Month: February 2009

  • Favorite kind of Friday.

    It hasn’t rained enough in Israel this winter, but when it has rained – it’s really, really rained. Which is just perfect on a Friday when you’re home, cozy, coming off the baby furniture high from the day before, and your husband knows how to make homemade chai lattes.  Of course, we’re always hoping for…

  • Acquiring possessions in baby steps.

    While I still don’t know how/where I plan to give birth, I do know this: apparently I’m supposed to be shopping for this prima dona that hasn’t even arrived yet.  Last night I dared venture into the black hole that is Babies R Us (.com) and the only thing stopping me from shrieking and waddling…

  • The 'Gap' in Israeli fashion.

    I’ve lived here over four years now, and as a rule, I don’t clothing-shop here. Maybe once a year I’ll buy the odd pair of loose ‘Israeli’ pants or a fun Jerusalem-hippie skirt, but I don’t find that this country’s fashion sense has much to offer me (and I can’t afford the high-end stuff which…

  • Only classy chocolate for the little one.

    Here’s what you get when your OB-GYN is a French-Israeli:  “Basically, just make sure you’re feeling movements. Check when you are relaxed and at peace. Make sure you feel some in a half an hour’s time and if not, after an hour, give it some Brenner*… <insert us laughing here> No, really. Give it Brenner…

  • Facing the streets.

    I like this. Especially since reading the Israeli news lately has been painful (then again, when is it not?). Look at Barkat being all cultural and whatnot: Jerusalem streets to put a face to name Capital’s municipality to replace all street signs named after famous people with new signs featuring personality’s image, story You’re driving…

  • Yellow haze, yellow sky, yellow rain.

    Here’s the view from my office as we sit in the middle of a traditional (but intense) Israeli dust storm. At least it’s supposed to rain tonight… Though that won’t be much of a pretty sight, either.  That’s supposed to be Malcha up there… The sun eclipsed by dust… Beware open windows…  

  • Homebirth in Israel.

    UPDATE (April 2011): After this post was written, down the road, for my second child, we did a home birth in our apartment in Tzur Hadassah. I’ve got more info on the subject now from firsthand experience and am happy to share: My home birth story: Israel, Tzur Hadassah, apartment, bedroom. Registering your newborn after…

  • A lizrael update pregnant with… updates.

    Pregnancy is probably the ultimate example of time flying while also feeling like the slowest dimension, which I’m realizing is especially true for the third trimester. It’s a period filled with inner conflict: yalla, let’s do this already/whoa, what’s the rush, self?! At times I feel like a kid, constantly being asked, “how are you,…

  • Radio scare tactics work.

    If you’re an Israel driver who listens to the radio in the car – like me – you’ll have noticed about 246247856 times over that there are these commercials from the Ministry of Transportation. A guy is calmly describing nice and pleasant things that you may be thinking about at this moment, and then this…

  • Election fever, Israeli-style.

    I’m sitting in my office, listening as every single person who leaves for the day calls out in the hallway:  “Happy voting!” “אל תשכח להצביע מחר” “!ללכת לקלפי, להצביע ולהשפיע” “Vote wisely!” At lunch, I walked past a lively discussion on the strategy of voting and throughout the day have been pepper-sprayed with water cooler…

  • On preparing, inside and out.

    It’s amazing how the female body prepares itself for birth during pregnancy.  There’s the obvious: the beefing up on body mass, the need for sleep, the extending belly.  There’s the less obvious: the slowed metabolism, the hyper hormone production, the  nesting habits. There are bi-products: the heartburn, the gallstones, the stocking up on vitamin E.  Then there’s…