4 minutes till 2010

It's 4 minutes till midnight and I sit and reflect on the past year. It has been a year full of many challenges and blessings. Family members deaths, cancer diagnosis, drug addictions and subsequent recovery programs, surgeries, body transformations that were less than excellent, finding the dearest friend I could wish for, pregnancy, labor and delivery, purchasing our first home and most joyfully arrival and growth of our daughter Aviv Amore! It is midnight as I write this and Aviv is fast asleep and I hear fireworks blasting outside.

Happy New Year World. It sounds and feels like it will be a blessed one. I feel the joy and excitement welling up inside. I will go see if I am able to glimpse the fire work from our yard. Be right back!

Being outside for 15 minutes brought me the sound of fire works in the sky, a huge halo around the full moon, the music of neighbors celebrating the New year and shouts of laughter. Bells and noise makers creating merriment allow me an entry from a distance into the celebration. I feel a warmth and joy into the upcoming year and all of the possibilities held within its days.

I feel truly blessed to be in a loving relationship with Lior. Aviv entering our life has generated so much joy and grace. She is a blessing and a patient and wonderful teacher to me. I am inspired by her gentleness and unique soul.

I am looking forward to the brilliance of 10' to show itself as the tremendous halo that surrounded the moon did this evening.

Here's to all of the incredible possibilities of the year and to posessing patience and grace for all of life and how it presents to us in this coming year!

I am embracing another year with ease, joy and glory!

Moving from inside out!

Incredible how I enjoyed being inside so much while being pregnant. Being home kept me updating my blogs and keeping digitally current.

Then labor and delivery began, a 10 day journey still focused indoors, although no other activity save the labor dance was permitted my attention.

Then poof... Aviv made her way into this world and we were all in the home cave again gestating and getting ready for the outside world.

When 4 weeks hit my folks visited and Lior went back to work and as soon as the new Grand-papa and Grand-mama aka."Nana" flew away I was off and running! Galavanting like the social butterfly Mr. Dempsey coined me as in HS. Any way point being I have been to active and busy in the outside world to update or stay current here.

But how I love to do it when I am... We are home this week because I have some kind of crazy flu like bug that needs to be nurtured. Aviv is nappin' after her 14th (I am not exaggerating here, it is only 3PM)feeding so I had a split second to post some cutties of her!

Check out this creativity re-boot!

Seattle for the weekend...

We had a great time.

"What a civilized city!" Are the 4 words I found myself exclaiming often.

Free public transportation!??!!?? WHAT? I kept on thinking for sure I was going to get busted sooner or later.

Lior loved your city as well.

So easy to navigate and get around.

We went to Pike's when we arrived and had some good ole home town NY knishes.

Walked to pier 54 to Ivars and discovered the nectar of the ocean. Like oceanic tea. That was great. However I was on a mission to find great clam chowder and failed miserably with
Ivar's.

Walked to the hotel, which was delish' passed out for a bit and then went to eat dinner at a great Italian restaurant on 4th and Virginia, just a hop skip and a tumble out the door of our hotel.

On Sunday we lolly gaggged around the divine space of our temporary home for some time and then had a posh breakfast at Lola's, which satisfied the foodie in me and pissed off the pants of our lovely, practical and basic eater Lior.

Then we hopped onto the 3rd ave free miracle and went to Pioneer Square, loved the area, reminded me of Astor place & St. Marks with a whole lotta' charm thrown in and a whole lotta grime tossed out.

We wandered and perused and then made our way to the Underground Tour. Our time was spent between 2 tour guides, the first was excellent, the 2nd way less than so. I'd say we were over all disappointing with the experience and were expecting more. But in truth, the 2nd tour guide was really the pits. He continue to make attempts to be comical using irrelevant meth, prozac and esoteric references to sources of trivia I no longer recall. We were glad not to be sharing in space time and energy with him as the tour was over.

Placing that experience behind us we visited Cafe Umbria, where I has the most spendereferous Italian thick, rich and deep hot chocolate. This successfully melted away the last vestiges of the prior debris.

Next we were off to experience the wonder of FREE transportation once again. I continued to have the feeling that I was for sure breaking some sort of law. We went to the monorail where we paid like a normal city would insist upon. I loved riding above the streets and driving through the Frank Gehrey, museum of music. That was the whole reason I wanted to go there. His work fascinates me with it's organic fluid motions and surrealistic vision of what space can be represented as. We took some sweet shots a the Space Needle and then walked down to the sculpture garden on the water.

By this time my full form was really aching and calling out for our dream room #706 at Hotel Andra. So I dragged myself towards the sacred space with Lior behind me practically pushing me up Virginia between the market and 1st street, motivating me with funny Isralei military march tunes. A sight to behold.

We passed out once again in the magical room and came to starving. We pushed up our dinner reservation 1/2 hour and went to eat at Lola's. Again, predictably the foodie in me was satisfied, singing and sated and Lior wanted nothing more than a slice of pizza frozen or otherwise to quell his hunger that persisted after consumption of his meal.

We went out and got chocolate to take the edge off and passed out to a night of flat screen TV in room #706...

Upon waking Lior went to the Seattle office to play with the fellow u-tubers and I went out to search for the evasive chowder that I craved. I spoke to 3 different peeps and got 3 different answers about the chowder. All places were closed so I walked to the ferry on pier 52 and found myself on a little journey to Bainbridge Island. Am old Yogi friend of mine from Orange county is moving there soon with his partner and I was curious about the place. I meandered there for a breakfast bite at the Blackbird Cafe & spent some time feeding the local Blackbirds and chatting with them. I walked the rest of the sweet main strip stumbled into the bookshop, (it was a great one I could have spent hours there) and picked up a copy of "The Saffron Kitchen" Walked back to the ferry, hopped off in Seattle and resumed my chowder mission. I went to 2 places. One was in the market and had upstairs seating that I loved. The upstairs seating not the chowder. The second place the chowder was better but not fantastic. Maybe I expect to much out of a chowder. I did however find really good Borekas. Something that Lior and I both enjoy, practically a miracle.

Back I journeyed to the Hotel to meet Lior as our plane was leaving in 2 hrs and it was time to exit this fairytale like city and make our way back to our own backyard!

seeing baby 3d & 4d

This weekend Lior and I went to have a final peek at baby. I am at 22 weeks, a little over 1/2 way there. We were able to see all the bits and pieces of the lil' one. Baby looks great, 10 fingers 10 toes the whole bit. The placenta is in a great position and the lil one is being fully nourished. For those of you that know me this comes as no surprise. We have a video of baby moving around and the sound of the heart beat and us chatting with Lance Dursi, the US specialist. Lior will be uploading it soon and I hope to post it here as well for you all to take a peek. It is pretty detailed. I am loving being pregnant, feeling the movement, pokes and kicks inside has got to be one of the most surreal and mystifying experiences.

ice has been broken

Looks like the prior post is forever in Hindi. I had set my blog up to translate into Hindi not realizing that my written words would be typed out in Hindi. I imagined that there would be a Hindi translation option on the blog making Hindi an available language option.

I just reset that part of the set up menu and now that I am out of the hesitation phase of writing and breaking into the first post, English is the more appropriate language.

Over to my food blog now to meander into Ribolitta and the simple nurture and joy of that.

थिस बीइंग माय फर्स्ट ब्लॉग एंट्री इ ऍम हेसितंत एंड कीप देलायिंग थे पोस्ट। इ सी नो ठाट आईटी इस इरोनिक व्हेन इ सेट उप थे प्रोफिलऐ इ सेटआईटी उप तो ट्रांसलेट इन इन्तो हिन्दी। नोट रेअलिजिंग अत हे टाइम ठाट आईटी वौल्ड बे औतोमातिकाल्ली ट्रांस्लातेद अस इ त्य्पेद। इ थौघ्त तेरे वौल्ड बे सम सोर्ट ऑफ़ आप्शन ओंस थे ब्लॉग वास पोस्टेड तो ट्रांसलेट आईटी इन्तो हिन्दी। वेल पेर्हप्स थिस इस थे इन्च्ब्रेअकेर एंड बेगिन्निंग ब्लॉग फॉर में। पेर्फेक्ट्ली हिडेन फ्रॉम एवें माय ओवन व्यू! ओनली एक्स्पोसेद तो मेरे बिल्लिओंस इन अ लैंगुएज इ ओंस हद अ ब्रिएफ़ स्टंट ऑफ़ सतुदी इन बनारस, इंडिया व्हेन इ त्रवेलेद तेरे फॉर ४ मोंथ्स।

टुडे इ इन्दुल्गेद इन थे पुर्चासे ऑफ़ नेरोइल एस्सेंतिअल आयल। आईटी वास अ गुड चोइस अन ओने ठाट इ हद पुट ऑफ़ फॉर अ फेव येअर्स ओं अंसऑफ़।

सिंस बेकोम्मिंग प्रेग्नंत इन जून इ हवे स्तोप्पेद वेरिंग अल एस्सेंतिअल ओइल्स। अ बीत ओवर प्रोतेक्टिवे ऑफ़ थे देवेलोपिंग न्यू ओने एंड एनी पोस्सिब्ले कोन्त्रैन्दिकतिओन्स ठाट इ वे इनाद्वेर्तान्त्ली स्टेप इन्तो।

लावंदर लेमन वास थे फर्स्ट ओने इ रेंत्रोदुसद तो माय स्किन जुस्त थिस वीकएंड। टुडे अ मिक्स ऑफ़ जोजोबा रोस एंड नेरोली लीड तो थे पुर्चासे ऑफ़थे नेरोइल।

काम तो थिंक ऑफ़ आईटी इ अल्सो मेड रोस चॉकलेट चिप मुफ्फिंस थिस वीक इन्फुसेद विथ ओरंगे ब्लोस्सों (अ.क.अ। नेरोइल)

इ सी अ थीम हियर! ओने इन्फुसेद विथ त्रंकुइल लव। अ निस प्लेस तो बे कमिंग फ्रॉम व्हेन प्रेग्नंत।

इ वोंदर इफ इ विल एवर बे अबलेतो उन्लोक्क थिस हिन्दी बेक इन्तो इंग्लिश व्हेन इ'म नोट फीलिंग सो रेलुक्टंत एंड इन्हिबितेद तो एक्स्पोसे माय मेंटल मेंदेरिंग्स।

वे विल सी इ ऍम सुर।

फॉर नो थेऐ लोव्ले अरोमा ऑफ़ नेरोली सुर्रौंड्स में एंड इ ब्रिएफ्ली इमागिने हविंग ओने मोरे ऑफ़ ठोस वोंदेर्फुल चॉकलेट चिप रोस मुफ्फिंस। इ विल पोस्ट अबाउट थेम ओं माय फ़ूड ब्लॉग। अस वेल थे रिबोलिता इ रे-क्रेअतेद तो कांजुरे उप थे टाइम इ लिवेद इन इटली एंड काम आक्रोस थिस फंटास्टिक क्रेअशन इन तुस्कान्य। ठाट रिबोलिता इस रेअल्ली ओं माय मंद। थे इन्तेरेस्तिंग नोवेल्टी ठाट रेसुल्ट्स इन थिस ट्रांसलेशन सॉफ्टवेर इस ठाट इफ इ गेट तू लॉन्ग विन्देद एंड इन माय हेड इ लूसेथे थ्रेड ऑफ़ माय ओवन थौघ्त एंड थे इमागेरी क्रुम्ब्लेस आवे लिखे अ वास्तेद ओर्चार्ड लेफ्ट ओं थे विन पस्त डेथ। नो पोस्सिबिलिटी तो पोलिश और रेफिने थिस टाइप ऑफ़ व्रितिंग।

अ वलुँब्ले एक्सेर्सिज़े फॉर नो। अह थे रिबोलित्ता। इ विल गो राइट अबाउट आईटी नो.