No Words Just Memories

I know it's been a while since I've written anything meaningful and substantial (OK, anything at all). Between work, school, and Yoav, I have very little downtime. Right now, Yoav is napping and I'm taking a PTO day. Why? He has another double ear infection and I have another sinus infection. It's been a fun few days.

Still, I do have something meaningful to write about today. It's about tomorrow. March 2nd.

Last year on March 2nd, Yoav turned one month old and I was starting to figure out what being a mom really meant. Back in 2008, four years before my son was born, I lost my first grandparent. I write extensively on my Dad's parents because they're easy to write about. I'm a lot like my Bubba (grandmother) and, at times, I'm more like my Zeidy (grandfather). I rarely write about my Mom's parents. Not because I don't love them or because I didn't know them - I did - but it's harder for me to put my feelings about them into words. While my Dad's parents didn't ask a lot from me, my Mom's parents did. In no way is that a complaint - I loved it - it just made my relationship with them a lot more complicated. They also took care of me in ways that my Dad's parents didn't.

So, on March 2nd, 2008, I experienced the death of my grandfather - my Papa. I dream about him often and the dreams feel very real. Each time, he tells me he's OK. If I'm too open about that, I'm labeled the crazy one in my family. But my Gram gets it. She still talks to his picture - and so do I.

I used to call my Papa for advice when I first moved to Israel. I used to ask him how he acclimated to the US in hopes that it would help me acclimate to Israeli life. His words gave me comfort ... aside from the time he told me to break Kashrut (Jewish dietary law) and open up a Taco Bell because I'd make millions. That was less comforting.

Now that I'm a Mom - with another one on the way in August - I wish my Papa was here. I wish he could see that my son has the same reddish blonde hair that I had at his age, which came from my Papa's side of the family. I wish he could see how my son eats.  He used to tell me that I was never an adventurous eater - but I want to show him that his love for food is very apparent in my son. I wish he could see the blue eyes that my son has - they're around the same color of my Papa's eyes. And I wish he could hold Yoav.

I'm thankful for the memories I have of my Papa. He taught me to be an animal lover and that is one of my favorite traits passed on to Yoav. My Papa would get a kick out of Cecil and Sparky (but I think he'd love Cecil more).

There's not a day that goes by where I don't miss my Papa and I try to dedicate at least one blog post a year to his memory. Just don't think that March is a sad month for me - it's filled with a lot of joy. There are birthdays galore and, this year, Passover falls in March - which also makes me happy. Why? Because I don't have to eat Kosher-for-Passover cake on my birthday come April. My Papa would be pleased with that fact that his family is living their lives, just as he wanted us to. He didn't want us to be sad - he wanted us to remember him.

So, here's my final memory for you. Imagine you're a pre-teen and you hate Middle School. You'd be me. Nearly every day, I'd "miss" the bus and ask my Papa to come take me home - we lived in the same complex. He'd do it and every day, he'd take me to McDonalds to get an afternoon snack. Every.Day. (It's amazing that I'm not 500lbs right now) This was his way of taking care of me and it's one of my favorite memories. When he asked me to take him to his chemotherapy appointments or his blood transfusion appointments, I did it with a smile on my face. Why? Because spending that extra time with him meant the world to me. And it was my way of taking care of him - just without McDonalds (although I did offer!!) - I cherished every moment with him.

A Personal Plea

Last week, just before Thanksgiving, I found out that my uncle passed away. He died from something that should have been caught early. He died from something he could have caught early. He had prostate cancer.

Needless to say, I put on a brave face last week but I was heart broken inside. My uncle was actually my great-uncle. I was really close to him. He was my grandmother's baby half-brother. At only five years older than my dad, he may not have always felt like an 'uncle' to my dad. I mean, he DID live a half a world away. He also had kids around the same age as my sisters and me. Yet, when I moved to Israel, he was one of the first people to extend his hand and offer me help. It wasn't monetary help - it was REAL help. He set me up with kitchen items, taught me the banking system, and helped me translate contracts and other documents in Hebrew.

He was a real mensch. I will miss him greatly. I don't want his memory to be forgotten so, just before he passed away, I donated to Movember. A few of my guy friends grow mustaches every year in hopes that people will donate money to help fund research for prostate cancer.

So, now I'm asking for your help. My friends are just shy of their goal of $10,000. Will you help them reach their goal? I donated and plan on donating again today - but today is the last day to donate!! Please help them out - donate what you can $10, $18, $20 - every dollar counts and they'll be eternally grateful. I'll be eternally grateful. Don't forget 'tis the season - so please help. Feel free to donate here.

What Every Parent Dreads

When you have a baby, it's all fun and games until ... well, until the moment that every parent dreads. We fear for it. It's not the moment your kid becomes mobile. It's not the moment they get teeth. It's....

the moment they start to get excited about toys in a store.

Image source

For us, this moment was yesterday. We were looking for a Chanukkah gift for my 5-year-old niece and we passed by a rather large purple monkey. Yoav's eyes looked a little like this:

Crazy, right?

He locked eyes on that thing and became REALLY upset when I put it back. Just walking down the toy aisles in Target was proof that Yoav discovered toys. Heaven help us.

Why Interviews are like Dating

Happy holidays, y'all! I was going to write about Chanukkah gifts today but I'd rather write about something else: the similarities between interviews and dating.

Yesterday I had two interviews. They were both incredibly different in many ways but it reminded me of the days when I was on Jdate.com searching for a nice Jewish husband.

11 Tips for interviewing. Courtesy: Boston.com

When you go on a date you get all dressed to impressed, right? Well, don't you do the same thing for an interview? You dress nicely, make yourself smell better than usual, and you do your hair nicely (maybe some makeup too?) for both a date AND an interview.

When you go on a first date, sometimes it leads to a second date where you relax a bit, show a bit more of yourself to someone. Sometimes that first interview leads to a second where you also relax a bit more and let people get to know you. Still, the amount of first dates and first interviews that amounted to nothing are greater than the ones that resulted in second dates and second interviews.

On a date, there are certain things you try not to talk about: religion, sex, and money. During an interview, there are also topics not open for discussion: family, money, and religion.

See the similarities so far?

Tips on what NOT to talk about on a date. Courtesy: Oprah.com

Here's another one... the "I" factor. When you're going on dates, we have a tendency to sound a little self-absorbed because, well, you have to! The person across from you needs to get to know YOU. The same goes for an interview. They have this sheet of paper that talks all about YOU and then you sit and talk all about you. The "I" factor is amazing in both scenarios because before you can become part of a 'we' they need to get to know you.

There are a lot of sites out there that tell you what to do in an interview (or a date!) and what not to do but I have some friendly advice for you: be yourself. Just like dating, there's a match for you when it comes to employment. If they don't like you, then you shouldn't want to work there. Be yourself and if they don't like it, f*ck 'em. That works in dating, as well!

Geeked Out (I'm Excited)

So, you all know by now that I've been in a funk for a while and I'm working diligently to get out of it. You know that, right? No, really, I'm working hard. I swear.

Anyway, last week I posted about two things I was excited for in the upcoming week when I wrote about my fears. I'm going to carry on that tradition today and give you a short list of things I'm looking forward to in the near future. You can even join in on some of them!

Long Term Excitement (for Summer)

• Getting out of debt: You probably think I'm nuts because I'm excited to make my list of ways to get out of debt. We want to have a clean slate and, right now, I'm the dirty part. No, not THAT kind of dirty - I just have a bit of debt that needs to be eradicated! So, this week I'm planning my LIST - stuff to sell, things to do to make money, and my budget list.
• A free summit on making the right decisions for my career and my life. YOU can join this one... and it's FREE. The Paula G Company is working in conjunction with some amazing people (including my friend, Joanna Lindenbaum - the Soulful Coach Life Coach that I always brag about). The first summit meeting is May 23 and goes until June 3. I highly recommend signing up.
• The Women's Intuitive Leadership Program(WILP): I took advantage of the early bird special ($1050 instead of $1195) and I'm excited to take the next step of my journey to being better than my current self. If you're not into spending that kind of cash, sign up for the free newsletter - I promise, it's worth it.

Short Term Excitement (This week)

• Eating the contents of my freezer. Seriously. I have SO much food packed in there that it's time I ingested it before buying more foods from the grocery store. Stay tuned this week for the recipes I conjure up.
• Cleaning my house. I've had some friends staying with me for about a week now and they are on their way back to Canada - which gives me time to clean. It's oddly cathartic for me.
• Writing. Have you noticed that I've kicked it up a notch with my writing? It's helping me mentally.
• Crap to buy list for July. Since we're going home, I'm making a list of gifts to bring back home for family and friends and I'm going to do it all within my budget. None of it will be bought UNTIL July but knowing the list is made and ready is half the battle, right?

So, there you have it. There's my list of things I'm excited for. I hope you'll join me at the telesummit - Joanna is actually speaking at the summit on my graduation day but I'm geeked for the rest of it.

What are YOU looking forward to this week?

Giveaway: My Birthday Gift... to you

My birthday is coming up. I'll be 30. Some of you readers are thinking "you're such a baby!" while others are pondering "isn't that old?" I'm neither old nor am I a baby... thankyouverymuch.

I decided that my new year resolution was to get people to like me more to take care of my health issues. I live in a fantastic country with sunshine 80% of the year and it gives me plenty of opportunities to get out and stay active. But I don't. Because I'm lazy. And I live on the Internet. No, not like Tron - I don't live IN it, just on it.

I kinda like spending money and April is going to be an expensive month for us. Why? Because it's my birthday month - DUH! So, in honor of my big 3-0 birthday and NOT completing all of the items on my 30 before 30 list (again, because I'm lazy) - we're doing a giveaway.

This giveaway is WORLDWIDE. Why? Because we live in Israel and it's my birthday. That's why! I'm a princess and what I say goes... on my birthday.


So, what will you be getting? A gift basket of stuff you can only find in Israel. So, for you, it's kind of a surprise but it's a gift basket of stuff that I like from the holy land.


What's in the gift basket? you ask...

• Water Based Hand Cream A Mineral Rich Water based Hand Cream with Sea of Life Minerals, Cucumber, Zucchini (squash) and Tomatoes extracts. For nourishing the skin and for a magic day. - it smells like Cabbage Patch dolls!!
• Dead Sea Mud
• Elite chocolate - like my favorite bar pictured below... the Egozi bar (hazelnut, nougat, and chocolate...drool...
• A Star of David or Cross Necklace from the holy land... depending on your religion (which I may have to ask of the winner)
• An assortment of dried fruit... we're known for it!

And a few surprises...

I really like our readers. You've been there for us through thick and thin and read all my b.s. so this is my gift to you for my birthday.

Don't you want my Egozi bar

Anyway, here's how to enter...

• Tell us what you know about Israel by leaving a comment on this giveaway listing - only comment once and leave your email address in the comment! (mandatory and must be done in the comment field)

For additional entries... (be sure to come back and fill out the form below each time you do one!)

• Be our FAN on Facebook and leave a relevant comment telling us why you want to win
• Follow us on twitter
• Retweet "@Hilly293 I want to win your birthday giveaway! http://ow.ly/4q3ir" once per day
• Blog about the contest (send us the URL in below form)
  

The contest ends on April 9th - 11:59pm EST.

Good luck!

Giveaway Round-up

So, life has been INSANELY busy lately and neither of us has had time to write much. In light of that, we're giving you a treat today: a whole list of awesome sites that are doing giveaways!

Check the sites for their specifics...

Health, Beauty, Children, and Family is hosting a giveaway of a $50 gift card to Apothica! They sell all your favorite beauty brands so this is a GREAT deal! The giveaway ends March 30!

3 Garnets and 2 Sapphires is giving away women's performance active wear from ION Actif! Now that it's spring time, you have no excuse not to get out and play! The giveaway ends TODAY (3/28)!!

My friend Jen, from Journey to the Max, is giving away 3 gift cards from Niki's Pizza in DETROIT worth $20 each. This is open to Detroit peeps only BUT if you've never had Niki's pizza, you're missing out. (Don't tell Buddy's Pizza I said that...)

Finally, Laughing Lindsay is hosting a unique giveaway. In the spirit of spring renewal, she's giving away the Step by step belly dance workout DVD by Acacia. Her giveaway ends April 11.

Stay tuned tomorrow... we'll be talking about our big BIRTHDAY giveaway (in honor of me turning 30)!

March Memories - Happy Birthday, Jodi

As a young kid, I always looked up to my sisters. They were both my heroes. When my Mom went back to school and joined the work force, my grandmothers freaked and thought I'd be mother-less. This was the early 1980's and it still wasn't "normal" for a Mother to have a career. My oldest sister, Jodi, stepped up when she needed to.

She was never really given credit for what she did - and it's credit she deserved. It was normal back then for older siblings to step up and act more adult-y... long before they had to. Aside from her normal chores, Jodi cooked dinner and always made sure to have dinner on the table when my parents came home.

I LOVED my sister's cooking as a kid. Before I stopped eating lamb, she used to make my favorite meal when I was being good - lamb and mashed potatoes.

I wasn't a hard kid to please with a meal like that. As I got older, Jodi moved on to doing her own thing. She had three of the most amazing children in this world (but I'm NOT biased... it's just a fact). When her world came crushing down, she picked up the pieces and put it back together again.

Today is her birthday and it's a BIG birthday. She's 10 years older than me in age but about 5 years younger than me in the way that she sees the world. It's a gift.

So, Jodi, Happy Birthday! May you get all that you deserve and achieve everything your heart desires.

March Memories - Happy Birthday, Mom

The first thing I want to tell you is TODAY IS MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY! I won't tell you how many years young she is BUT I will tell you that she looks very young.

My mom has always been awesome! She's always worried about me but never to the point where she stepped in to tell me I was doing something stupid. She let me sprout my wings and fly - no matter how much my flight pained her.

One of my favorite memories I have with my Mom is when she came with me to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) for a high school field trip my French class was having. She was one of two parents that signed up to take the tour. She took a day off of work to be with us and it meant the world to me.

My Dad says I'm a carbon copy of her but I didn't see it until I looked at my wedding photos.

She's always been there for me, through thick and thin, and always supported me no matter what.

She taught me right from wrong. Taught me to give back to my community. She also taught me to fight for those that can't fight for themselves.

Sparky and Cecil love their Grandma (probably more than they love us).

I hope you have a fantastic birthday, Mom - and many, many more to come!

Shabbat Reflections

It's Shabbat - I shouldn't be blogging. I should be working on papers. I woke up at 6:30AM this morning after a late-night of hanging out with friends. You may have read in a previous post that we held our annual post-Thanksgiving Shabbat Dinner. It went off without a hitch... almost. Kind of. Sort of. OK, I TOTALLY screwed up the green bean casserole.

All in all, it was a great night. I couldn't have done it without my friend Matan. He came early to help me cook and keep me company while Craig cleaned. He was FANTASTIC! Granted, I kicked him out of the kitchen at some point so he could chill with the rest of the peeps at our house.

I missed Thanksgiving in Detroit more than usual this year. Everyone convened at my Mom's house for Turkey Day. Yes, I mean everyone. My sisters, their families, in laws, outlaws, my Aunt and Uncle came in from Arizona, my cousin came in from Seattle, AND my Dad and Stepmom ALSO ate at my Mom's house.

I've waited 19 years for that to happen.

The closest I ever got to seeing it happen was when my sister got married six years ago. During the wedding planning phase, all the parents came together at my Mom's house to talk about the wedding and the planning. At the time, I was dating a guy who kept me as far away from that house as possible. Around 45 minutes after the brunch finished, my sister called and said the coast was clear.

I commend my parents for putting any underlying issues aside and breaking bread as a family. In the end, we're all family. They're connected by children and grandchildren and I am proud of my parents. I'm also sad I missed it.

Now, it's Shabbat and I have a lot to reflect on. I miss my family ... a lot. Especially this time of year. Maybe I'll get to see them over Pesach.

Wordless Wednesday...The Show Goes On

My Wordless Wednesday isn't so wordless. In fact, it's filled with words - for a good reason.

My WW is actually picture less. Please read on...

Even with all the issues Craig and I have faced over the last few weeks nothing compares to what my friend Ben and his wife have been facing for the last year or so. Ben has cancer and is being moved into hospice where he can rest comfortably.

This news, today, really made me sad.

When Ben and I were in high school we were in the same Jewish youth organization together. Ben was vibrant and a bit of a bad ass. He thought he was Mr. Super Cool and, in reality, to most of us he was Mr. Super Cool. He had an attitude, he developed a reputation, but most of all - he cared about his fellow brothers in AZA (Aleph Zadik Aleph - the male section of our youth organization). They really were his brothers and he cared about them as such. He protected them, ragged on them, and loved them.

Ben has always been that kind of guy. Rough on the outside. Gushy in the middle when he needed to be.

Needless to say, when I first heard of Ben's cancer it was after many years of not hearing much. I followed him on facebook, saw he got married to a beautiful young woman and tried to live the normal married live.

Then I got the phone call. Being from the Jewish Community in Metro-Detroit is a little like having a really big phone tree. One person has something happen to them and the news trickles from there. My best friend, M, called me and said "my brother called me, did you know Ben M. has cancer?" Wait, what??

She went on to tell me that when we were in high school, Ben wasn't exactly nice to her little brother but her brother still cared enough to pass along the information. I was shocked, stunned, and went to his facebook profile where I found out about his blog. Through the fantasticness that is the Internet - I've been able to keep up to date with Ben and his wife.

Today, I read a post written by Ben's wife that came with some hard-to-read news. If you visit his facebook page, you'll see dozens of "get well" wishes. I'm going to end this post with this:

The holiday season is just around the corner and it's filled with miracles. It is my hope, this holiday season, that your cancer miraculously disappears and stays gone. It is my hope that this rest is what you need to come back to a full recovery. I believe in miracles and I believe in the power of love. Most of all, I believe in you.

Some of you may not know Ben or his wife, Lindsay - please keep them in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season.

Flashback Friday... on a Tuesday

See the small child in the front row wearing teal tights? That's me. This was in the 1980's and it was at my cousin's bar mitzvah. Crazy, huh? Look at the eyeglasses! WHY OH WHY did my mother make me wear that dress? It has a doily for a collar.

Nothing takes the cake more than my sister's pink bow. She CLEARLY looks thrilled to be wearing it. And my other sister... well, let's be glad she chose NOT to use the bright pink hair mousse that day. She had a flair for color... even back then.

I don't remember much about this day except that my aunt (the one I'm standing next to) promised me candy if I sat still. Bribery still works. You can bribe me with candy any day.

Flying Home

Hello internet world. I'm writing to you from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel. Today is a special day! Craig and I are waiting to fly to Detroit, my home... via Amman, Jordan. That last little fact scares A LOT of people. Fear not, I've already made friends with some of the Arabs.

My last meal is Kosher McDonalds. My feet hurt like hell (do NOT wear boots when flying... little tip for you). And I've never been happier. This is bound to be a short post - the excitement (and exhaustion) is getting to me. I started my day with the headache from hell and a lot of traffic. I'm ending my day sitting in an airport with the love of my life waiting to see my family.

See you in Detroit!! (Go Tigers!)

Wordless Wednesday

Going home is easier when these people are your family members.

See you in 5 days!

Going Home...

It's official! We're headed home to Detroit! Craig will finally get to see where it is I come from and I will finally get to eat a kosher hot dog at Leo's Coney Island. I know, I live in the land of Kosher food BUT they have terrible hot dogs in Israel. Yuck! I will also get to eat Buddy's Pizza. YUMMY! Oh, and go to Frankenmeuth. Awesome!

We'll be making our rounds across Michigan from March 22nd until April 8th, 2010. WHOO HOO!

Oh and just for fun, you should check out this great new site that has the FUNNIEST kid's quotes! This one had me laughing so hard:

3rd Grade Teacher - Minnesota

Posted Date: 02-04-2010

Health

Teacher: What does varicose mean? 3rd Grader: Nearby.

Go and take a look... I dare you!

Also, we're registered at Bed Bath and Beyond and Target.

That's all for now, folks!