School's Out!

It's a miracle! I can't believe I'm actually done with school. Two years of classes, shlepping to Bar Ilan on the bus, enduring the oppressive Tel Aviv summer swealter - over. Finito!  Granted, I still have a final paper and my thesis to complete, but all coursework is done! I'm just so happy.  

Our last class with Professor Kramer was good, and afterwards I handed in my thesis extension form and Pidgeon took me to my old stomping grounds in Tel Aviv to meet up with our friend Lana. We parked in front of my old apartment on Arlozorov Street and met Lana at Cafe Cafe, the new kosher restaurant on the corner of Ben Yehuda and Arlozorov. I wish they had been around when I lived in Tel Aviv! The restaurant used to be a non-kosher La Cuchina and I always wanted a kosher coffee shop nearby the apartment. Well, Tuesday was our opportunity to enjoy it and we had a great time! It was nice catching up with Lana and, even though the food was pretty bad, it was just nice to be in my old familiar territory. Had the weather been cooler, we might have gone walking around. But, it was just so stinkin hot that we jumped into the car and drove back home.

I was so wiped when we got home, I passed out and when Pidgeon returned from working with his Uncle, decided was too tired to cook. So, we decided to order in dinner from Yoja.

Two things I learned about that experience:

1) I am LITERALLY eating through our savings. Seriously. We are dipping into Pidgeon's savings to pay for ordering out food. Plus, all this eating out is making me pack on the pounds quicker. I gained 4 pounds THIS WEEK! I'm praying it's just water retention from all the salty foods, cause my Dr. is going to have kittens when I get on the scale in September and I've surpassed the 2 pound per-month regiment he wants me to keep. Oy!

2) A pregnant woman should NEVER order in food when starving. Wow, did I order way too much for us. I ordered enough food to feed four people, and I know because that's the amount of cutlery and chopsticks they gave us. Granted, we still have leftovers in the fridge, but it would have been much more economical had I just ordered what we were going to consume.

Wednesday was a pretty relaxing day. I was hoping to sleep in but the doorbell rang and it was a registered letter from our insurance agency. I was declined - once again - from additional medical insurance coverage because of the Clexane shots. That was very disheartening because I had hoped to get some additional medical insurance leading up towards the delivery, but it just wasn't meant to be. I was pretty pissed that my insurance agent decided to send me the decision via registered mail and not let me know by just picking up the freaking phone.  Hmm, come to think about it, they never did call me back when we left a message yesterday. I think I'm going to give them a call and have some words with them ASAP.

I also had a check up appointment with the hematologist yesterday and that wasn't a fun meeting. Turns out, I've been doing the shots wrong. Basically, my stomach is too tight to adequately pinch the skin in order to place the needle. So, I've just been giving myself the shot without pinching. When I mentioned this to the Dr, he freaked out and told me that I MUST pinch a wad of fat otherwise the medication is being injected into the wrong place. Then, he told me that "since I'm such a big girl" there is plenty of fat around my midsection for me to use.  Ok, I said, thanks, I'll just figure it out. And then, to demonstrate, he came over and took hold of one of my ample love handles and squeezed, showing me that I had more than enough rolls of fat for the shot. 

Why does every Dr. I know have to tell me that "I'm a big girl"? I mean, I know I am, but c'mon. Some sensitivity people! 

Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst thing he told me. Basically, if I go into labor within 24 hours of a Clexane shot, I cannot have an epidural (should I choose). That sounds very, very painful and a little scary, and when I mentioned it to my Mother she was not pleased. So, I made an appointment with my primary care physician this morning to discuss my labor options. I might have no choice but to do an elective cesarian section, which is scary but also might be necessary given my situation.

I decided to get all this medical scariness out of my mind by cooking dinner for Pidgeon. I decided to surprised him and make bourekas! I've NEVER made potato bourekas before, but figured how hard could it be? So, I whipped up a batch of amazing mashed potatoes (from scratch, no artificial mixes for us) and defrosted the phylo dough. I didn't realized that there is an correlation between inside and shape and went with the good ol' triangles (see above picture). Sure enough, when they were done, Pidgeon told me they were beautiful but that usually triangles meant cheese filling, square was potato and half moon was hard cheese.

Sigh. I got to get with this whole bourekas etiquette thing. Anyway, he LOVED them, misshapen and all! I made so many though, enough for Shabbos first course, that I've looking for a mushroom sauce to serve with them for Friday night dinner. Hopefully, I'll be able to find one that's non-dairy.

It took me an hour to wash all the cooking and dinner dishes last night, and I was so tired that I slept like a rock last night. When the alarm went off this morning, it was so hard to get out of bed but we had the Dr. appointment so we had to get up.

Well, it looks like Pidgeon is finished watching today's episode of Stargate. I love my Sci-fi lovin' husband, even though he's a bit of a Sci-fi nerd. We're going to hit the gym so I can try to work off some of this excess poundage!

Hope everyone is staying cool on this last day of July!

Yom Tov from Baka!

The Great Cheese Holiday

Ah, the holiday where one stays up all night and then rewards themselves with forks full of cheescake. I've been busy, and so I apologize in advance for not writing. I can't believe that I actually have 30 minutes to myself, before I have to shower and get ready for Shavuot. I've spent the entire day cooking, shredding, cleaning and organizing. Phew. Good thing we don't entertain often, I don't think I could take it. Fortunately, I had the energy today to do everything on my list. Hopefully, I'll has some more room in my energy reserves for the hour walk home we have tonight.

But, before I get to the Chag, let me catch y'all up.

B"H, I've been feeling much better. And, thanks my exposure to an enormously obese pregnant woman, I've been doing all that I can to take better care of myself. That means walks every day or the gym. No more days lying in bed for this preggo! Oh no, I am absolutely petrified that I'll end up 50 pounds heavier than I already am and won't be able to move let alone lose the weight after the baby. So, when I could have been updating the blog, I've been exercising.

We also decided, early in the week, to host Shavuot lunch in the apartment. We haven't been too social these days, so we thought it would be nice. At first, I was afraid I'd have to scramble for some guests, but we were able to rustle up a nice group of folks. And, next thing I know, our friends Oren and Rachel are coming to sleep here from Tel Aviv too! 

Quid pro quo though, we had been planning a weekend in Tel Aviv by Oren and Rachel for the past few weeks. They were able to secure the apartment in their building for us, and we were so thrilled for the change of scenery for the weekend. It was so much fun!! They hosted a wonderful Friday night dinner on the roof for us and some of our close friends (and a new group as well of very nice folks). Unfortunately, once 11:00 p.m. came, we had to excuse ourselves and went down to the apartment so I could give myself the shot. We've come to the conclusion that, until it's early shabbatot again, we're not going to be able to go out for dinner anymore. It's because, 2 hours into the meal, we have to leave and I feel bad doing that to our host and hostess. Anyway, we thought we would get to bed early, and then the AC crapped out and I spent the entire night tossing and turning and sweating. Not what I was hoping for, but I was still so happy to be in Tel Aviv with my friends that I didn't let it get me down.

On Shabbat, Pidgeon and I had lunch by our friend Jeff. He hosted a small, dairy meal with us, another couple and my friend Lana, and it was really fun. After the meal, we went for a walk towards the beach. We ended up going to the look out area up on Ben Gurion Street, which gives you these fabulous views all the way down to Yafo. The beach was insanely packed, with lots of people just enjoying their Shabbos of surf and sand. I wished we could have stayed longer, but we were tired and had to head back. We ended up back at the apartment and both sweated through an attempt at napping. A quick Shalosh Seudot with Rachel and Oren and suddenly the entire weekend was over!

Don't you hate when that happens? Especially on a long Shabbos? When normally, the Shabbos could just drag on and you're counting the minutes until you can put on your TV and boot up your computer. But then there are the weekends when you're just so happy, and having so much fun, that it ends way too early? 

We drove back to Jerusalem happy with our great weekend and I immediately set to work on making the cheesecakes. I hope they came out ok, as I used only 5% cheese for both of them. Normally, I use full fat for this cheesecake recipe, so I hope it tastes good.

Here's the menu for lunch: deconstructed taco salad, quesadillas, guacamole, salsa, hummus, mandarin orange salad, baked ziti (pictured above), tuna croquettes, garlic roasted sweet and regular potatoes, cheesecake, watermelon and vegan brownies for dessert.

Well, with the vegan brownies made on Thursday night and the cheesecake done last night, I had well everything else to make today! I was exhausted when I pulled myself out of bed this morning and I quickly got to work making a cranberry crunch for tonight's dinner. We're going to pidgeon's Aunt for Shavuot dinner and I offered to make this dessert for the non-cheesecake eaters. Pidgeon is looking forward to it, as we think the cheesecake is full fat and not on either of our diets.

Then, I literally hand grated a huge block of cheddar (finished result pictured above) and two blocks of mozzarella. Next, I set to work making the baked ziti. It came out beautiful! I hope it tastes as good! I also made a smaller version, with low fat cheese, for pidgeon. Next, it was on to the garlic roasted potatoes and it took me forever to peel all of them. After that, I made the corn salad since it needs to marinade overnight, and I set to work on getting the tuna croquettes ready. They took no time at all to fry up and I think I might have burnt a few, but it wasn't took bad. I cooked up 6 eggs just in case someone doesn't like tuna or pasta and I'll have an egg salad backup, and then I got to work on the quesadillas. It's iffy making these in advance, but my friend suggested that I reheat them on Shavuot without any cover. This way, it won't get too soggy. Pidgeon was extremely helpful, running all my errands and making the bed for Oren and Rachel, helping clean the apartment and putting away stuff that has been strewn about for weeks! I was pretty much falling off my feet when I had to work on cleaning the living area and setting the table. I decided to just put a tablecloth and the chairs around the table, as opposed to actually setting out plates. I still don't know if I'm going to use real plates or paper, we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Well, I'm off to finish getting ready for our Shavuot guests! Here's hoping your lactose induced holiday is enjoyable! We won't be staying up this year, and I'm looking forward to P"G a restful 24 hours.

Chag Sameach from Baka!

I Predict a Riot!

I caused a scene at my in-laws house this evening, and I'm trying to imagine the reprecussions and it absolutely frightens me. Here's how it all went down. Pidgeon's parents told us last week that they were going to have a shiur in their house in honor of his Grandparents Yahrzeit. We were told that the shiur was to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Fast forward to today, which was an anxiety filled day for pidgeon and I. We had to go to Tel Aviv as it was the last day for me to get covered by Minhal Hastudentim before they closed the budget. Since they paid for my tuition last year, I needed to bring them my transcript and a letter from Bar Ilan stating that I was continuing with courses this year. Because of the strike, it took forever to get what I needed from Bar Ilan and the next thing I know, I'm facing down the barrel of the deadline gun. So, until we met with Minhal Hastudentim and they handed me the paper I needed to get my coverage, I was a big mess. After two hours waiting for Michal, the worker in charge of my case, I was thrilled that she gave me the form for coverage this year. Next, we went upstairs to Misrad HaKlita so I could get a form in order to take free Ulpan in Jerusalem. Turns out, the only way I can do that is if I go to Jerusalem's Misrad HaKlita to get the form. Fortunately, we didn't drive all the way to Tel Aviv for that reason.

Next, we went to Dizengof Center to cash in on a wonderful wedding present we got from our Tel Aviv friends. We went to the Soho store, which I absolutely adore, and for 600 shekel walked away with a retro grabage pail for our bedroom, a set of 4 coffee mugs, a pizza slicer from Oxo, 4 mini Oxo prep bowls, and a chain wine holder (very retro and cool). Afterwards, we stopped by Comicaze for pidgeon's reading pleasure, and walked away with a couple of comics to keep my husband happy this Shabbos. Instead of heading to a Tel Aviv restaurant for lunch, we decided to eat in the food court and were regretting it a few minutes later. After bowls full of chicken and meat hamburgers with rice, pea, and potatos, we went back to the car and drove over to my bank. We had to wait an extra hour for the bank to open so I could go and change my address. I was told the only way to change my address was to go in personally.

Would you know it, but they had already  changed my address since I changed my Teudat Zehut weeks ago. I was pretty furious, especially since my dollar account was mysteriously wiped out as well. We're investigating, but when we got into the car to drive back to Jerusalem I was really down.

Unfortunately, the stress got to me and I ended up picking a fight with pidgeon, which wasn't exactly the highlight of my day. Finally, we got home and I discovered an extremely rude e-mail from pidgeon's sister. Well, that was really upsetting and so I decided to do something about it.

Let me explain how I roll. If I do something wrong, and I apologize, and someone says they forgive me, I expect us to move on. What I don't do, ever, is hold a grudge or tolerate anyone else who does. So, last week, I did something that really upset pidgeon's sister. I apologized. She told me she forgave me. And then I received this e-mail and obviously she didn't forgive me. So, I called her back and she told me that she still was "confused" and "upset" by what happened. So, once again, I apologized to her but I was super upset that she was still pissed at me, especially since I thought all was water under the bridge. Then, she told me that she told EVERYONE in pidgeon's family about "what I did to hurt her" and they also "didn't understand why I would do that". I was really steamed to hear she was bad mouthing me to the family, but I tried to move past.

Pidgeon and I got dressed and raced over to his parents house, only to discover we were early and had gotten the information wrong. Well, we both thought this would be a good opportunity to bond with his parents, especially since they had been in London for a few days with pidgeon's brother and his family. I went to tell his Mother something that is going on with me, medically, and just as I was about to confide in her, she picked up her cell phone and called pidgeon's sister-in-law. Apparently, she was coming in for the weekend for a family simcha, and I felt so snubbed and slighted, that I could barely contain the tears.

I went to pidgeon's bedroom to fill him in on the situation, and told him that I was really upset about the snub and the fact that his sister bad mouthed me to the family. And suddenly, the walls were closing in on me and I couldn't breathe. I needed to get out of there, I needed to get away and try to get my head together. Fortunately, I have the most amazing husband in the world, and he agreed to leave. 

And that's when I accidentally made a scene. You see, his Aunt had arrived and when she saw we were leaving she insisted on knowing why we were going. That's when his Mother caught wind of the fact that we were going, and she wanted to know why. At that point, I thought I was going to pass out from holding in my emotions, but I managed to get out of the house and onto the porch. That's when I ran right into pidgeon's other Aunt and the lecturer. He seemed like a lovely man and I felt terrible that I wasn't going to stay, but didn't say anything to let him know. I didn't want him to feel bad about anything. 

His Mother called from the door and demanded to know why we were leaving. Pidgeon tried to make excuses, but they didn't seem to be buying it. I ran to the car and tried to get into the driver's side, but it was too narrow an opening. I was so desperate to leave, that I pulled open the passenger side door and climbed over the gear shift to get into the driver's seat. Pidgeon joined me a few minutes later and we left. With tears streaming down my face, I  managed to get us back to our apartment and my heart didn't slow down until I was on the phone with my Mother and she was finally calming me down.

I honestly have no idea what to do know. I feel like I've embarressed pidgeon's family and I don't want to see them for a while. I just don't know how to handle being around them anymore. We've only been married for 4 months and already the integration process has hit so many bumps. How do people do this? How do people deal with the new family they've married into?

What should I do now?