Benji's selling t-shirts

Not only is my friend Benji of What War Zone a funny guy, he is also quite the entrepeneur. Benji saw a void in the Israeli/American marketplace and is now filling it. Here's what he says:

"For 2+ years, I have walked past t-shirt shop after kiosk in Jerusalem and marveled at the completely lame, unoriginal, pathetic, low-brow, and stupid tourist t-shirts. You know the ones....the shirts which haven't changed in twenty years and probably longer than that..."

I remember seeing some of these shirts when I was here for my year in Israel, in 19--well, never mind, but trust me it was the dark ages. Remember this one?:



It was cute then, but now it's just, well, old. Hasn't it occurred to anyone that we could use new t-shirts. Ah, yes, well, it occurred to Benji!

If you click on over to Benji's t-shirt site, you'll see an updated version of these type of shirts, infused with Benji's own brand of humor. And the prices seemed quite reasonable, I might add.

I'm wishing Benji lots of luck in his new venture.



While you're clicking, why don't you head on over to Ima on the Bimah. She has Haveil Havalim up and running. (Ima is also a fellow-NaBloPoMo-er).

Shavua Tov, everyone. Have a great week.

Do you know where your children are?

I do. Sorta.

Many kids in Israel belong to a youth movement. There are a number of large movements, both religious and not and kids across the country are involved in many ways. In Modi'in (and perhaps everywhere in Israel, I'm not really sure), schools finish early on Tuesdays, because Tuesday evenings are reserved for various activities at the youth movements.

My kids go to Bnei Akiva, a movement near and dear to my heart. I came to BA relatively late in life (after high school), but its ideology of working and living in Israel spoke to me from the very beginning.

For my kids, BA means they are busy on Shabbat afternoons, as well as Tuesdays. They have been hiking all over the country, sleeping under the stars, climbing Masada at dawn, visiting sick children in hospitals under Bnei Akiva's auspices.

But the absolute pinnacle of the year happens now. It is called "Chodesh Irgun" [month of the organization] and is basically a month-long color war between the grades that will culminate in performances by each grade this coming Thursday night. During this month (which begins right after the Jewish holidays) the kids are out almost every night, till LATE, practising their dances, painting banners and the snif (the branch--the youth house where they meet) and well, I'm not sure what else. On Saturday night there will be a special ceremony in which the winner will be announced, the 9th graders will perform a daglanut [dance with the Israeli flag] and will receive the name of their "shevet"--the name which will follow them for the rest of their lives.

Seven more days of wondering what time they will be home. Seven more days of telling them homework must be completed, tests must be studied for and rooms must be cleaned. Seven more days of listening to them debate what the new shevet name will be. Seven more days of them coming home exhausted and dirty, paint encrusted everywhere.

Seven more days till life returns to normal.

But then of course, the countdown to Chanukah begins.

Do you know that in certain cultures, turtle is considered to be a culinary delicacy?

Apparently, Ozzy does.

Shabbat Shalom and a great weekend to all.

Ozzy's new companion

This morning Ozzy started barking like the maniac he can be at the porch door. I went over to look for the cat he was probably reacting to, but saw nothing. I gave him my usual scolding and walked away. He continued to growl and then began barking again. Isaac went to check and was surprised to find this hanging out on our porch:









Where this little guy came from, we have no idea.


We decided not to make the same mistake we made when we were naming Ozzy and call this pet Marianito, after the greatest relief pitcher to ever grace this good earth. We found a box to give him a home and started to integrate him into the family.










Ozzy, after realizing that Marianito the turtle was a friend and not food, spent the morning getting acquainted.






By lunchtime, Marianito and Ozzy were best buddies:





Now, doesn't Ozzy look happy with his new friend? I predict great things from these two.


(Uhhhhmmmm. If anyone has info about caring for a baby turtle, please let us know. Marianito thanks you in advance).

My mother-in-law's blog

May I direct to a new blog that I've been following? Jonathan Degani's Shomer Shekalim provides a wealth of information about how to live on an Israeli budget. He doesn't assume that you are independently wealthy, doesn't assume you have an American salary, doesn't assume your parents are supporting you; he assumes that you are an average Joe, making an average Israeli salary, trying to live within your means while saving for that proverbial rainy day and big ticket items (homes, college, weddings, that fabulous trip to the Far East).

And while some of his posts are specific to us Israelis (eg how the tax system works here--that was an eye opener), others are more general and include advice that would be helpful to anyone who needs money.

While you're there, look closely at his blogroll. Maybe you can gently tell him that my mother-in-law doesn't have a blog. Or at least hasn't told me about it...(hat tip to Mother-in-Israel for giving me the head's up on this, and making me smile).






In other news, today is Veteran's Day in the US. I think that over the past few years, probably since September 11, more Americans take this day much more seriously, which is of course proper and right. I doubt if any actual veterans ready my blog, but if you do, I want to thank you for your service. You and so many other men and women have sacrificed much for America's freedom, and it's appreciated by Americans all over the world...

My almost-favorite day

Ahhh. Tomorrow is Wednesday.

I love Wednesdays because it is my Sunday.

Well, it's no Sunday, but it's my day off of work. Catch-up day, usually spent running around like a maniac, but nevertheless the fact that I don't have to go to work is nice.

Of course, it is marred by my most hated chore of the week: my big supermarket shopping.

The supermarkets in Israel rival those in the US in their sophistication. They are huge. They have thousands of products lining their aisles. They sell everything. Really, it's one stop shopping. You can buy fresh meat at the butcher, fresh fish, fresh cheese and REALLY fresh bread at the bakery. At some supermarkets you can load up on washing machines and toaster ovens as well. You can even buy your underwear.

I'm not complaining about the actual shopping experience. That's fine (if only my great country could figure out how to make the shopping cart wheels roll properly). It's everything else:

Standing in line at check-out. Packing up your stuff and feeling pressure to do it quickly because the cashier can't start adding up the next customer until you're finished packing up. (But I thumb my nose at that and do what I have to do). Loading it all in the aforementioned-shopping cart. Loading it into the trunk of your car. Unloading it into the elevator. Leaving the stuff in the elevator while you park the car in its spot. Unloading it into the house. Unloading it into the fridge, freezer and various cabinets.

You get my point here, I'm sure.

The whole project takes up a good portion of my Wednesdays. Still, it's so much better than having to do all of this in the evening, after work. Last week I went shopping at night and it was awful. It was a Wednesday night, and the store was crowded. I was surprised at how many families were shopping together, with little kids in tow. I'd rather go to the dentist.

So tomorrow is Wednesday. I will face my weekly shop with grace and courage. And return home to a nice, quiet house where the crisp smell of fresh laundry ready to be folded awaits.

Now there's a chore I can sink my teeth into.

Talk to me about your sleeping habits

No, I don't mean that.

I'm talking about the actual sleeping part.

I haven't slept since 1996.

Okay, maybe I'm slightly exaggerating. But really, I barely slept in 1996. I remember that clearly. Oh, I'd fall asleep fine. But I always woke up at 2 a.m. and could not fall back asleep until a few minutes before the alarm clock went.

1996 was before Facebook and blogging. I think we had just gotten our e-mail address on AOL. So I would wake up, not be able to fall asleep and watch old I Love Lucy reruns.

(I love I Love Lucy).

I was desperate, and lonely. Isaac, my husband, is one of the most talented sleepers I know. I'm totally jealous of him. "Honey", he'll say. "I'm going to sl---",and he's out cold before his head hits the pillow. And doesn't move until I wake him the next morning. If I hadn't woken him that first morning, he'd probably have slept through the birth of our children, our Aliyah and any of our other major life events.

I fell in love with those little blue pills (no not those, I'm talking about Tylenol PM). I didn't get addicted or anything like that, but I would take them on Friday nights, because I could sleep late on Shabbat. I couldn't take them during the week, because they made me feel woozy in the morning and I was scared to drive under their influence.

I started telling people about my problem and was happy to find out that lots of my friends suffered from the same issue (what can I say, misery loves company). In almost every couple I knew, at least one person was suffering from insomnia.

1996 was the worst year. It's gotten much better since then. I do awaken in the deep, dark night, but now I can usually put myself back to sleep fairly easily. Occasionally, I still have a bad night. I didn't fall asleep Saturday night until 4:30 a.m. (to bad I didn't volunteer to do Haveil Havalim last week). And while it's been fine since, a night like that kills my week.

And so, I'm curious: Do any of you or your partners suffer from sleep disorders? How do they manifest? What tricks do you use to help yourself sleep? How does it affect your life?

Waiting for your answers.

Yawn.