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).

A Guest Entry means...

That late last night (11:55pm)

a new little (3612gr) princess

made her appearance.


Her parents are thrilled :-)

Rachel (the lucky sister & aunt :-))

Smells Like Pre-Labor

I'm apparently in the early stages of labor. Contractions every 6-7 minutes. They started around 12 hours ago, at around 11 minutes apart...

Everyone said it hurts... but they didn't mention how long the pre-hospital hurting is!

Polarity Meme

I've decided to create my own meme. Here's how it works - you put down 10 things you really dislike, followed by 20 you really like.

The concept is to get some frustrations off your chest, and then to get positive again...

so here goes.

Ten things I can't stand:
1. Contractions that aren't getting me anywhere.
2. The fact that my pelvic bones aren't sitting right.
3. The fact that the hamster cage smells.
4. Having to walk the dog when I'm exhausted and it's hard for me to walk.
5. Computer viruses, even if they're in someone else's computer.
6. Handkerchiefs because they seem totally gross to me.
7. Clothes that need to be ironed or hand washed.
8. Having to wear long or longish sleeves & hats in the summer (for religious reasons).
9. That I can't wear my rings anymore because my fingers are too swollen.
10. Being sick.


Twenty Things I LOVE:
1. That my husband made all of our food for Shabbat.
2. Having 2 dishwashers.
3. That I don't have to deal with the dating scene anymore.
4. Having a great, supportive family.
5. That my husband has a good sense of humor.
6. Skydiving
7. Swimming (& just floating in the water)
8. Cream puffs
9. The internet
10. CSI
11. Petting my dog
12. River rafting
13. Air conditioning
14. Macaroni and cheese, especially after spending the day at the pool (don't ask me why, it just seems like the perfect end to a perfect day.)
15. Holding a baby while they're falling asleep.
16. Watching a baby take their first steps.
17. The smell of a freshly bathed baby. (are we sensing a theme?)
18. Ultimate Mocha ice blend with whipped cream (Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf)
19. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
20. SUSHI!!!!!

I tag: Aurynne, Rachel Inbar, and Raggedy Mom

There's Just No Pleasing Some Cats.

For the first time this week, Yaakov came home on time. You'd think I'd be thrilled.
I'm not.
Why?
Because he came home, said hi, took a 30-minute run on his treadmill, took a quick shower, and has been sitting at the dining room table working ever since.

It's nice to ALMOST have him home.
Almost.

Feeling Better

I ain't quite feelin' groovy yet, but overally, I'm feeling much less negative. This did not come about because I "thought positive." This came about mainly because 1. I got some medical help for some issues, including allergy medication to help with the previously incessant coughing. 2. I've been out of the house a whole bunch since my parents got back. 3. I haven't been spending so much time alone.

I was slightly annoyed at Kefirot's post on depression, but he clarified in his comments that he recognizes that gratitude is only part of the story. I find it very frustrating when people expect me to "pick myself up by my own bootstraps" from depression. If I could do that with any success, I would have already done it. I have a whole bunch of things that I do to get myself out of bad moods, even really depressed ones. For example, I will often watch television to distract myself from my thoughts. I try to see other people or at least talk to other people on the phone, because they will get my thoughts to go elsewhere. If those things fail, usually a good sleep will shake off some of the mood.

For the past two weeks, none of the above were helping at all. "Fake it 'til you make it" was also not getting me anywhere, because it's hard to fake not having crying fits...

Anyway, there was a point to this. If you know someone who is suffering from depression, there are things you can do:
1. Encourage them to get medical help. If you can take them to the appointment or make the appointment for them, that's very helpful - they may not be able to take those steps themselves.

2. Provide a listening ear. Let them get out the issues without being judgmental - things like "that's rough" or "I'm sure that hurts" or "I once went through something similar. It's really tough" help much more than "well, look on the bright side," because someone who is depressed is consumed by their problem. Don't belittle it. It will just make them angry.

3. After you've listened through everything once, change the subject. They need to feel heard, but obsessing is useless.

4. A good meal - when a person is depressed, they will often either eat junk or not eat enough. A good square meal can really help.

5. Protect yourself - If you're being drawn into the depression, don't let it happen. If the person shouldn't be left alone, turn on the TV or watch a movie - they can't talk to you and draw you in, but they're not alone either.

6. Protect yourself and your friend- If you think there's a real suicide risk, get the person committed to a psych ward. It's not your job to be on suicide watch. Don't take responsibility for more than you should!

I'm not a therapist, so this isn't professional advice - but people who have helped me a lot have generally used these things...

B+

Everyone keeps telling me to be positive. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a pessimist by nature, but honestly, I'm just having a little difficulty overcoming that at this point...

Pollyanna is a nice fairy tale. I don't think I'd ever be able to "just be glad" that I got a pair of crutches instead of a doll, for example, even if it does give me the opportunity to be happy that I don't need crutches. (Yes, that's an example from the book... I don't think I ever saw the Disney Movie.)

Anyway, so, I'm not exactly a natural Pollyanna... More than that, I'm in the midst of a hormone storm. Add the fact that my pelvic bones seem to be adrift, causing seriously bad pain whenever I walk, change sitting position, or turn over in bed, and the mood is just not so good.

So last night, I had contractions all night - starting at 11pm. The problem was that they were not consistent - I had three in a row 3 minutes apart, then one 7 minutes later, another one 5 minutes later, and well, you get the point... so they're not getting longer, stronger, and closer together (which they're supposed to do) so I'm sitting here pondering what to do. Husband came home at midnight, exhausted out of his gourd, and knowing he had to go grocery shopping at 7:45 (b/c that's when he could get a ride) and that he had to go to work today.

So I was on my own. He had to sleep. So I got busy - I packed a bag for Poofy, (the dog's gotta eat, right?) I finished packing my bag. (I added a robe, some socks, stuff like that. Most of the stuff was already there.) I took a nice hot shower. And then the contractions had kind of eased up. So I tried to go to sleep. I managed to sleep, but I had horrible dreams about the baby having a shark in there with it, about going into labor and not being able to find the ward and having to climb up a wet slide to get to the nurse, about Yaakov not being there with me... just bad dreams that make me fairly certain I was having a lot of pain but was managing to sleep through it.

In the morning, I went to the women's clinic here in town, and they put me on a monitor. The contractions were way lighter at this point, and the doctor didn't even bother to look at me. He just told me that nothing was happening, and that's life. I was crying. I just felt like "I worked soooo hard all night, and you're telling me I accomplished NOTHING?!"

I know it's irrational. But it's how I feel.

Anyway, my parents are back! I thought I'd go to their house and they'd cheer me up. Instead, I got a lecture on being positive. Strangely, this lecture led me to cry much more...

It's really awful when you're doing your best and feeling miserable and basically you're told that you're doing a crappy job because you're letting a whole boatload of frustrations and annoyances get you down.

This is not the first time people have told me to be positive...I'm thinking that next time someone tells me to be positive, though, I will positively punch them in the stomach and ask them how positive it makes them feel!

Belly Brain!

A week or two ago, Yaakov was asked to perform and give a speech at City Hall in Jerusalem. Those of you who know Yaakov well know that public speaking in Hebrew is not something that comes naturally or easily for him.

Actually it's the Hebrew that doesn't come naturally or easily for him. When he was a kid, he studied acting, and even did some acting, and he has natural performance ability - something I completely lack.

At any rate, he's happy to juggle for anyone and everyone, but the speech was another story... so I offered to come and give the speech for him.

So my mother caught me on a chat (from China... they're still there) and I tell my mother this - about how I will be speaking in front of Mayor Lupolianski (or however you spell it)... We go on to talk about other things, including the fact that I keep having contractions, apparently still Braxton-Hicks (or Mason-Dixon, according to a friend who teaches Poli Sci) and that I have an appointment with the doctor to find out how things are going on Thursday.

So this morning, I wake up to see an email wishing me good luck for today, to which I automatically respond "my doctor's appointment isn't until Thursday, but thanks."

I am SUCH a belly brain!