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Seven Ps

Seven subjects that are meaningful to me, all beginning with the letter P (Dena tagged me):

1. Persian culture
2. Photography
3. Pistachio nuts
4. Poise
5. Praising people
6. Prayer
7. Pure motives

Rather than tag anyone, I’m curious to hear from both bloggers and non-bloggers alike on some of your Ps. Give it to me here.

The IKEA Fairy

Two fairies were walking around IKEA on Thursday night, cheering up the kids and waving their wands at the adults. I think it had something to do with the Festival of Sukkot.

Sangeh-Pa

If I had known that I’d wear sandals every day in Israel, I would have brought more than one pair with me.

I also didn’t know that, by wearing sandals every day, the bottoms of my feet would get so rough.

But lucky me -- after our office lunch at Allenby Restaurant today, Lucas bought me a sangeh-pa! Or a foot rock. Whatever you like to call it, I’m going to have soft feet again. Yay.

Beautiful Night, Delicious Pasta

The air was so temperate last night that we decided to try out Pasto and its outdoor patio. I had some gooooood sweet potato ravioli.

Throughout dinner I thought of my sister, Mojdeh, who is a Seattle foodie and would love exploring the Haifa restaurant scene -- and who is celebrating her birthday today. Happy birthday, Moj!

Congratulations, Aaron and Alissa

Sadly, we missed Aaron and Alissa’s wedding in Catonsville, Maryland last Sunday.

I’ve known Aaron since the early (print) days at One Magazine, when I was just a teenager pretending to know something about writing and editing. I think that was 1996, or maybe 1997. Then in 1998, Aaron and I hung out in Albuquerque during the four months that I was living in New Mexico, and in 2000, we worked together again on a print version of Fertile Field.

I was so excited when Aaron moved to Chicago in 2003. He and Eric clicked right away, and the three of us had many dinners and smoothies at our place, as well as snowball fights and music festivals downtown. He became one of our closest friends. Then Aaron started dating Alissa, a beautiful, intelligent woman with a huge heart (and amazing brownie-making skills) from Washington, D.C. Their relationship was like a project for our group of friends, since Alissa was always making secret visits to town and reigning all of us in for the surprise. And she always brought brownies with her.

Anyway, I’m so happy for these two. They make a dynamite couple. Congratulations!

Chatter, 30 Weeks

People say a lot of things to you when you’re pregnant.

They give advice, tell you you’re getting big, and ask when you’re going to “pop” (not my favorite saying).

But of all the things people have said to me, my favorite was from PJ. He said, “The baby looks a lot like Eric.” I chuckled. “Oh, really?” He said, “Well, today he does. Some days he looks more like Eric, and some days he looks more like you.”

Sherut to ‘Akká

From Dance Class to Childbirth Class

Before Eric and I started dating, our friends, Kevin and Martha, were enrolled in a ballroom dance class in preparation for their wedding. Eric was seriously trying to woo me at the time, so he took Kevin and Martha’s advice and suggested that he and I take the classes too, just for fun. Of course it was obvious what he was trying to do. And I said yes, so maybe it was obvious what I was trying to do, too. So that was then.

Last night, we went to our first childbirth class. While I won’t get into any details, I just want to say that I love how our relationship has gone from stolen glances across the dance floor all those years ago to affectionate and supportive encouragement on the flimsy floor mat today.

Laundry at Home

We initiated the washer and dryer last week. It seems too good to be true, since I’ve been using shared laundry facilities for years and years.

Oh, and the machines are about 1/4 the size of American models. Does this mean we’ll be doing four times as many loads of laundry as we used to? And that it will waste more water and more energy too?

Rather than be too concerned about these things, I should probably just appreciate the convenience of doing laundry at home... right?

Love is a Losing Game

So I know I already broke up with Jon Bon Jovi, but I read today that the two albums he’s listening to a lot these days are Damien Rice’s O and Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black. Hey. ME TOO.

I guess when there’s a special connection between two people, it doesn’t just disappear overnight.

Panang Curry at Litchi

Panang Curry over steamed rice is my favorite dish to order at a Thai restaurant, but I hadn’t seen a Thai restaurant in nine months -- or thought I hadn’t -- and had a serious Panang deficiency.

Fortunately, last night we were rescued by John, Natascha, Michael, and Taban, who took us to Litchi! I am whole again.

It’s Alright...

Me: Did I tell you what Mona is bringing for me?

Eric: No. What?

Me: The first and second seasons of Saved By the Bell.

Eric: Please tell me you’re kidding.

Me: Nope.

Eric: Tell her you don’t want it.

Me: I already told her to bring it.

Eric: You do realize this is grounds for divorce.

All Quiet on Rosh Hashanah

The sky is clear blue, and the sun is high and bright, but the streets are so very quiet today. When I left our apartment this morning, the only sound I could hear was a man chanting in the synagogue nearby.

Sunlit Branches Through a Distant Window

Sometimes I Forget I’m Pregnant

I ordered a baby sling from Mamma’s Milk. We had it shipped to Katharine and Steven while they’re vacationing in the U.S., and they’ll bring it back to Israel when they return next week.

Me: I can’t wait to get the baby sling!

Eric: Are you going to wear it around the house?

Me: Yup. And I’ll put heavy stuff in it so I get used to carrying a lot of weight in front.

Eric: Um, aren’t you already carrying a lot of weight in front?

Me: ...

Eric: ...

Me: Oh yeah.

A Team

Some of you don’t know that my husband and I worked together before we ever met. He was managing a project in which I was the remote graphic designer, and after multiple conference calls and a successful finished product, he recruited me to work alongside him.

So in 2000, I left New York City and moved to Chicago. We made a great team. Our working relationship flourished into a close friendship, and eventually the day came where we couldn’t stand the thought of ever being away from each other. By the time we married in 2002, we were no longer working in the same organization -- though over the years, we’ve enjoyed taking on small projects together, and if I do say so myself, we still make a great team.

It’s been fun working in the same organization with him again. We work on different projects in different departments, but sometimes we bump into each other and can pause to ask how the day is going. In fact, before he moved into a new office recently, I used to walk down a path below his office window every day, and once in a while we’d make eye contact and smile.

In a couple of months I won’t be working anymore, and I don’t know how long it will be before I’ll be ready to work again, but I already know that I’ll miss these days and always look back on them with fondness.

Beware of Women

“NEVER TRUST ANYONE WHO BLEEDS FOR FIVE DAYS AND DOESN’T DIE,” he said.

Hahahaha.

Me, 28 Weeks

Mush Brain

I’ve done a lot of ridiculous things in the past few months, but today I topped the chart --

I left our apartment, walked down the stairs, and was all the way outside and onto the street before I realized I was still wearing my fuzzy slippers.

Sholeh’s 24th Birthday at Her Place

Last Night. I’m so glad this girl lives in Israel with me.

Yas’ 27th Birthday at Haifa Kanyon

Last Saturday.

Baby Bloop-Bloops

Over the past, oh, four months or so, anytime someone asked, “Is it strange being pregnant?!?” I answered, “It is VERY strange. But the strangest thing about it is that it’s kind of normal.”

Lately pregnancy has been getting stranger. Before, the baby’s movements were more of a bloop-bloop -- like Jell-O, or little bubbles, or some other funny, abstract blob. Now, the baby’s movements feel human. HUMAN! Like, I can feel little hands and feet feeling their way around my uterus, looking for an escape route.

I got up at 3:30 this morning to use the bathroom, and as soon as I laid back down to sleep, the baby started squirming. He squirmed with such fervor and for so many hours that I’ve been awake since. Of course, now that I’m at work and my eyes are half-shut, he’s totally inconspicuous...

My absolute favorite thing in all this is Eric’s amazement. He doesn’t want to miss any of the excitement, so he constantly puts his hands on my belly and waits for something to happen, and when it does, he won’t let go until he’s absolutely sure the baby has quieted again. And at night, when we’re about to go to sleep, Eric will ask me, “Is the baby moving?” When I say, “No, not now,” Eric will rub my belly a little, then get his face up close to it, say hello and offer some words of love, and within moments the baby is doing the Roger Rabbit.

It’s enough to make my heart go bloop-bloop.

Negeen’s Baby Shower

On August 24, the day before Negeen gave birth to a boy.

Easy Wall Art

On Friday we filled the awkward, very-horizontal wall space above our couch with homemade art that was so, so easy to create!

Step 1:
Buy a group of matching frames. The quantity should be appropriate, of course, for filling the space. We bought eight 10"-square Ribba frames from IKEA.

Step 2:
Choose a photo from your vast, amateur digital collection. I would recommend one that has simple, graphic shapes but a somewhat complex composition. For example, I used a photo of a tree with outstretched branches, but I can also imagine using a city skyline, a panorama of a carnival, or a very textural landscape.

Step 3:
Play with your photo in Photoshop. I recolored mine to coordinate with the colors of our living room, and then used the “cutout” filter to make it more graphic.

Step 4:
Crop your photo to create new and interesting compositions. Each photo will fill one frame, so, obviously, I ended up with eight separate images. Here are four examples.

Step 5:
Print ’em, frame ’em, and voila! Instant art. The hardest part will be hanging them to be evenly spaced, but we managed, so you can do it too.