The Gates are Closed

It's 10:00 a.m. the morning after Yom Kippur and, as my chicken defrosts in the sink so that I can cook for Shabbos, I figured I'd update the blog about my Yom Kippur experience.

According to the Jerusalem Post, 120 women went into labor yesterday and B"H I was not one of them. Erev Yom Kippur, Pidgeon and I had a whirlwind of a day getting ready. He woke up at 6:30 a.m. and I didn't see him again until 2:30 p.m.! In between, Pidgeon went to minyan, the mikvah, the cemetary, the makolet and then to micha. Meanwhile, I waited at home with breakfast on the table until he called to say he wasn't going to make breakfast. Then, I made him lunch, but by the time he came home there wasn't time to eat lunch. So, that was wrapped and put back into the fridge. We had an hour to get dressed, showered, packed and ready to go to his parents for Seudat Hamafseket.

His parents house was a zoo, as his brother is in town from London with the very pregnant wife and 4 children! There were 6 kids practically running, crying and screaming all over the house from the moment we arrived until the time we left for Kol Nidrei. I managed to quickly scarf down my meal and then went downstairs to brush my teeth, drink another bottle of water and try to get into the right frame of mind for the Yom Tov.

It's so different being married then it was when I was single and living at home with my parents. My parents run their lives practically on military time, there would never be an instance before Yom Kippur where we would be hectic. Everything was planned precisely, between what time we ate the last meal, how long that meal lasted, and getting dressed and ready to get to shul. I've never, in my entire life, missed any parts of Kol Nidrei.

Until this year. Fortunately, I didn't miss that much, so I wasn't too upset. But, I did get there in the middle of the first recitation of Kol Nidrei and I was so hot and sweaty from the long sleeve sweater I was wearing and the hike up the stairs to the top floor of the minyan. It was very uncomfortable for me in shul, as it was very crowded and the AC just wasn't working well. That, and with a full bladder and the baby resting on the bladder, I was running to the bathroom every few minutes. Of course, during one of my bathroom runs, I got caught in the back by everyone davening shmonei esrei, so I just took a seat and waited for the crowd to thin so I could get back to my seat.

The minyan ended fairly early and I was looking at about 5 hours until shot time. Everyone in the house was exhausted and that included Pidgeon. So, I shipped him down to bed and told him I would wake him for the shot, and I fought the exhaustion and stayed up as long as I could. By 10:00 p.m. I couldn't take it anymore, so I woke Pidgeon up and did the shot as quickly as I could! I was asleep by 11:00 p.m., which was really great since the AC was on a shabbos clock and it went off at 12:30 p.m. and that's when I got all hot again.

Unlike Tisha B'av, where I was besieged with thirst all through the night, I didn't feel parched at all. I did make the decision not to go to shul during the day though, especially since I was so uncomfortable during Kol Nidrei, I knew had I gone to shul during the day I wouldn't make it through the fast.

I slept in and then got dressed and davened in the living room. It only took about 2 hours to daven everything, and that included reading through the Torah readings, and still no one returned from shul. So, I went downstairs, changed back into PJ's, and just laid down. I was already getting anxious about not making it through the fast, so I kept repeating to myself that I was a strong woman who could make it through the fast!

Pidgeon got home around 12:20 and we napped until it was time for mincha. I decided to daven mincha at home and then walked to shul for neilah. I couldn't manage the steps back to the upstairs minyan, and so I found a seat in the main shul and just stood during neilah when I could and sat when I couldn't. By the time we got to avenu malkainu, I was an emotional wreck. That's what Yom Kippur does to me, it's just 24 hours of tension. 

Wondering if my sins are forgiving, wondering what Hashem has in store for me for this year, praying that the baby will be healthy, that Pidgeon and I will be able to support ourselves and the baby during this coming year, that our families will be healthy and be able to support themselves this year too, that our single family and friends will find their basherts and get married this year, etc. 

As soon as the shofar blew, I was a crying mess. Fortunately, the women's section cleared out for maariv and since I couldn't compose myself, I decided to stay and daven with the men. I sat in the corner and just tried to contain the tears but it was very difficult to do. Suddenly, I felt an arm around my shoulder and looked up to see this woman trying to comfort me. She asked me if I was okay, if I was alone and needed some help. I just smiled through the tears and said I was there with my family and was okay.

Crying after Yom Kippur is a family tradition for me. I don't know why, but my Grandmother, mother and sisters all cry after the shofar is blown. It's just this tremendous relief that it's over and we made it. For me this year, it was a combination of many things. 

First, I miss my family terribly especially during the holidays. And, Yom Kippur now is just so different. Gone are the days when the 6 of us would return home from shul in Kew Gardens Hills for the mussaf break, take off our Keds and pull out the cookbooks to plan our Succot menu. It was the best thing we could do so we would avoid speaking Lashon Harah and we were very productive! I miss my Mom's shul bag, the one with the box of tissues and the clear plastic bag for the dirty ones. The room for our glasses cases, and the folded shawls and sweaters for when shul gets cold. I miss the comfortable seats!! It sure beats sitting for hours on wooden folded chairs that just hurts each time you shift. I miss being able to look over the Mechizah and watch my Dad help my Grandfather with his tallit, or observe Daneel and Uncle Seymour leaning up against the pole, and of course my brother towering over all the other men in one of his many designer suits. I don't think that feeling of nostalgia will ever go away - I hope it never does - I just hope as the years go by it will hurt a bit less.

Second, I was so relieved that I didn't have to break my fast. B"H, I actually fasted pretty well. After Neilah, I was very dizzy and needed to get some drink and food into me ASAP, but I made it. And, it was such a source of tension for me the entire day, that the relief was tangible to the point that I needed to just cry to let it all out. 

Third, I spent most of the day thinking about the baby. We have such hopes for this little one. Our prayer that the baby is P"G healthy is first and foremost. That we are good parents is second. That we can support the baby, and care for the baby and do what's right. That the birth should be an easy one without danger for both myself and the baby. That we'll be able to make the baby a very happy home. 

With all this on my head, you can imagine the emotions! Plus, the hormones are still raging, which makes me a very emotional preggo indeed!

We had a great break fast, I think I ate like 3 pieces of cake, some eggs, some pasta with marinara sauce, some pita with cottage cheese and drank an entire bottle of apple juice myself. I had just barely enough energy to pack and get us out of the apartment. By the time we got home, I was so tired I couldn't think about anything. My eyes were closing from all the sugar coursing through my veins and every single muscle in my body hurt. 

I actually do worse after a fast than I do during a fast, and this time was no different. Fortunately, Pidgeon has been through this with me before, and he made sure I was drinking water and relaxing. We went to sleep at Midnight and, with the lovely Jerusalem breeze cooling off the entire apartment, I was able to sleep. I woke up like a million times during the night to use the bathroom, but always managed to fall back to sleep fairly quickly.

Fortunately for me, we are eating out tonight, so I only have to cook lunch. I'm going very, very simple. Some chicken, a vegetable stir fry, a salad and green beans and onions saute. We're trying to stay off of carbs since I weighed myself the other day and I was NOT happy! Although, I did manage to lose 4 pounds over Yom Kippur, so maybe I can contain the weight gain for the rest of the pregnancy. I did however eat a piece of tofu cheesecake this morning, so maybe now's not a good day to start the new "diet".

We'll see.

I'm off to do some research of etrog preparation. I read that a woman in her 9th month of pregnancy should eat an etrog as a segulah for an easy birth. I'm going to either make etrog jam or etrog liquor, I just haven't decided which one yet. I think whatever is easiest is going to be what I end up doing!

Wishing everyone a Shabbat Shalom from Baka!

High Holiday Season

Shanah Tovah, Gmar Chatimah Tovah and Happy New Year! It's, one again, the High Holiday season and I'm already exhausted and stressed. Fortunately, my cooking and entertaining this year will be at a minimal, so at least that's a blessing.

Rosh Hashanah Rundown:

We moved in with Pidgeon's parents for the holidays. Since we still don't have one Shul in the neighborhood that we're affiliated with, it made sense for us to just join Pidgeon's parents. My in-laws bought me a seat in the express Minyan at Chovevei and Pidgeon went with his Father and brother to a Shul that's closer to his 94 year old Grandfather. 

First night of Chag was really, really nice. In the grand tradition of last year, erev Yom Tov included the ceremonial breaking of a bottle. Last year, Pidgeon broke a bottle of Merlot in his parents dining room 15 minutes before Yom Tov. I broke a bottle of Tabasco sauce in our kitchen about 30 minutes before I had to finish packing and get into the shower. Fortunately, we weren't staying for the holiday so I didn't mind that the kitchen stunk of Tabasco sauce. We made it to his folks without incedent and, fortunately for us, kept the bottle breaking to just the Tabasco sauce.

Pidgeon's folks entertained 23 people for dinner and it was loud, boisterous, hot and a lot of fun. I actually forgot to make a Shehecheyanu on my candles and so I was happy that I got the opportunity for redemption over the pomegranate seeds. I love how everyone says that pomegranates are in season around Rosh Hashanah, I really don't think it's true. The seeds were definitely better than last year but not nearly as sweet as they'll be in a few more weeks. Pidgeon and I were so tired after dinner that we were grateful for my 11:00 p.m. shot. We went to sleep pretty quickly after the shot.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the second day of Rosh Hashanah was my 32nd birthday. And, since people couldn't give me presents on the Yom Tov, I got some good stuff before hand. Pidgeon bought me the best present ever! A 6 month subscription to People magazine. A woman from Joe's World of Magazines physically walked over the gift, with a couple of back issues and a note describing the present, before Yom Tov. I was so happy with the gift! And then, when we got to Pidgeon's parents house, there was a beautiful bouquet of red and white roses from Pidgeon. He didn't send the flowers to our house since we weren't going to be here for 2 days and I wouldn't have enjoyed them. This way, they were in our bedroom at his folks house and until my allergies flared up on my birthday, they were beautiful to look at. My in-laws bought be a shmata for my head, some stretch mark and perenium oil from Avishag's maternity store, and the newest coffee table book of photographs by Annie Leibovitz with writings by Susan Sontag. Great gift for me as I think Annie Leibovitz photos are amazing. I would have been happy with a Wolf Kahn coffee table book too, but I'm holding out and saving up my dough to by an actual Wolf Kahn painting. Hmmm, maybe that can be my 40th birthday present to myself (P"G)

First day of Yom Tov, Pidgeon walked me to Chovevei around 7:30 a.m. and I hiked all the way up the fire escape to the express minyan. I found our seats in the front row and was happy that I made it in time for Torah reading. Unfortunately, I also discovered that I'm one of those pregnant claustrophobic ladies. You see, two seminary girls decided to make their own row right in front of my seat. So, I now had a row of seminary girls behind me and two in front of me. With a hat on my head and the AC barely working, I was getting more claustrophobic by the minute. I just wanted to ask the girls in front to move closer to the mechizah so I could have some room to breath! Fortunately, we had an extra seat for us, and when my mother-in-law came she left the one between us empty. Bless her! We were finished by 11:00 p.m. and that made me even happier.

Lunch was just Pidgeon and me, at Pidgeon's parents house. I couldn't have been happier. I was so tired at that point from all the standing and sitting and shuckling and swaying that I was thankful for the meal without anyone around. We had leftovers from dinner the previous night and we both ate in our PJ's and then went for a nap. It was a good thing I took that nap because we had quite a walk to and from dinner the second night.

Pidgeon's Aunt and Uncle live in Katamon, and from Pidgeon's parents house, it's basically an extremely hilly walk down HaPalmach street. Well, getting there was okay since I had about a 3 hour nap under my belt. It was a very cool night, so I was wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt but I brought a short sleeve t-shirt because I knew I would get warm in the house. With 26 people at this meal, I was glad I had! 

By the time we left to walk back to Pidgeon's parents house, I was exhausted and facing a number of tremendously steep hills. Oh, and did I mention the bats on HaPalmach street? There were a ton just flying back and forth overhead and I'm just not a big fan at all! So, I tried to walk very fast to get away and that's when I literally just petered out. Imagine, if you will, a man pushing a large car up a hill. That's exactly what Pidgeon had to resort to to get me back to his parents house. He pushed me up the hill and it was the only way I could have made it back.

When he finished pushing me up the last hill, I was panting and exhausted and needed some water. I took a swig and then said well, at least it's not raining. And, wouldn't you know it, but that's when the first drops started to fall. We were still 3 large blocks away from his parents and I just couldn't believe my luck. That, just when I said that about the rain, the rain started.

Think the Lord is sending me a message? Nah. I just think the Lord has a great sense of humor.

I was very thankful when we got home and just passed out.

Second day of Yom Tov was my birthday and the Minyan ended 30 minutes earlier than the first day! It was great. We then went to Pidgeon's sister's house for a BBQ lunch with the family and they all sang happy birthday and we had some yummy Aldo pareve ice cream cake. Pidgeon and I went back to the house after lunch and just relaxed and slept until Yom Tov was over.

Yesterday was very tiring and, even though I wasn't fasting, I somehow forgot to eat that much. I had a blood test early in the morning at the Medical Center, which was a zoo post holidays. Fortunately, the woman was able to draw blood without too much of a bruise, and they were efficient so we didn't wait long. We got back to the apartment and Pidgeon went back to sleep while I did some work. I have a lot of work on my plate right now and my writing is definitely taking a back seat. With Yom Tov crowding in, I'm starting to get anxious that I won't get all my work done in time. Fortunately, we only celebrate 1 day of Chag in this Country, so I get 2 extra days to do work at least over Succot!

We went food shopping yesterday and the Supermarket was a zoo! Fortunately, we had a short list and we really kept to it. We ended up spending almost 1,000 shekel though since we needed to stock up on food for the week and food for Shabbos. I was a bit surprised that our bill was so high though, especially since our cart was practically empty. Again, I have no idea how people can afford food in this Country!

Pidgeon broke his fast while I did some work and I was so tired that we ended up watching some new episodes of Heroes in bed. I passed out in the middle of the second episode though, I was that tired!

This morning, we were both up early again because Amos came to build our Succah. I am so happy to have the Succah out of the apartment! I kept tripping over the beams in the Mamad and I was really not happy about it. Fortunately, we're going to just cover it and tie is all up about Yom Tov is over and leave it on the Mirpeset all year long. My parents did that at home, although they did keep the poles in the garage, but with no garage or Machsan, we have no choice. Hopefully, we'll keep the elements out this winter and will be able to use the Succah again next year.

I have minimal decorations to do and I'm not doing anything until after Yom Kippur. There's no reason to decorate the Succah now, especially since it could rain between now and Succot and why should the decorations get ruined?

Well, Pidgeon just got back and I am off to finish my Shabbos cooking!

Gmar Chatimah Tovah from Baka!

Cravings

It's 2:00 a.m., post Tisha B'av fast, and I'm tired but too wired to go to sleep. I probably should just shut down and call it a day, but I figured I would try to update the blog before heading off to sleep. Well, I've spent the past 2 days basically in bed, and I'm so wiped from doing nothing but just laying here. 

I have no idea what I did Thursday, but it probably wasn't that exciting or else I would recall. Friday morning, I woke up early and basically did a ton of cooking. Because of the fast on Saturday night, I have to cook both Shabbos lunch and pre-fast Shalosh Seudot. The beauty of Tisha B'av falling out on a Saturday night is that you can have meat before the fast. Since we were eating by Pidgeon's parents for Friday night, though, I was hoping to not have to do as much cooking. I forgot that I had to cook for the fast too, so I ended up basically cooking as if we were eating all of Shabbat at home. I ended up making a crock pot vegetable soup, roasted chicken, macaroni and meat with marinara sauce, a cauliflower kugel, white rice and steamed string beans. I also baked a zucchini bread, which was great, as Pidgeon and I basically ate a ton of it over the weekend. I managed to cook efficiently, so I spent 2 hours pre-Shabbos on Friday just relaxing and watching the opening of the Olympic games. Pidgeon's brother came to pick us up with 5 minutes to spare and I lit candles at my in-laws.

I decided to join the men at shul on Friday night, and so I went with them to Chovevei. It was very quiet in shul, but the AC was on full blast, and I was in heaven. My body temperature these days has been pretty high, so I'm loving when it's nice and air conditioned. After shul, I opted not to go with Pidgeon to see his Grandparents and went back to his folks place. Dinner was pretty uneventful, I allowed myself a small shot glass of Ketel One vodka for a Lechayim, and then after my shot and dinner we walked home. It was a beautiful night and the walk really did me some good, I was nice and tired when we crashed.

Shabbos day came and went and I spent most of it in bed, drinking water or eating. We consulted with both my Dr. and Rabbi about fasting and they said the same thing. Basically, I could fast as long as I don't get too dehydrated. As soon as I felt any cramping or contractions, I was to break my fast immediately. Those were the parameters and I figured I could definitely live with that.

So, Saturday night, we had our Seudat HaMafseket (the last meal before the fast) and then, after Shabbos came out, we changed into our canvas footwear and walked to shul. For some reason, Pelech decided not to put on the AC, and it was freaking hot. I sat in the back next to the window, but the women next to me decided to close my side so they could open their side wider. Whatever, I tried my best to stay cool and not ask them to be considerate. Also, sitting on the floor in my condition is definitely not the best thing. My legs kept on cramping up and I spent more time rubbing the circulation back into my feet instead of listening to Eicha. The good thing was that it was over fairly quickly. We got back to the apartment, watched this whole thing about Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Temples on the History channel, and went to bed.

Now, what I didn't realize, was that all that sweating I did during Eicha really dehydrated me. I was tossing and turning all night, and was severly parched. At 3:30 a.m., I couldn't take it anymore, and I broke my fast on a small bottle of water. I was able to go to sleep pretty soon after that and felt much better. When I woke up this morning, I was really disappointed that I broke the fast, so I told Pidgeon to just forget about what he saw at 3:30 a.m. He was trying to get me to eat and drink all day, but I really wanted to hold out as much as possible.

I spent the day in bed, on my computer or watching TV, and at some point I just got hit with a massive Pringles craving. It was so unlike me, I'm actually not the biggest Pringles fan, but I just really wanted a big tub of Pringles. I mentioned to Pidgeon that I wanted him to go out after the fast was over and buy me some, but deep down I figured I wouldn't be craving that anymore and so I didn't expect him to go out and buy me some.

Around 5:30 p.m., I thought I was really going to make it. But, that's when the contractions and cramping started. It was not pleasant at all and, since the Dr. said I had to break the fast as soon as I felt them, I did. I took a glass of water and warmed up some leftover vegetable soup. I ate just enough to feel comfortable and then put my feet up and waited for the pains to go over. Thank g-d, after about an hour, I started feeling much better. It was good too, because I had the energy to cook dinner for Pidgeon.

By the time 8:00 p.m. rolled around, I was ready for my next meal, and I joined Pidgeon in a quick dinner of pasta, eggs and some home made brownies. Yummy! He left shortly after the meal to meet up with his Uncle and I mentioned the Pringles as he walked out the door. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised when he came back a couple hours later with some regular and sour cream and onion for me. YUMMY!

Cravings, satisfied!

Well, I'm off to try to get some sleep and hopefully my body will be back to normal tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a morning or thesis writing and an afternoon or apartment cleaning!

Wishing everyone still fasting a very easy and meaningful fast!

Layla Tov from Baka!

Official Sponsor of the War

NEWS FLASH

First official sponsor of Israel's next big war (g-d forbid) is.....Meal Mart! (Complete with logoed stickers that afix easily to soldiers helmets and armored personal carriers).

I sometimes love reading the Jerusalem Post online edition because they have some gem articles hidden on the bottom. This morning, as we woke to the fast of 17 Tammuz, I found this article about Meal Mart equipping IDF infantrymen with food packets in the event (g-d forbid) of another war.

Gotta love corporate sponsorship, already the IDF has lined up some contenders for the next (g-d forbid) war. Pidgeon and I couldn't stop laughing when we read about this for numerous reasons. First, because of all things they found wrong in the Second Lebanese War, it was that the infantry soldiers need to take with them boxes of food until supply lines could be open? Pidgeon's brother fought in the Second Lebanon War, and from what he's told us, hunger was certainly an issue but there were far greater things that needed fixing first and foremost. 

Next, we got a good chuckle because we LOVE Meal Mart foods. There is a Meal Mart on Main Street in Queens, where I'm from, and my Mom loves Meal Mart. In fact, she places a Shabbos order from them almost every single Wednesday night and my Dad picks up the food before Shabbos. Meal Mart makes some great Southern Fried Chicken, potato kugel, turkey legs (ask for those special, they're great!) and other yummy Ashkenazi traditional Shabbos fare. We're a big kugel family, and their sweet potato kugel is also yummy.

But then, Pidgeon and I got to thinking, about what all this yummy Ashkenazi food would do to Israel's soldier's intestines. And, we'd like to warn whatever future enemy might attack next (g-d forbid) that they should invest in some gas masks. Cause, if all those soldiers are gonna be chowing down on some Meal Mart chulent before battle, it's gonna get stanky! It seems like Israel's newest secret weapon is Meal Mart greasy chulent and their smelly side effects.  So beware, the flatulence a coming to get ya!

It was the Jewish fart heard round the world - that's what they'll write in History books. Just you wait!

Moving on. 

Shabbos was an affair to remember. In fact, it started with Friday afternoon's Simchat Bat that left me feeling a bit overwhelmed. I am not a big fan of big parties, never have been, never will be. I prefer small, intimate affairs. And, the Simchat Bat was just so huge and full of people who all seemed to know me even though I didn't know half of them, that I kept searching for a corner table to hid at. It didn't help that Pidgeon, g-d bless him, ditched me twice because he claims he was also scared of the guests and it was every man for himself so he found his corner first. He left me at the mercy of a table full of his first cousins. I coulda throttled him. Anyway, I finally managed to make it over to his table where there wasn't even a seat saved for me! 

As I write this, Pidgeon is protesting that he had in fact saved a seat on his left for me. Fine, he did. Granted, that seat was smack in the middle of the sun, and being 22 weeks preggo, that's not the best place for me to sit. Especially since I was wearing black, and sweating, and hungry and thirsty and needing to get off my fe fi fo fum feet. 

After Pidgeon's brother and girlfriend did some creative manuevering, I managed to sit down in a semi-shady spot and stayed there until we got up to leave. Then, I came home and cooked up a storm for first course, as we were eating both meals with Pidgeon's family. I made fettucine and  vegetables with creamy peanut sauce and steamed 3 bags of edemame. It was a big, big hit with the family! I was pleased everyone like it. The food Friday night was pretty good, the conversation however could have been better.

For some reason, Pidgeon's Mother and sister decided that the dinner table was the perfect time to talk about breast feeding. And, in particular, the state of my nipples. I prayed the floor would open and swallow me up, but it didn't. For about 15 minutes they went on and on and on about nipple erections as I tried to eat my noodles. I just nodded and smiled and looked around at Pidgeon and his brothers for help. FINALLY, Pidgeon's little brother couldn't take it anymore, and he begged for the topic to be changed. I could have kissed him, I appreciated it so much.

We decided not to sleep over at the house for Shabbos and so Pidgeon and I walked back to our apartment at Midnight. It was really nice weather and we enjoy the walk usually, but it was hard for the first time for me to walk. Once we crossed the train tracks into Baka, I was in some serious fatigue. My legs were shaking and I needed to just crawl into bed. And, the fact that I had to do this on Shabbos during the day - twice - was very scary. We managed to make it home without me collapsing and I think I passed out dressed on the bed.

When Pidgeon's alarm went off at 8:15 a.m. on Shabbos, I was in no mood to move. But, we had a 45 minute uphill climb ahead of us and Pidgeon wanted to get to the 9:30 a.m. Minyan at Chovevei so I peeled myself away from the sheets and got moving. It was hot, and not an easy walk. I packed with me a change of clothing and a big water bottle, which I finished right before I got to Pidgeon's parent's front door. The worst part was the Chovevei Hill from the Inbal hotel, as usual, but Pidgeon was kind and patient and took things at my pace. Bless him. I let him go inside the shul for Minyan and then sat for a few minutes on the bench outside drinking my water and trying to calm my heart beat down. I walked the rest of the way to his folks very, very slowly and then when I got inside the house I made a beeline for the kitchen. I was so hungry, I hadn't thought about eating anything before we left, and so I was famished! Fortunately, the kitchen was well stocked with some Kiddush food. I had some crackers and cottage cheese and then went down to Pidgeon's old bedroom and passed out.

We were finally down with Kiddush and lunch around 3:15 and, even though we were offered to stay over until after Shabbos, I wanted to get home. Our apartment has great air conditioning, and I love my bed. So, we filled the water bottle back up and began out journey. It was so, so hot outside! The streets were practically deserted until we got to Emek and we kept passing a couple of people who looked like they were in the middle of some torture walk. It was bad. We stopped a number of times under trees for some shade and so I could get some water into me. But, I hate hot water, so it was difficult to choke it down. Finally, around 4:00 p.m., we made it through the front door. 

I thought very hard about taking a shower, I was all red in the face and my body temperature was very high. Pidgeon told me to do what I needed to feel better, so I took a spray bottle and just spritzed myself good and collapsed in the AC coolness of the apartment. I woke up 3 1/2 hours later and just snoozed on and off until Shabbos ended. It was worth it. Difficult and probably not the smartest thing to do while pregnant. But definitely worth it.

Today, we're really staying around for most of the day. Pidgeon is fasting and I'm trying to at least hold out until mid- day even though the Rabbi told me that I don't have to fast. It's already 12:20 so I'm gonna eat something soon. We're hoping to go to the Kotel tonight too. I haven't been there in a while and, since it's the start of the 3 weeks, thought it couldn't hurt to head over for some praying. Meanwhile, our neighbors are hosting an Open House party tonight after the fast to celebrate their new apartment. We were invited but I declined. I don't go to parties during the 3 weeks, just not my minhag, but I'm sure we'll hear the cacaphony of noises down below.

Well, I think I'm off to break my fast. Here's wishing everyone who is fasting a very easy and meaningful one!

Shavuah Tov from Baka!

Purim MeShulash - Three Days of Drunken Debauchery

Nice title, no? Has nothing to do with me or Pidgeon for that matter, but is exactly how I would describe what happened in and around Jerusalem since Thursday. It's 3:00 a.m. on Monday morning and I'm suffering from eating too much Purim junk. I usually stay away from sugar, but tonight after the Seuda was over, I just went hog wild over the mischloach manot and now I'm paying for it. 

Silver lining - at least I have a blog to update between running to the bathroom. (was that an overshare?)

Purim started in Jerusalem on Thursday night, and for us it started Thursday when I spent the fast doing two things. 1) baking my last batch of chocolate cakes and then icing what I could (I ran out of powdered sugar mid way which left 8 cakes uniced) and 2) drawing and coloring in a gigantic Batman symbol for our car-turned-batmobile for Purim. By the time Megillah reading came around, I was slightly high from the black magic marker and ready to party.

We heard Megillah at Chovevei, which has a really nice and pretty quick reading, and then broke the fast with Pidgeon's parents. Leftover soba noodles and soup helped fill my stomach, and then we went home and made our quick transformation into Batman and Batwife. We had 2 Tel Aviv parties to go to and we were excited. We put the bat symbol on the car, drove up Emek Refaim (I drove because Batman's costume mask made visibility a bit difficult) and we stopped by Pidgeon's folks for a photo op. And then, we looked at the time and realized that the fast totally drained us and we drove home, took off our costumes, and went to bed. 

Friday, I wasn't surprised to get calls from my Tel Avivian friends wondering what happened to us. I explained the situation and felt bad that we really didn't make it out there, and promised to make more of an effort next time. Anyway, we heard Megillah Friday morning at Pidgeon's grandparents house and then we drove back to the apartment so I could cook for Shabbos. We spent a quiet Shabbos together, just relaxing and reading, and then it was off to do my marathon cooking for the Seuda today as soon as Shabbos ended.

It was a joy to shop Saturday night at the SuperSol in Talpiot; the place was practically empty. We got everything we needed except some more powdered sugar, so I gave up on trying to ice the rest of the cakes and focused on cooking for Seuda this afternoon. I don't know how it happened but suddenly I realized that we were going to be 14 adults and 3 children for the meal! Fortunately, I called it for 4:00 p.m. which left us plenty of time to deliver our Mishloach Manot and get ready for the Seuda.

I spent Saturday night in the kitchen, making quinoa with mixed vegetables, a macaroni and meat, a corn kugel, a pumpkin pie and a cauliflower kugel. I learnt my lesson on doing everything myself, so I asked my sister-in-law to make some chicken, my friend Merav to bring some pita's, my brother-in-law to bring some hummus, techina and matboucha, Pidgeon's cousin and friend to bring some drinks,  and Pidgeon's friend to bring us some dessert. It was the smartest thing I did, as it made preparation for the Seuda go much quicker. We were able to get to bed before 1:00 a.m. on Saturday night, which was great, because boy did we get an early morning wake up on Sunday morning!

Our next door neighbor's gardener showed up at 7:30 a.m. and started blowing leafs everywhere. Oh, and I haven't mentioned yet that it's freaking HOT in Israel these days as we're in the midst of a heat wave and we have no AC! Saturday  night was manageable as there was a really great breeze, but tonight is unbearable! No air is moving at all, and the air is so dry that our lips and skins are flaking off. I've been spritzing myself with water and moisturizing at the same time just to find some relief.

Back to the events of today. As you can see, our theme this year was Cocktails and Burberry. We found these adorable Burberry bags at the paper good store in Har Nof and we filled them modestly with a chocolate cake with mocha icing, 2 chocolate bars, and a recipe for either (alcoholic) Irish Coffee, Mint Chocolate Martini, or a Chocolate Cake shot. Yum! I spent Saturday night assembling all of our bags and then tried to go through the list and map out our route for delivering everything today.

The early wake up call didn't help us any and somehow, we managed to oversleep and didn't get on the road to deliver our Mishloach Manot until Noon! Unfortunately, we had to shelve delivering 2 of our parcels because of the time. We quickly raced back to the apartment at 2:30 and Pidgeon helped me get everything ready. He was amazing and, without him, I never would have gotten everything done in time. I quickly made 2 huge bags of string beans with sauteed onions, an angel hair pasta salad with purple cabbage and an Israeli salad. At 4:00 p.m. on the dot, all the food was warmed and out on the table ready for our guests to arrive. We also made a drinks and dessert table, where people helped themselves to some good alcohols! Our guests left very happy, and Pidgeon was my brother-in-law's designated driver so he too got home okay. 

I had a great time at the Seuda and, for the first time since we're married, Pidgeon played more of the host and I relaxed. It was great because I really got to enjoy myself and talk to everyone at the meal. I hope everyone had a good time too and I was thrilled when our clean up was extremely quick and easy! I will always defend serving on plastic with plastic utensils when we have more than 6 guests! 

Needless to say, we were left with lots of Purim goodies and I spent the evening doing what my Mom used to do when we were little. Separation of goodies. I created a chocolate bar bag, a candy bag, and 3 boxes of baked goods. We also got 5 little bottles of grape juice/alcohol. I laid everything out in front of me and then just went to town as I filled each bag. I like baked goods, so I sampled some hamentaschen (raspberry! yumm!) and some honey roasted caramel nuts, etc. I don't remember how or when I stopped, but I definitely should have stopped much earlier than I did, otherwise I would be sleeping soundly right about now. Anyway, after my pig out session, I was so tired from the past three days that I just crawled into bed and relaxed. Pidgeon joined me pretty quickly and we watched some TV and just talked about how thankful we were that the 3 day Purim celebration was over. B"H, next year it won't be a three day holiday!

Well, it's now 4:00 a.m. and I'm going to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another early day!

Erev (or, rather, Boker) Tov from Baka!