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3 weeks

Its hard to believe I have been married now for 3 weeks! Me a wife, a married lady! It is still a bit surreal. I am definitely enjoying it and it and I keep finding myself saying that it just feels so normal.

We had such an amazing and beautiful wedding. People are still telling us how it was one of the best weddings they went to and how special and spiritual it was. We broadcast the chuppa live on the internet so our friends and family abroad could watch it. We got married in Jerusalem and one friend who couldn't make it actually watched it online. The chuppa ended up being and hour and a half, we couldn't believe it was that long but it was so beautiful no one really noticed.

Here you can see the hair vine I made and my bouquet I ended up getting. The woman who did my hair couldn't believe I made the hairpiece myself, and she wants me to sell them, she said she has a lot of brides who would be interested in a hairpiece like what I made. So I guess I have a new little side business. That's what life in Israel is all about, piecing together jobs to make up one.

There ended up being possibly 400 people at the wedding, 300 intended guests and 100 more that came to celebrate with us. We couldn't believe how many poeple were able to come it was truly amazing! There were a lot people we missed but will BE"H be seeing soon in April when we go to North America. This will be my first trip to Toronto and meeting alot of my husbands family and friends who were not able to make it to Israel for the wedding. Husband, hee hee, I still have to get used to that part. More adventures to come...

unintended hiatus

Wow so I didn't mean for such a hiatus to happen but well I got engaged exactly a month ago now. It is so exciting, but it is a bit time consuming! People are right when they say planning a wedding is a full time job. All I do all day long is fill out forms, run errands, and make phone calls that have to do with the wedding. It is fun and we are enjoying the process with all its ups and downs.


Ian is adorable and I am soo happy! I knew he was going to propose when he did but I was trying to act like I didn't know. I was so anxious and nervous and I couldn't really eat when we went out to dinner. Ian seemed fine and calm. After having dinner we walked to the Old City and he took me to his favorite spot, this old ampitheatre and that was when he asked me if I would marry him and I ofcourse said "YES!"

It is truly amazing, he gave me a beautiful ring that I love so much that was his Great Aunt's and it fts me perfectly and is so much ;like the style of rings that I like, it's not yelow gold and not white gold but a more rose gold and it is old and has an antique style and is unique, and even better it has a story because it belonged to someone whom he loved. And I feel so honored to have this ring now and to be marrying Ian.

After leaving the Old City Ian said that his Rabbi wanted us to go over to his house which was fine with me because I am very very close with this family, because oif this family is how we met! But little did I know Ian had planned a surprise L'Chayim there with my close friends and his close friends and the Rabbi's family and Ian's family, his parents and sister were visiting for a family wedding. I was soo surprised I couldn't believe it. It was really amazing.

Now ever since we got engaged we have been planning our wedding. We are so excited that we are God willing getting married on Tu B'Shvat, the birthday of the trees! This is just such a great day for us and we are so excited that it is all working out. Mazal Tov!

Check out my Picasa Web Album if you want to see more pictures from our engagement!

Mazel Tovsssssssssssss

On Tuesday was Nadiva Rose's Bat Mitzvah. It was so much fun two of my friends and I were the only "adults" invited the rest were a bunch of 12 year old girls. The other too are my friends Aliza and Hillel, who just got engaged, yay mazel tov!!

The Bat Mitzvah was so much fun and I am so glad and honored that I was there. I love the Rose family they are amazing. Yesterday there was a crazy rain storm that was not expected. I was not prepared for this rain I was wearing converse a hoodie and a light jean jacket. I got drenched. Yafo street had turned into a raging river, it was insane. On my way home I was going by Michael Rose's store, JBC (Judaica Book Center) and I decided to go in to seek a little refuge. Michael saw me running towards the door and was laughing, I just walked in side and said "Help!" he just laughed at me. I hung out talking with Michael for a while then went home when the rain stopped.

Thank God for the rain, we sure need it and it gave me such an adventure.

weddings upon weddings

I have been pretty busy taking care of all the details of moving to an other country. I finally got my kupat cholim (health insurance and provider) yesterday. This was a difficult process. So things in Israel seem to never been open when you need and always seems to be closed at weird times. Those of us coming from the west are used to places being upon in semi-convenient hours and being able to take care of things online or by a phone call. Well not here in Israel. So to get my kupat cholim I first needed to go to the post office to pay a few dollars for I don't even know what and then take the receipt and this paper form the post office to the health provider of my choice. So after two days of trying to go to the post office to find it to be closed for who knows what reason. It then took me a few more days to get to teh health provider because many businesses here in Israel close at 1pm and sometimes open again at 4pm or don't open again till the next day. This is very convenient for the people working there since there is no Sunday here, the weekend is Shabbat and for those of us who celebrate this holy day it doesn't leave another day to run errands like Sunday in America.
So basically it took me a few days to find the time to get back to get health coverage but now I have it.

Activating my bank card was also a long process. I received it in the mail a few weeks ago but wasn't able to activate it. i tried to call the number and use the English section and then tried it in Hebrew. I even had my friend's husband call and try to do it for me, we just couldn't figure out what number's it was asking for so finally on a day I was able to get to the bank before it closed, the bank is open from 9-3pm Sunday-Thursday, I was able to activate it in the bank over 3 weeks later.

Besides these little odds and ends I have had a few simchas yay!! Mazal Tov!

Last night my friend Marna got married. It was such a beautiful high energy wedding. Marna looked beautiful and I loved her dress! Above is me, Aliza, and Rachael looking oh so beautiful and pregnant with the Rose girls minus Shiran.

So the day before Marna's wedding I became a shomeret. The bride and the groom have a few close friends serve as Shomrim (guards) for them. This is kind of the equivalent to Bride's Maids because we run around taking care of weddings details and entertaining the family member's and making sure the bride and groom don't see each other. Some couples don't see each other for the week before the wedding so the first time they see each other is when the groom is escorted in by all the men singing and dancing while the women surround the bride. This is a beautiful and powerful that always brings tears to my eyes.


In little over a week Shalva is getting married so we had a tichiel (scarf) party for her. Here I am showing Shalva how to tie her tichiel after she gets married. I don't know how I became the tichiel tying teacher but I did and I showed her a few different ways to do it.

This is the last tichiel of the night and it happened to be form me! If I do say so myself I tied it on her pretty nicely!

So many simchas...Mazal Tov yoyeh lanu v'lachol Yisrael!

2 Days Left

I can't believe only two days left before Aliyah! That is just crazy. I am going to really miss everyone here but I am very excited to begin my life in Israel. Also I am very excited to be done packing. Packing to move to another country is really just insane; fitting your whole life into 3 suitcases and a carry-on! Good luck to anyone who ever has is doing or will have to do this. I know it is all worth it. I am going home!

H & E does not spell HE

In the process of cleaning out all my things I cam across and old Polaroid camera that still had film in it, so I decided to bring it over to Hayley's a couple weeks ago when I went to hang out. What better excuse to take pictures of adorable babies and amazing friends then finding an old camera with film in it.

The camera sadly is now at a Goodwill somewhere.

Wow, I love these two gals! I will miss you and watching this little dumpling grow.
Thank you for our long conversation today and your friendship!

No matter how many years go by and how many miles may be in between it is amazing to see how some friendships never fade.

I don't know why but this picture just reminds me of these other picture of H and me in the summer of 1993 when we were in middle school that was from a photo booth at the Balboa Fun Zone. I can't believe I was able to find these pictures.

I love old pictures!


"I get by with a little help from my friends"
- The Beatles, With A Little Help From My Friends

Abby and Avram

Mazal tov! Abby and Avram got married on Sunday, Father's Day at House Of The Book (HOB) at the Brandies-Bardin campus of the American jewish University. I am so happy that I was in California and was able to be a part of Abby and Avram's exciting day. Abby looked absolutely stunning in her very elegant early 1960's inspired dress. Her flowers were white lilies and her brides maids had bouquets of white roses and lavender. I love the use of the lavender.
When the girls came in with Abby for the Kabbalat Panim, they came in singing and playing tambourines. This was very powerful, I just wish I had my tambourine that I got a few days before coming to California! I had been wanting a tambourine for a while and wanting to paint something on it. I'm not sure what I will paint on it yet.
Abby's dad made the chuppah base out of a peach tree that Avram's parents planted when he was born. A family friend of Avram's made the actual chuppah and it had one of their grandfather's tallit's sewn into it. Also a friend of their's gave them the yarmulkes as a gift and each one was different, they were handmade in Guatemala. It was very cool. Their wedding was very unique and very them!

Instead of those wasteful little table cards they had small blackboards that they wrote the table numbers on and then each person's name underneath the table number that they are at. And then on each table was a small little black board with the number written on it. There were various shaped and sized jars and vases on each table with white, purple, and green flowers and plants along with sprouting grass.

Their wedding was absolutely stunning and unique. Each detail was so personal and it was all worth it because it was great! A beautiful Spring wedding!

The Event & The Activities

The Event: My Best Friend's Wedding

I of course was late to the wedding, I knew I was going to be late to start out but as I set off in my mom's new Prius I was driving for only 5 minutes when I got pulled over by a cop. I had apparently forgot to turn the lights on. So after the cop handed me my ticket and I said, "This is a great way to say welcome back! Know I know why I moved," I continued on my journey to the wedding. The wedding was great I saw some of my BFF's that I have not seen for almost a year all who of course are married now. It is just so interesting to see all these friends as wives now, to see what has changed and what hasn't.

The event concluded with a back yard barb-q. Apparently they had a whole lamb on a spit, but I only saw a picture and then everyone eating kabobs. There of course was a lot of food, Greek style and friends again. I am so excited for my BFF and her now new hubby, they look so happy and are just beginning this amazing life together. May we all be so lucky to find our soulmates and have the opportunity to gather our friends and family form near and far and feed them!

Obsessions

I have become obsessed with watching TV online. I stopped watching TV for the most part a couple of years ago but recently I have become so addicted to downloading TV shows, so basically every day turns into a TV marathon of some show or the other. I have been watching, catching up on or now eagerly awaiting the season premieres since the writers strike are:

• Weeds
• Desperate Housewives
• Big Love
• Ugly Betty
• Heroes

With the ability to downlonad TV shows I am also able to watch all of my favorite older shows like:

• Twin Peaks
• My So Called Life
• Freaks and Geeks

This obsession needs to stop because I am watching TV all the time now on my computer and not getting other things done. I guess it is ok since I am semi on vacation and am at least working on some art projects at the same time. Now I am working on some projects for friends who have either gotten married over the last year or are getting married within the next few months. That leads me onto the next state of affairs of my life, everyone around seems to be getting married it is actually insane the rate of engagements and weddings that happening around me. One of the reasons that I am in California now is for one of my best friend's weddings she is getting married tomorrow night and I am so excited to see her and all of my other friends who I have not seen in a while and two of which (are my bestfriends) were married (not to each other) over the last few months and since I was in Israel was not able to make it to their weddings. I am also obsessed with weddings whic makes perfect sense for how many I have been going to or invited to over the last year. I may actually have a wedding or engagement party every month if not multiple a month. Thank God for all of the blessings and happiness around me, I try to pay attention to all of the wonderful things that happen everyday and it makes it that much easier when there are some many wonderful blessings in my life.


Babies have always been on my mind and I love them and recently there have also been a lot of babies in my life. Another best friend just had a baby a week ago. After 3 days of labor she had an adorable healthy little girl and I can't wait to see both baby and mommy. Yay for babies!!! I can't wait to have my own, maybe if I stop watching tv I will find Mr. Right, gett married, and have a baby or few of my own.