8 Things About Me

I was actually tagged (at least) twice for this meme, but you know, I had a baby and all...
so here goes:
"Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog."

1. I never know what to answer when people ask where I'm from, because I'm an army brat. The question kind of makes me uncomfortable in general. I claim to be from New Jersey, because I went to high school there, even though I lived in NY at the time.

2. I'm obsessed with food. I think about sushi, hamburgers, steak, etc all the time. My first year of college, I ate shawarma almost every day. I've always been obsessed with food. I once cried because my brother had hamburgers without me.

3. I love colored pens, markers, crayons, fancy paper, beads, any art supplies. Unfortunately, I have no artistic talent. I frequently throw out my doodles so that no one will see how bad they are.

4. When I was little, I absolutely adored my sister. She left home for college when I was 7. For years, every item I had that had been hers was "holy" to me, and every time I heard a song that I associated with her, I would burst into tears. When I was in second or third grade, I started crying at a school assembly where we were listening to some singer and he sang something by Billy Joel. (I still adore her, and I live less than a block away from her, but I've gained a bit of perspective.)

5. When I listen to myself, I realize I often sound like an opinionated know-it-all. I hate that about myself. Sometimes I don't know how to stop it, though.

6. Even though I grew up in the US, the last time I visited, I felt like the only thing about me that wasn't foreign was my accent. I had absolutely no sense of coming home or coming back, even when I was in places I'd been before.

7. I'm pretty good at Texas Hold'em poker, and I once played online for money and made about $25 in a very short time. I was playing on an account owned by the company I worked for, so I didn't get to keep the money. I'm not as good at other types of poker, and I'm downright awful at backgammon, even though I wrote many sites about backgammon. (and yes, backgammon is more skill than luck)

8. Since I named my daughter Kinneret, several people have told me about relatives of theirs named Kinneret. It's always the same person - Kinneret Meyer who teaches in the English Literature department at Bar Ilan. I never took a course with her, though, because she teaches more classical literature, and I prefer more modern stuff.

Tagging: There's no one left to tag. Everyone I know has been tagged, except DrSavta.

Announcing....

Announcing Kinneret Esther Goodman!

Kinneret is the Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee. The Kinneret is the primary source of fresh water for Israel, and is a sign of life and vitality.

Many songs have been written about the Kinneret. Here are two:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzdbZyt2Iwo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKZJfK4O1XA

Esther is the name of Yaakov's grandmother, Z"L, who passed away several years ago. She was a loving, caring woman who was an important part of Yaakov's upbringing.

Growing!

Yesterday, we took the princess to Tipat Halav. Tipat Halav is where they monitor a baby's growth, give advice on baby care, and give all the important vaccines.

Baby measured 51cm (20 inches), and weighed 3.65 kilograms (just over 8lbs), up from her original weight of 3.612 kg, and way up from her hospital release weight of 3.5 kg.

Today, when we went to give her a bath, we discovered that her umbilical cord had come off! She's growing so nicely!

More Pictures.

Click the title of this email to look at the baby's first album.

Other than that, there's not much to tell. Monday night, I had to go back to the hospital, but I'm doing better now. We've pretty much settled on a name for our daughter. We will announce it at shul on Shabbat, and then hopefully post it here shortly thereafter.

She's very sweet, but we're not getting a lot of sleep.

That's about it for now.
t.c.

About Something Other than the Princess

I found this over at Ser and Ez. It was too important and fascinating to pass up.
It's a piece about the Arab-Israeli conflict.
If you're a leftist, feel free to keep your comments to yourself, or at least post them on Ezzie's and not here, because they'll probably tick me off.

Another Guest-Yaakov

Hello, this is Yaakov.
Leah arrived home today. She caught up on most of her online stuff, but was unable upload pictures, so I've uploaded a few to FaceBook, in addition to the two here. (Sorry to anyone who wanted a picture from when she looked more like a cone head, as you didn't get to see her on the day she was born, you had like only 5 minutes). Here she is almost 3 days old. She weighed approx. 3500grams when she left the hospital today.


Note from Leah: The nice, slim arm there belongs to the neighbor. My arms are still seriously puffy... (no, not Poofy, puffy).