The Poltergeist Tree

Remember the movie Poltergeist? I do. Extremely well. You see, when I was 6 year old, my Father was tasked with watching myself, my older sister and her friend, for the day. So, he decided to do what all Dad's do when they have no idea how to entertain three little girls. Take them to the movies. We went to see the cartoon flick, The Secret of Nimh, which was a little scary for me but overall entertaining. And then, after the movie was over, my Dad asked us if we wanted to stay for a special double feature. The movie they were showing was Poltergeist and he promised it wasn't scary.

He freaking lied.

I screamed and ran out of the movie theatre at least twice, but not before I saw the Poltergeist tree swoop in and grab the little boy. Or the scene when the clown under the bed attacked. And who can forget the little girl getting sucked into the TV? I slept with my parents for a week, and I think my Mom was pretty ticked at my Dad.

Found childhood memories.

Why bring it up now, you might wonder? Well, we have a gigantic tree outside the apartment building. Its roots are on three different people's properties. And, lately, the tree has grown so much that the limbs are hanging all over our front walk. Kinda like spindly green arms and, each time I walk from our front gate to the front door, I have to push my way past these arms and I constantly think of The Poltergeist Tree. 

I think it's time to call a gardner to have him come and give the tree a little trim. Otherwise, the limbs are going to take over and I'll never leave the apartment!

Shavuot lunch was fantastic! Everyone loved my deconstructed Mexican appetizer and we all had a really, really nice time. I was exhausted from washing all the dishes, but we had so much fun that it was well worth it. Yesterday, I was in a daze from exhaustion and also because it was a very long day. I still can't get over the fact that, in Israel, it's no longer a holiday while in the States everyone is celebrating second day of Chag. Pidgeon drove me to class and even sat in, which was nice, as he really enjoyed the topic. We analyzed W.E.B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk and made some interesting comparisons. Pidgeon loves literature so it was a wonderful start to our day.

And, since Pidgeon's sister had a baby girl yesterday morning at 7:45 a.m., we decided to drive into Tel Aviv to buy her a present. Well, that, and because Pidgeon had a 29 credit at CNV (Comics V'Yirakot) and wanted to pick out some good comic books. We also went to Emma Green in Dizingof Mall and bought 2 bath bombs for Mommy's feet, and some cute clothing for the new baby. Afterwards, we popped into Anise for some Terra Chips and juice, and then it was back to Jerusalem for us. We were both so tired that we sacked out on the couch and ate some lunch picked up from New Deli (I had a hot dog craving, which really hit the spot!). Soon, it was time for visiting hours at Shaarei Tzedek and we went to visit the new born. Mommy and baby were doing great and everyone was just happy and tired. We spent 30 minutes with the happy pair before coming back to the apartment.

I was so wiped, and felt like the biggest dishrag, that I fell asleep while watching TV. Pidgeon had to help me into bed, help me with my shot, and I was asleep by 11:30 p.m. 

We had another early morning wake up call today as we went to Tipat Chalav around the corner to chat about my pregnancy. I showed then nurse all my information and she bluntly asked us why we were there. I told her that my sister-in-law told me to come, but I had no idea what they did. She smiled and basically told me that since I have two Dr.'s taking care of me, they weren't needed. We were so embaressed that we wasted her time, that we walked home with perverbial tails between our legs. I was also really tired, so I was angry that we woke up extra early for no good reason. Oh well, I guess the upside was that I know where they are located and what they do for babies. P"G, she told us she'll see us after the birth.

We got home and, since I was starving, I ate a quick breakfast. My eyes started closing so I decided to crawl into bed and managed to nap for a couple of hours. And then, Pidgeon came back from running some errands in town, and he woke me up for today's main event.

Today, we had our "big ultrasound", which is when the Dr. looks at every part of the baby to make sure they are developing well. I was more nervous today than I was on my wedding day. We got to the office, filled our forms, and then sat with the Dr. He asked me to get on the scale and seemed surprised when I asked if I could take off my heavy New Balance sneakers. I, of course, was up 8 pounds since last month. He was not pleased with that and told me that I should "stop eating breads and be careful". He told me not to gain more than 4 pounds a month. I was shocked with the scale and didn't agree with what it said. I weighed myself yesterday morning and I was 4 pounds lighter than what the scale said. I mean, what did the Dr. expect to see? It was 1:30 p.m., I had eaten breakfast and a snack, drank at least 4 glasses of water, and was wearing all of my clothing. That's not the right time to weigh a pregnant lady. Shavuot and all the cheesecake didn't help me either, so I'm back on healthier alternatives to food and hopefully I won't gain more than the required amount. Believe me, with all this working out I've been doing, I too want to keep my weight healthy.

He was, however, very happy with my blood pressure. I wasn't surprised as I've tended towards low blood pressure my whole life. P"G, that should be something that I keep relatively low throughout the pregnancy.

Anyway, the ultrasound was incredible. He did a scan of the baby and looked at everything to make sure it was developing normally. And then, he asked us if we wanted to know the sex, and we said "hells yeah!" And so, now we know, and I'm the worst secret keeper in the world! I just want to tell all of my family and friends what we're having, but we want it to be a surprised. 

So, we told my folks, who needed to know since they already have travel plans to Israel for December. All I'll say is that they are planning accordingly.  As for us, we've been in a bit of a fog since we left the Dr.'s office. It's just so surreal and amazing. I have about 16 ultrasound photos of the little babes, who I could swear was sucking its thumb at some point during the procedure. It was simply amazing. 

Well, I'm off to finish my second load of laundry for the day and to figure out what I'm feeding Pidgeon for dinner. 

Erev 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!

Stretch Marks and Cheesecake

I've been thinking a lot about cheesecakes these days. With Shavuot just around the corner, there is a lot of cheesecake baking I want to do! Pidgeon and I are on different diets these days, and so I think I'll be baking him a 5% fat cheesecake and an apple pie for myself. I also decided that, since we're going out for Shavuot dinner, I'd like to host Shavuot lunch in the apartment. We're still thinking about the invite list, but chances are we'll  keep it pretty mellow. The menu will be dairy and I'll probably fry up some tuna croquettes and make some sort of fun pasta dish. I like entertaining, and since we can't afford to entertain all the time, this could be fun for both of us!

These past few days have been pretty uneventful. Some days I have a ton of energy and so I tackle cleaning up the apartment with tremendous gusto. Other days, I can barely push myself out of bed. My sleeping has been really difficult too, I'm still not getting a full night's sleep and this morning we were awoken by the screams of tiny children who were starting their Yom Yerushalayim celebrations a few days early. I told Pidgeon that I was "feeling violent towards the community center in our neighborhood" since they started playing Zionistic music on the microphone at 8:15 a.m. And, since I didn't really get to sleep before 3:30 a.m., that was a bit too early for me. But then I heard the kids laughing and clapping and having fun and it made me all weepy thinking that P"G our baby could be a part of that one day. 

Pregnancy hormones people, it's a powerful thing. 

I've been stressed beyond stressed these past few days too. Money issues is a terrible problem to have, and I honestly don't know how people living in Israel make ends meet. Food prices are just ridiculously expensive, coupled with gas costs (thank g-d we only have one car!), cable, electric, water and the misc. expense that crops up unexpectedly and you have to be making at least 6,000 shekel a month to just make it. And that's before I factor in baby costs like furniture, strollers, diapers, food, clothing, etc. So, I've been nervous about money with the baby coming. Since Pidgeon and I are still both students - me, at least until I hand in my thesis in October and Pidgeon until March 2009 when he presents his final project - we're starting to feel the pinch.

Our parents have been very, very helpful but still, we're both in our 30's and asking for handouts are extremely difficult (we do have egos). I also am used to being financially independent, as I got a job when I was 20, moved out of the house before my 21st birthday, and have been paying most of my bills myself for a decade already (my parents always "helped" but it was here and there, for a new pair of shoes or some makeup, not rent or food bills). Pidgeon is in the same boat. We're just two people who decided, in our early 30's, to make career changes. Now, I still plan to do PR, but I'm getting my Masters in Creative Writing so I have other options. Do I think that, in Israel, I'll be able to get a teaching job in Creative Writing? Absolutely not. I've been seeding the market and checking out the competition and a writer/marketing expert/blogger/PR exec in this Country is a dime a dozen! Talk about oversaturating the market!  I definitely have to figure out what else I can do so that I can become attractive to prospective employers when I'm ready to get a job in this Country. 

Again, I don't know how Israeli's live in this Country. I'm not even talking about lavish lifestyles, just every day bill payment. Anyone out there want to enlighten me? I'd love a seasoned Olah/Oleh's opinion on the topic! How can people afford to raise children here?

So, we went to Shaarei Tzedek this week to tour the maternity ward. It was very overwhelming for me and I did freak out a bit at one point when I saw a woman in the delivery area looking like she was in some serious pain. The nurses though were extremely nice when we asked to see into the nursery area. I was happy to see increased security, and even happier to know that Mother's can go into the nursery whenever they want to take the baby to their rooms. We decided to register at the hospital for the birth, and the registration process was really easy. The woman at admissions was extremely kind, and when she told us that the government was going to give us money for the baby, we were both so surprised. I never knew the Country gives you monetary compensation for having children. I wonder how much we'll be getting? Either way, it's money that will help us keep our baby P"G in clean diapers! 

Well, I'm off to work on one of my thesis stories. I'm writing my Cousin Neil story, and it's looking like it should be a good one! 

Yom Tov from Baka!