Wordless Wednesday

Because Jenn in Holland also posted a windmill. We have one in Israel, too.

procrastinating.

I used to love grocery shopping.
The planning, wandering the aisles deciding what I could do with new things I saw, loading all my newest goodies into the pantry.
Now I put it off.
a lot.
Here's why: it sucks in this country. I don't have a car, so I am forced to shop at the ONE store that will deliver to my neighborhood. They often don't have what I am looking for. And if they do, it is likely more expensive than the last time I bought it. (yes, prices here are going up THAT FAST!) Then, at the checkout, I wish my groceries a fond farewell, possibly never to be seen again. When the delivery gets to my house, if I'm lucky it's before midnight, I have to check to see if its all there. if it's not, guess who has to call neighbors to see if my stuff got in with theirs? yeah, not the store, it's definitely not their fault.

Can you see why I would put this off?
But all I really have in the fridge right now is hummus and some dubious-looking carrots.
That ain't gonna make the rabbi happy.

Balloons etc.

So, besides being a Rebitzin (rabbi's wife) I'm also a balloon artist. Not a very serious one, mind you, but I've been involved with the latex world for about 10 years. In America, that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee and that's about it. Here in Israel, its a BIG deal. There are maybe 10 other people who do balloons on any kind of grand scale. (more than doggies and swords) in the WHOLE country. So, last Tuesday I bravely ventured out from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv where I met up with 2 other balloon guys and then drove to a place just outside Netanya. There ended up being 6 of us there, which was great fun. I wondered if it was going to be weird as I am the only one who was even remotely religious, but my fears were unfounded, as we could all relate on the balloon level. We all riffed on the theme of a coral reef, which was one guy's project for a photo shoot the next day. This was the result:

Cool, right? I made some of the coral and some of the bubbles. Seriously, most of the work is by a guy named Ori Livney. Google him, he's got some really cool videos and stuff available on the web, and he does amazing things with balloons. The other people who worked on this are Keren Friedman, Asi Cohen, Mishel Something-or-other, and Ori's SO Michal.






I also had a friend over last week to learn my mad bread-making skillz. She did this with minimal intervention from me:Good job, Nadine! Perfect Challot are the sign of an accomplished Jewish woman!
If you want the best Challah recipe ever, email me and I will send it your way.

Photo contest winner, that's me!

So, because my daughter is a first child there are already an unholy number of pictures of her. Some of these are better than others. I have a hard time deleting bad ones. How could I possibly delete my precious baby, even when she looks stupid in a picture?


See! even in bad pictures she is adorable! you actually want me to delete this? Cretin!





Ummm, Yeah. Don't judge me.


Anyway, the upside of this plethora of pictures is that every so often you get a gem. The following is a perfect example:

Yes, I know we have a huge cat. That is an 11 pound kid next to him. He weighs more than the kid, for now. But, oh the cuteness! i can has cuddles? I know it makes your ovaries do a little jump to look at these kinds of things. Maybe I should make a LOLcat out of it and submit it to one of my fave sites, icanhascheezburger.com
Just one more dose of cute before I go:

How can you stand the cuteness? Give her whatever she wants! And what she wants is for you to please comment. We see on google analytics that you're reading, so leave me a note while you're at it.

Cheers!
The Rabbi's Wife