing appeals.

9. Not even the delicious fresh sourdough bread that Jay made earlier today.

10. Maybe it's because I have a headache.

11. We finally found a pullout couch that will fit in our very small and overcrowded guest/computer/storage/bicycle room, but it's from Ikea.

12. I really don't like shopping at Ikea.

13. But it's probably better than telling my parents they have to sleep on the floor next time they visit. Maybe. If I don't have to go on a Friday. I think. (Luckily my parents don't read this blog. Heck, they don't even know about it.)

There, that's thirteen. Done. Not exactly Shakespeare. What can I say, such is my oh so fascinating life. Hey, how about this? Instead of tagging, why don't you guys each leave me one fascinating fact about yourselves in the comments. Come on, you know you wanna... Pleeeeeeease...

The very very not short dear god it's long meme

Don't worry Domestic Spaz, I still love you.

Ok, plunging right in now...

Favorite person (outside family)? My best friends, they don't read my blog (because I haven't told them I have one) but they know who they are

Favorite food? Pasta

Quirks about you? None. I'm perfect in every way. Sorry, if you haven't fallen on the floor laughing rest assured I'm just kidding. I'm one of Six Billion Eccentrics. (Listen to track 10. Then listen to the rest, especially if you like singer-songwriters. The tracks are wonderfully diverse, I'm a big fan. Just saw him perform here in Israel last week actually.)

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? No idea and he's sleeping so I can't ask right now.

Any regrets in life? None I haven't come to terms with

Favorite Charity/Cause? Breastfeeding support and promoting peace and tolerance

Favorite Blog recently? There are way too many to limit it to just one.

Something you can’t get enough of? Time

Worst job you’ve ever had? Data entry clerk in a pre-computerized firm (yes, I am old enough to remember the bad old days)

What job would you pay NOT to have? Pretty much any job on that BBC Worst Jobs show - they go century by century describing the worst jobs imaginable. The one who cleaned the sausage casings so they could be made into violin strings would probably rank in my top three.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? Inside my daughter's head. I'd really like to better understand what she's thinking. Not a literal fly in her head though, because that would be disgusting.

Favorite Bible verse right now? Not relevant

Guilty Pleasure? Eating gourmet chocolate chips straight out of the package

Got any confessions? I just tore into the bag of milk chocolate chips I bought to make chocolate lollipops for this Friday, when it's my daughter's turn to bring a treat to preschool.

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? Shopping spree, and several days at a spa.

Favorite thing about your house? My kitchen, especially the tiles we chose for the backsplash (see the picture in my header)

Least favorite thing about your house? The plumbing. This place is cursed when it comes to anything water.

One thing you are bad at? Following through on things

One thing you’re good at? Empathizing

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? I'd give myself job security

Who would you like to meet someday? Definitely all my internet friends. Some of us have known each other for nine years already without ever having met face to face!

What makes you feel sexy? The right clothes

Who is your real life hero? WhyMommy. Her strength and courage amaze and inspire me.

What is the hardest part of your job? Self-discipline

When are you most relaxed? weekend mornings

What stresses you out? time pressure, being overcommitted

What can you not live without? chocolate. Oh, and air.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? It's much too broad to be taken seriously.

Why do you blog? For the sense of community it engenders

Who are you tagging? Whoever feels up to responding to this mongo meme!

My life in a (very small) nutshell

A few weeks ago Angie tagged me for the six word memoir meme, where you have to sum up your life in just six words, which I might add is an awful lot harder than it looks. I've been pondering it on and off since then, and after much deliberation and hand-wringing I've come up with this:

Family and friends keep me strong.

I'm not traveling this path alone. I may not know what is around the next bend but I know that whatever it is, good or bad, I won't be facing it alone. I know that I will be wrapped in a blanket of love and support. I know that my family and my wonderful, wonderful friends both outside and inside of my computer will be right there rejoicing in my joys and crying with me over my sorrows. All of you, you make me strong. You keep me strong. I couldn't do it without you. Thank you.

Now I'm going to throw this one out to all of you prolific writers out there. Who wants to take up the challenge of summing up their entire life in just six words? Post your entry and come let me know in the comments. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys come up with.

6.5 Random Things

Myrtle Beached Whale over at Myrtle Beach Ramblings tagged me for the 6 random things meme a while ago, and Lia from Swirling Notions for the 7, so I'm going to combine the two and give you, yes, 6.5 random but oh so fascinating tidbits about my life:

1. I LOVE LOVE LOVE iced coffee. I rarely drink it during the winter but as soon as the weather warms up it becomes my beverage of choice. I keep a pitcher of coffee in the fridge and help myself to it all day long, order it whenever I go out, pretty much all the time. And yet, each spring, I spend the first few weeks wondering why on earth I feel so wired all the time. Yes, I'm a slow learner.

2. I just bought a fitball and am sitting on that instead of on the dining room chair I usually sit on at the computer (when I'm at the dining room table instead of sitting at the island - obviously a ball couldn't replace a stool). I'm hoping this will help my back without having to go buy a fancy office chair that would then clutter up my living room. This way I only have a giant blue ball cluttering up the room, but the kids are having a (wait for it) ball (a ball? get it? I crack myself up sometimes) playing with it so I don't mind as much.

3. I cannot stand fish (the eating kind, not the aquarium kind, I love aquariums). The only fish I can bear to eat are tuna from a can, salmon, and jarred gefilte fish (not the real stuff, it's too fishy). I wish I liked fish, it's healthy, on every menu here in Israel, and supposedly very tasty for those who can stand it. I just can't do it though. No fish for me.

4. When I first visited Hungary eight or so years ago I finally realized that it's not my fault that I have such a weakness for overwhelmingly rich creamy and oh so unhealthy sauces - it's genetic! The proof was right there - I come from an entire country full of cream sauce lovers who wouldn't recognize most vegetables if they jumped off the plate and bit them! Which isn't likely since there were very few vegetables on the menu at all. I have managed to learn to love a lot of vegetables, but the cream sauce thing is apparently insurmountable. It's part of my genetic makeup and I may as well just concede defeat and enjoy it. Besides, it's a lot more fun than the whole self-deprivation thing.

5. I really feel like baking ultra-cute little decorated cookies today, which would be an incredibly stupid thing to do just before Passover, so I'm not going to do it. I will let the cookie decorating book I bought sit there and taunt me until the holiday is over. Bah.

6. I still remember how to make a serviceable origami cup out of looseleaf paper. My kid thought that was a very cool thing.

6.5 I must remember to...

I'm tagging any of you who want to play along - leave me a note in comments so I can swing by for a visit.

Tagged! and Bling!

Lucy from LuLu's Petals tagged me for the 5 random things meme a while back.

These are the rules :

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2. A. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog; or

B. Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list; or

C. Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when you were 25 years old.

3. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

I'll go for A - five random facts:

1. I'm banned for life from wearing contact lenses. My eyes are too dry and the lenses end up stuck to my eyes. Not good.

2. Our house is home to the amazing travelling betta fish - he was blue, then went off on vacation and came back with a suntan (red), then went back to being blue again once the "tan" faded, and now he's off on vacation again. He will reappear as soon as I get around to visiting the pet store ;-).

3. Our home, like most in Israel, is built of concrete blocks. Because of this and because it doesn't get any afternoon sun, it's actually colder INSIDE than it is outside. It's a gorgeous day out but I'm sitting here with the heat on because it's freezing inside!

4. I have an incredible weakness for chocolate frosting straight from the can. Thankfully it isn't available in Israel right now.

5. I can still speak "Ibe" language - a crazy imaginary language my bunkmates and I all spoke one summer at sleepaway camp. Our counselor's name was Eve, which was too easily recognized in Ibe, so instead since she didn't shave we called her Hairy (in Ibe) all summer long so that we could talk about her behind her back right to her face. She deciphered Ibe language by the end of the summer and was able to understand everything we'd been saying about her. 11-year old girls can be very cruel. I hope we didn't hurt her feelings too badly.

I'm going to leave this tag open for anyone who'd like to do it. If you do leave a note in comments so that I can swing by for a visit.

And now for the bling:

I've got a whole heap of bright shiny goodness to pass out. (Yes, I really should do this before it all piles up in an embarrassing heap, shouldn't I...)




First is the True Blue award from Maddy - if you haven't discovered her wonderful writing and insights into parenting both typical and autistic children you are really missing out. And she said I was witty too. Love that woman. Love her.

I'm going to award this one to the amazing and incredible Susan - WhyMommy. If anyone epitomizes inspiration it is Susan. Help cheer her on as she beats inflammatory breast cancer.


Both Janet and Susan surprised me with the You Make My Day award. These are two amazing women.

Janet takes the most beautiful photographs and writes about all sorts of things, from Lord of the Rings to delicious recipes for Japanese food (and I will hopefully get to meet her next summer!).

Susan is working her tail off to give publishing life to Trevor and the rest of the ShapeShifter gang over at West of Mars. Go read their antics and you'll agree that this woman deserves a big fat book contract! And, she's very generously sending me a book just because the title is the same as my birthday!

This one goes to Melissa Garrett, who always makes my day with a funny story or an inspiring post from the trenches of a WAH writer/mother, and to Grace over at Sandier Pastures. One of my most faithful readers, where would I be without Grace's generous spirit and her fascinating insights into a country that is near and yet still so far away from me.

I'm also passing it to Josie Two-Shoes (no link) because her latest news has put a big huge smile on my face, and to all of you readers out there. Just knowing that you are there, actually reading what I write, makes my day. Love you guys.


Next up is the M'Wah award from Grace.

I'm going to plant my own big sloppy one on Jen, Just Jen, Maddy and Kelley (who gets an extra one since its her 18th anniversary today - it is still today in Australia, isn't it?), for helping me and cheering me on as I figure out what it means to be the mother of a very special child.



And last but very definitely not least, this one from Suprina, who I didn't even realize was still reading and who said one of the very nicest things anyone has ever said to me.

This one I am going to pass back to Susan, for all the hard work she is doing to promote her fellow writers, and to Phyllis, who is the coolest rabbi mama I know. She's got all sorts of great things going on on her blog - and I'm going to meet her soon too, because she's coming to Israel for a visit!

What was that again?

A few week's ago Angie from Seven Clown Circus tagged me for the Read It Again meme. This is a fun one because it gives you a chance to revisit some old favorites, perhaps even some that were lost in the internet shuffle during the days when you only had 2.4 readers a week... I first answered this meme here, so you if you look at that one you'll actually get twice as much bang for your meme buck. There are posts there that even I've forgotten about. Good ones, too.

So here's how it works. Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:

Link 1 must be about family.

Link 2 must be about friends.

Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.

Link 4 must be about something you love.

Link 5 can be anything you choose.

This is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone has written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better. And don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

So here are mine:

Link 1 - Family: Family History As Seen Through A Rolling Pin

Link 2 - Friends: International Ice Cream For Breakfast Day

Link 3 - What I'm All About: Is it the events, or is it the moments? and It's The Little Things

Link 4 - Something I love: Since I love writing, how about this, or this, or this.

Link 5 - Wild Card: The Old Man of the Mountain

I'm going to tag whoever out there hasn't done this one yet and is interested. Please do let me know in the comments if you do it, I'd love to see what you choose. Oh, and I'm also going to tag Maddy, Janet and Grace, since they were kind enough to bestow various awards and bling on me. (See, instead of thanking them properly and passing them on (which I will get to SOON, I promise) I'm giving them homework. Nice of me, isn't it?)

All about me me me

I enjoyed Meredith's interview over at Poppy Fields a few weeks ago so much that I asked her to send me some questions too. And now weeks later here they are (sorry Meredith, it's been nuts around here lately).

So now without further ado...

1) You may have already posted this story once, but how did you meet your husband?

Jay and I met in college when I was a freshman and he was a junior. We were both invited to a planning meeting of the campus' Zionist student organization. We met, dated all through college, got married and actually moved to Israel. In other words, we were their perfect poster children LOL. Actually, we both ended up very involved in the organization's activities and my college years wouldn't have been the same without them. It's amazing how idealistic you can be at 20...

2) If money wasn't an issue, where would you like to live and what would you be doing there?

I fantasize about a life of the idly wealthy. I'd have a gorgeous penthouse on the beach in Tel Aviv, another in Manhattan with a view of the park, a villa on some tropical island (Greece? Thailand? the BVI? the possibilities fantasies are endless), a gorgeous big light Parisian apartment, and (yes AND) a small estate somewhere in Tuscany. Oh, and the yacht. Can't forget the superyacht. Such lovely daydreams, so very far from reality...

I copied this off another interview I read, but I like the question so...
3) What was your favorite board game as a child and why?

I was never a huge fan of board games, but I loved playing Mille Bornes. Hmm, maybe I'll buy a set and teach my son to play.

Because I think I'm a foodie...
4) What is your favorite holiday food and can you share the recipe please?

I'm a foodie too, but in truth the holidays are not my favorite food-wise. I'm all about traditional food on the holidays but very far from that the rest of the year. My own cooking style tends to be a lot more ethnic, spicier, and just plain more fun. I'll cheat here and say that my favorite holiday dessert at the moment is this flourless chocolate cake. It's from the Gluten-Free Goddess, and if this particular recipe is any indication she is truly a goddess - it's divine. Good enough in fact that I made it again for Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) despite the fact that I could have used all the flour I wanted for that one. I'm also incredibly proud of myself for finally figuring out that the gluten-free websites would be a great source of flour-free Passover desserts. I was desperate for a change from fruit compote and Aunt Sadie's peach cobbler... If I really had to pick a traditional dish it would be my chicken soup with matza balls. They're damn good, if I do say so myself:

(Everyone knows how to make chicken broth, so I'll leave that bit out and just give the recipe for the matza balls.)

Robin's Matza Balls
Makes about 12, can be easily doubled (or even tripled if you're expecting a crowd)

4 large eggs
1/2 cup water
6 Tbl (85g) melted margarine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 C matza meal (basically matza flour, it's easily available in Jewish areas around Passover)

In a medium-sized bowl beat the eggs, water, margarine, salt and pepper with a fork until blended. Stir in matza meal. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour so the matza meal can absorb the liquid (and to make it easier to work with).

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat so it's boiling gently.

3. REMOVE ALL OF YOUR RINGS (you'll thank me for this one later)

4. Wet your hands with cold water. Roll matza mixture into 2" (or so) balls

5. Carefully drop into water with a slotted spoon. Wait for all matza balls to rise to the surface (if any are stubborn give them a nudge with a spoon). Cook for about 10 or 15 minutes more, until they look lighter in color and a bit "fluffy". Drain and cool.

6. Replace your rings before they get lost. (you're welcome)

7. Add to soup. Heat and serve.

That was fun. Anyone else want to play along? Let me know if you do and I'll send you some questions.

8 things about me

No, it's not filler, this is quality entertainment here! What? You mean I'm NOT endlessly fascinating? I don't believe that, I'm quite certain that the entire world revolves around me.

Ok fine, I'll fess up. I'm incredibly busy at work right now and don't have time to keep up with my normal level of drivel witty repartee. Many many moons ago the lovely Helena from Thrice-Blessed Momma (who seems to be on a blogging break right now, hopefully she'll return soon) tagged me for the 8 things meme so here goes...

1. I am deathly allergic, as in if I have it I will keel over and die, to both penicillin and sulfa, the two most popular groups of antibiotics. Makes it fun when I need one, which is luckily pretty rarely.

2. Once in a while as a grocery shopping day treat I still eat my favorite breakfast from high school - a bagel with cream cheese and bbq potato chips (yes, inside the bagel). Don't knock if till you've tried it, it's delicious. Something about the combination of creamy rich and spicy...

3. My middle back started spasming this evening. I can barely move, and picking up my daughter is completely impossible. I tried it and screamed. Then I dropped her. Luckily she was standing and it was just a few inches to the floor.

4. I have absolutely no self-discipline. I lost a bunch of weight last year but have gained half of it back because I can't keep my damn mouth shut. I hate that about me, and I hate that I look this way again. It's really sucking the life out of me.

5. I did that "what reading level is your blog" thingie and it came back as post-graduate. I'm secretly proud of that but it sounds conceited to say that so I won't.

6. I'm freezing right now, but my sweatshirt is in the other room. I'd go get it but I'm sitting with Maya trying to get her to fall asleep and she's finally quieting down a bit. I don't want to chance it. (No flaming, this sitting with her is the suggestion of her therapist and is supposed to help her switch off at the end of the day and move more easily from awake to asleep. She backslid terribly in the sleep department while we were away and we're both very frustrated right now.)

(This is harder than it looks...)

7. I loathe brussel sprouts.

8. I used to speak completely fluent French, I would often even dream in French, but nearly 20 years of speaking Hebrew have driven it out of my head. It's as if my brain goes into "foreign language mode" and whichever language is closest to the surface is the one that pops out. Sadly, that's not French and while I can still read a bit and can manage a very rudimentary conversation, anything beyond "I'd like milk in my coffee" or "Do you have a double room for the weekend of July 12th?" is a real challenge. Hard to believe that I was writing papers on medieval French literature in college... (Gargantua et Pantagruel anyone?)

Oh, and while I'm at it I'll respond to Kelley's desktop meme from ages ago: I have a work-issue computer that often gets serviced remotely and as a result it has the bog standard blue screen. I used to have a photograph of my kids, but the IT guy gave me some kind of ridiculous crap about it sucking memory (I think that was easier for him than trying to actually figure out why the damn thing kept crashing all the time) and made me switch to the blue. There, I've answered. Sorry Kelley, nothing racy here, not even the meagrest pair of beach sandals...

Catching up - the book meme

I've been tagged for a bunch of memes lately (and not so lately) that I haven't had a chance to get to. My parents are gone now and I have a small lull before a major work project hits, so this seems like as good a chance to play catch up as I'll ever get.

Fourier Analyst tagged me for the book meme AGES ago, so I'll start with that one:

Total Number of Books I own - I have no idea, but I suspect it's still well up into the hundreds despite the recent purges. I give books I know I won't want to reread to my cleaner, but anything I even remotely liked tends to stay on my shelves forever. And that's not even counting the hundreds of children's books we have. Those are even more fun now that Itai is learning to read English and Maya is suddenly discovering that she enjoys sitting still to let mommy read to her on occasion. (The current flavor of the week is the Hebrew translation of Not Now, Bernard by David McKee, which she got from her preschool's library, but If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and David Gets In Trouble are perennial bedtime favorites.)

Last Book Read - The last book I finished was Alice Steinbach's Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman, read, apppropriately enough, on the plane home from Italy. A lovely, engaging read and definitely one to get you reflecting on the path your own life is taking and the choices you're making each day. The book I'm reading now is Reay Tannahill's absolutely fascinating Food in History. A must-read for any foodie. This is a reread actually. I owned this book years ago but it went missing after I lent it out. After years I saying "gee, I really wish I could reread the section on X Y or Z," I finally just went out and bought it again. The good news is it's been updated since I last read it, so I'm on a hunt for new little gems. Next up is probably Tommy Sands' The Songman, which so far I've just had time to skim but it looks enchanting. Either that or whatever it was that I am supposed to be reading for my next book club meeting, but we all know how I tend to procrastinate with those...

Last Book Purchased - I bought a bunch of books online just before my parents came (gotta love that free international delivery service). They included several Florence guidebooks (regular and food-oriented), Food In History, and a mystery novel that will be revealed in a later TT. No, I won't tell you what it is right now.

Five Meaningful Books -

Though I tend to read quite serious books for my book club (no, I don't usually select them, how did you guess?), when left to my own devices I tend away from that towards the much more fun classic escapist literature. Here are five of my favorites, and yes, I cheated by selecting series. Sue me.

Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide series - because it simply doesn't get any better than this.

The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley - not meaningful per se, but great fun and one I find myself coming back to time and again.

The Harry Potter series - not only is this a cracking good story, but also anything that has gotten an entire generation of children to embrace reading needs to be taken seriously.

Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series - a great peek into Britain's Navy during the Napoleanic Wars, as seen through the eyes of one of literature's great pairs - Captain Jack Aubrey and Ship's Surgeon Stephen Maturin. I was absolutely bereft when the last one ended, mid-sentence, left unfinished by the author's death.

CS Lewis' The Narnia Chronicles - as much fun to read now as they were when I was a child, particularly if I ignore the religious overtones. I still have the same set I received when I was nine, pages falling out and much loved. We read the entire series to Itai this year and now he loves them too. For Hannukah this year (otherwise known as the Festival of Overly Expensive Big Budget Children's Musicals here in Israel) I'm taking him to see a (Hebrew language) musical that they've made of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. (We'll be doing that instead of Festigal this year (his choice), though I did agree to buy the Festigal dvd. I wasn't going to shell out for tickets to both though. There are limits...)

Stolen meme

I stole this from someone a while ago (Vader's Mom maybe?) and have been holding it in reserve for a day when I'm busy with my visiting parents and don't have time to blog (which is why a few of the answers may not make sense).


What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now? My bathtub is in the main bathroom downstairs. It has one bar of palmolive (out of reach). The kids' bath soap is kept in the closet because Maya likes to dump in the entire bottle and make herself the bubble bath to end all bubble baths


Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? Watermelon season is over here


What would you change about your living room? We desperately to get rid of the ugly bog-standard Israeli shutters and get curtains, but Jay and I can't agree on what to get so it stays this way


Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? clean (and it should have been my turn, too. Thanks dear!)


What’s in your fridge? leftover birthday cake, Thai-style spicy shrimp curry, assorted fruits and vegetables, an insane number of condiments, a few soft white cheeses (no hard cheese, I need to get to the store), beer, wine, some sliced turkey, diet soda, fresh OJ, apple juice, milk, a bottle of grape juice I forgot to serve at Maya's party, and other assorted odds and ends


White or wheat bread? homemade, so whatever Jay felt like making. Usually some kind of mixed organic white/wheat, but lately he's been on a crusty Italian loaf kick


What is on top of your refrigerator? You had to ask that... A plastic cube holding memo paper, extra keys (ours and others), 3 aluminum baking pans (2 I need for Maya's preschool party cake and the 3rd I haven't the faintest idea how or why it got there), post-it notes, a strange plastic butter dish we got free from the supermarket and have never used, dishwasher polish refill, stainless steel cleaner, a package of cleaning wipes, pencil holder with assorted pens and pencils, Astonish cleanser for the counters, expired graham cracker pie crust that I bought because I'd never seen one sold in Israel before but then never made the cheesecake for, a friend's tupperware that I keep forgetting to return (because of course I can't see it up there), and a whole lot of dust. You had to ask, didn't you...


What color or design is on your shower curtain? No curtains, we have glass shower doors

How many plants in your home? Inside - 2 in various stages of dying, Roof - about 20, which are mostly surprisingly not dead at the moment! Look here to see why this is so shocking.

Is your bed made right now? No


Comet or Soft Scrub? Astonish (like Soft Scrub)


Can you describe your flashlight? Lost somewhere in the house and more than likely with dead batteries anyway


Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? glass

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? nope, I've got iced coffee


If you have a garage, is it cluttered? We have assigned spots in a communal underground garage (I live in a high-rise in a typical "urban" suburb)


Curtains or blinds? Israeli-style horizontal shutters - very ugly, but practical


How many pillows do you sleep with? I've slept with 2 for years, but I've had a lot of neck and back soreness lately so I'm trying to wean myself onto just one


Do you sleep with any lights on at night? We don't, but I leave the downstairs hall light on for the kids


How often do you vacuum? Not all that often, only the kids' bedrooms have carpeting and there's a rug in the living room. The rest of the floors are all tiled.


Standard toothbrush or electric? Standard, but I've been thinking of trying electric


What color is your toothbrush? white and blue


Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? yes


What is in your oven right now? the oven trays


Is there anything under your bed? drawers, I have a platform bed


Chore you hate doing the most? cleaning toilets!


What retro items are in your home? some of the older cookbooks in my collection (displayed over my upper kitchen shelves)


Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? bwahahahaha


How many mirrors are in your home? 7, I think


Do you have any hidden emergency money in your home? Not telling that one to the internet, sorry

What color are your walls? mostly cream

Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home? a ferocious zebra fish

What does your home smell like right now? cut grass, they're landscaping outside. You wouldn't think that would waft up nine floors, but it does. It's making me sneeze!


Favorite candle scent? maybe vanilla, I don't really have one


What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? VERY spicy ones that Jay bought instead of the yummy mini-gherkins I'd asked him for


What color is your favorite Bible? Not relevant


Ever been on your roof? Of course, I live in a penthouse so our roof is a patio


Do you own a stereo? not anymore, it died. Since then we've been using the dvd player and cable box


How many TV’s do you have? 2

How many house phones? 3 extensions, but 2 are cordless


Do you have a housekeeper? yes

What style do you decorate in? modern


Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? solids


Is there a smoke detector in your home? not in our home, but the building does have right outside our door. Buildings here are generally built of concrete and cinder block, and I don't use freestanding heaters either, so fire is not a major threat.


What are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? my kids of course. After that my laptop and my photo albums.

Monday Meme Madness

I've been tagged for two different memes recently. I'm busy working this week and don't have much time for blogging so I figured this would be a good time to fall back on a meme instead.

Grace from Sandier Pastures wants to know 8 facts about my mother:

1. My mother went away to college after 10th grade. She skipped 11th and 12th grades because her small town high school didn't have that much to offer.

2. She's missing the lower joint on both of her thumbs and didn't know that was abnormal until she got to college, where she thought her roommate was double-jointed.

3. Because of that she can't snap.

4. She loves music but her own musical talent is limited to playing the "squeaky magic marker".

5. She looks a lot younger than she is. (Unfortunately, I didn't inherit that particular characteristic. I got her hips instead.)

6. She made my sister and I great birthday cakes when we were growing up and my desire to give my own children those same kinds of fun memories is the reason I got so into birthday cakes for my own kids. Of course my mother now claims that she never worked as hard as I do, that I've embellished my memories.

7. My mother put up with a LOT of crap from me during my teenage years and still never faltered in her love and support.

8. Today my mom is one of my best friends. She (and my dad) are coming for a visit in a few weeks and I can't wait!

Shelly over at This Eclectic Life also tagged me, this time for the middle name meme:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.

4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

5. Don’t forget to link back to the person that tagged you in the beginning

Thankfully I have a short middle name. I hated it growing up because it was too different (and because one mean little girl called me "heinie" to make fun of it) but today I'm grateful for my parents' choice. My middle is Hani, which is Hungarian for Hannah and which was my great-grandmother's name. My grandmother's entire family was wiped out in the Holocaust, so it's a great honor to be able to carry a small piece of it forward.

H - heart. I'd like to think that I've got a lot of heart.
A - animated. I'm always talking or gesturing. I find it nearly impossible to not fidget.
N - night owl. Yup, that's me.
I - independent. I do like to go my own way, whether it's fashion, music, choice of career, whatever. I like to do what works for me, not what's trendy.

There, done, time to get back to work. Whoever would like to do one of these, consider yourselves tagged and have fun with it.

Linky - The Meme

Amy tagged me for this (new to me) meme last week, and I'm finally getting the chance to respond. It's an interesting one for me because I get to show off a few of my favorite posts again, and I love the caveat that two of the tags need to be people you want to get to know better.

Here's how to play:

You must post 5 links to posts you've written. At least two of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better . . . and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

Link 1 must be about family: Sometimes Mothers Really Do Know Best

Link 2 must be about friends: Tapenade, Chili Butter, and Death By Scrabble

Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are, what you’re all about: No Market For Used Teenagers

Link 4 must be about something you love: Jacob's Ladder

Link 5 can be anything you choose: Vacation Memories

The folks I am tagging are: Janice, Shelly, who's usually overwhelmed with tags but I really want to see what she comes up with for this one, Margalit, Fourier Analyst, LaLa, whose beautiful blog I just discovered last week, and anyone else who wants to play along. Just leave me a link to let me know and I'll post it here.

Fun Monday + Loads of Gifty Goodness

Do you have any suggestions for The Great Gift Hunt of 2007? Great, I thought you might. Just leave them in the comments and get some link love to promote your work or your favorite gift site. Scroll down for the first crop of great links.

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I saw this on Christine's blog and it looked like fun, so I decided to play too. You need to show pictures of your refrigerator, WITHOUT cleaning it first.

It happens that I saw this while I was waiting for my groceries to be delivered, so in the interests of blogging integrity I now present you with my fridge - before and after a small to medium-sized shopping trip.

Before, looking a bit sparce

And after, a bit fuller (though not as full as it was later after I went to the greengrocer)

And the freezer

Not too bad. Now, if I could just find something to eat...

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And now for some great readers' gift ideas for my soon to be four niece and soon to be born nephew:

Melissa Garrett, herself quite the crafter, recommended Jen Way of BeeBee Mod
for unique onesies and toddler/kid tees , and Stacy of Mamas Doodles for the cutest tails and tutus. (See her comment on the Gift Hunt post for more info.)

Shelly from This Eclectic Life suggested a teepee from Target, and what kid wouldn't love a teepee of their very own.

Rachel from Mommy Rumination, another one who knows her way around a needle, e-mailed me a whole bunch of great links for everything from cutesie aprons to purses, crocheted or otherwise, to crayon rolls to way cool clothing.

Thanks you guys, those are terrific suggestions!

Doncha Just Hate It When...

Margalit tagged me for a new meme called "Doncha Just Hate It When". You need to list 8 different things that drive you completely up a friggin' tree. Gee, I think I can do that... (Should be easy considering how bad a mood I've been in this weekend. Can anyone say "crazy woman at the mercy of her hormones"?) Ok, here goes...

1. DYJHIW the person in front of you in the supermarket check out line can't find their card, then asks 1,000 questions, then needs to send the checkout clerk to go bring razor blades or cigarettes or perhaps a case of soda, then needs to hear about the 12 different specials, then argues over the price of the meat they thought was on sale but isn't, then... All while you stand there holding a carton of milk and a container of cottage cheese, both of which will surely have gone sour by the time you're finally able to make your purchase.

2. DYJHIW your children take temporary leave of their senses and turn into demon spawn, who will surely vaporize in a ball of fire if they dare listen to so much as one word you say. (Bad day much Robin? Actually, today is ok, but this was definitely my yesterday.)

3. DYJHIW you finally decide on something you absolutely, positively must have for dinner, only to discover that you're missing one crucial and unobtainable ingredient.

4. DYJHIW you finally have the chance to go out for a date night and you can't get a friggin' babysitter, despite having TEN (!!) of them in your pda. (Damn girls are getting older and way too popular. Why should they get to go out on a date when I can't?)

5. DYJHIW someone in the house (who shall remain nameless but is 5'11" and has a first name starting with "J") puts your white sock in a dark load - thus dyeing it PINK and ruining a good pair of tennis socks.

6. DYJHIW you get stuck behind some idiot going at a slow crawl in the fast lane on the highway.

7. DYJHIW that same idiot has cut you off to do this.

8. DYJHIW you wake up one morning, at an age much closer to 40 than you'd like to admit, only to discover that along with the gray hair you're trying very hard to cover up and the damage that gravity has done to your already barely there boobs, you now have a GIANT ZIT right in the middle of your cheek! Gray hair and zits simultaneously, there is truly no justice in the world...

Whew, that was cathartic...

I'm going to tag Fairly Odd Mother, Shari, Meredith, Jen and Janet for this one. Happy bitching girls. Once you all finish reading HP that is, no one expects anything until then of course LOL.

Five on Friday

I didn't feel like blogging about the much more serious issue of what's going on with Maya and her issues today, so I decided to stick my head in the sand and try out a new meme I just stumbled across instead. Of course I could do one of the two memes I was just tagged for, but I want to give those a bit more thought first.

So without further ado, here is my inaugural issue of Five on Friday:

1. Have you ever worn hand-me-downs? Who did you get them from?
Sure. I got stuff from an older cousin all the time as a child. These days I occasionally get clothes from girlfriends, but not often.

2. Have you ever given hand-me-downs? Who did you give them to?
My sister has gotten lots of my baby clothes, since I know she'll return them should I ever decide to need them again. Other local friends get other clothes, and we've got a major circular equipment swap with a number of other friends. The idea being to keep all the large, hard to store stuff in permanent circulation until you need it again. I haven't seen my exersaucer in years, or my baby bucket either!

3. How do you feel about hand-me-downs in general? Do you like the idea of recycling things or does it bother you to have something used?
I like it. It's gentler on the planet. It's crazy to spend so much money and use so many resources for things you'll use for a very short time.

4. Do you ever visit yard sales? (maybe you call them garage sales, tag sales, junk sales, etc...)
I would if they had them in Israel, but they don't really. Maybe because most of us don't have garages, lawns to hold a sale on, or the ability to store enough crap to warrant one. We do have kids toy swaps though.

5. If given $25,000 to buy furniture and decorate your home, would you buy new pieces or antiques? Why?
New. I like vintage clothing sometimes, and have no problem at all with hand-me-downs for my kids, but for home decorating I prefer a much more modern, cleaner (as in cleaner lines) look.