There's that point after you've moved in when you absolutely must go to IKEA. You just need to get another Billy the bookshelf or a Bekvam spice rack. And while you're there you just happen to find a whole lot of other things you just really need and it's at such a great price... And as luck would have it, they're having a sale this week.
Hubby despises IKEA. He knows that if we go there, regardless of the original shopping list, we'll end up purchasing a dozen other items we probably don't need, but were there and on sale, or at the right price... So I went with a coworker. She and I left work early on Thursday to go to the land where the furniture folds to a much smaller size. Three hours later, two shopping carts, 7 over sized boxes and two bowls of soup in bread bowls, we finished our shopping spree. It took about 20 minutes of advanced tetris skills to fit everything into the car and have enough room to sit semi-comfortably. We literally had to push our seats so forward, we were practically touching the windshield whipper.
It's been a few days, and for the most part, we've put together the big pieces. We're slowly unpacking more and more boxes every other evening. (Seriously, who wants to work a full day and then work at unpacking boxes at home, at night?!) This house is beginning to feel like a home...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUPu_ipbVB0
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemoncello
The house we just left sits on what used to be a lemon grove. Most of the trees were removed when the house was built but there are still two lemon trees and one lime tree in the back of the house. When we first moved in, I thought, "Great, we'll always have fresh lemons for salad dressing!" Boy, was I wrong! Lemon trees, like life, give it to you all at once and then leave you hanging through a dry spell. One month we'd have more lemons than I'd ever know what to do with and the next, we'd be high and dry. The last of the lemons would be rolling around in the dirt, dry and collecting bugs. Any lemons I'd have picked would dry and shrivel up.
I started looking for ways to use lemons, but most recipes called for the juice of one lemon, zest from half a lemon, etc... I wasn't finding major lemon usage - until I found a recipe for Lemoncello! Lemons, sugar and vodka - what could be bad about that?! My first batch was a success and over the year and a half that we've lived there, whenever the trees were heavy with lemons, I made lemoncello.
Easy Lemoncello
I started looking for ways to use lemons, but most recipes called for the juice of one lemon, zest from half a lemon, etc... I wasn't finding major lemon usage - until I found a recipe for Lemoncello! Lemons, sugar and vodka - what could be bad about that?! My first batch was a success and over the year and a half that we've lived there, whenever the trees were heavy with lemons, I made lemoncello.
As we packed up the house to move, I looked out the kitchen window only to see that all three trees are in full bloom. My last batch of lemoncello was polished off about two weeks ago and it seems fitting to make just one last batch before we leave. As I didn't have the time to make it before we left, I tossed a dozen lemons into a large bag and made that my first project in our new home, as soon as I find where I've packed my glass jars!
Easy Lemoncello
Ingredients:
- Zest of 10 lemons, preferably organic
- 1 liter vodka (4 cups) - I use 40% alcohol, Stoli works really well
- 650 g. sugar (3 cups)
- 1 liter water (4 cups)
Prep time: 2 x 30 minutes
Ready in: 21+ days
Servings: slightly more than 2 x 750 ml bottles
- Wash the lemons really well. Really, really well.
- Zest the lemons, making sure not to include the pith (the white part beneath the outer skin), because it can be unpleasantly bitter. The first time I made lemoncello I used a variety of tools - a peeler, a knife, a grater. It took hours and by the time I had finished I was frustrated and swore I'd never make lemoncello again. Then I bought a lemon zester. Best purchase ever. Seriously. Second time I made lemoncello, the whole process took about half an hour for 30 lemons!
- Place the lemon zests in the vodka. Store in an airtight container for 7 days. About once a day I'd give the jars a shake just to stir things up and help get all of the flavor out.
- After 7-10 days, we move onto the simple syrup. That's just a fancy way of saying we'll boil water and sugar. So, boil the water, add sugar. No mixing needed! Actually, DON'T mix it at all. Let the boiling water stir things up and keep the heat up for 15 minutes.
- Let the syrup cool for a few hours, until it reaches room temperature.
- Add the vodka to the syrup. Mix.
- Drain into bottles. I like to use a coffee filter to get rid of the lemon zests. Also, I look for pretty wine bottles with corks still in tact and use those. A pretty ribbon and a little card and you've got a great gift.
- Let it sit for another two weeks or so, then move it to the freezer.
- Store in the freezer. Although nothing bad will happen if you don't, it just tastes really good when it's really cold and with 20% alcohol, it shouldn't freeze. Technically, it should hold for at least a year, but I've never actually had a bottle last longer than a month or two, it's just that good!
The zest-less lemons don't hold very well so I just juice them and store the juice as ice cubes. Then, when I need lemon juice, I just use a lemon ice cube. Great for salad dressing, lemonade, cooling down a coke in the summer...
Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
When a Colleague is Sent Packing
We got called into the boss' office this morning. His solemn face immediately told me that something is wrong and I felt my heart sink as we all went quiet. But it wasn't until I looked around and noticed that we weren't all in attendance. "She's leaving us. It's a mutual agreement and it's for the best..." At first I didn't understand who they were talking about - the new designer or the other product manager that started almost a year ago, slightly before me. Neither of them were in the office. "Who?" I asked. "The PM," he said. "It's a mutual decision and it's for the best."
What does that mean - mutual decision? Is there really such a thing or is it just a nice way to say fired? She'd seemed a bit moody lately, but then again, that was a part of her natural behavior.
By the time we left the boss' office she was gone and her desk was bare of her Hello Kitty mug and bowl of Skittles. What do you say to a colleague after they've been fired? Should you talk to them? Wish them luck? She was out of the office so fast, I didn't have time to say good bye and by the way she left and took all of her stuff, it doesn't seem like she'll be back - or wants to come back to say good bye...
What does that mean - mutual decision? Is there really such a thing or is it just a nice way to say fired? She'd seemed a bit moody lately, but then again, that was a part of her natural behavior.
By the time we left the boss' office she was gone and her desk was bare of her Hello Kitty mug and bowl of Skittles. What do you say to a colleague after they've been fired? Should you talk to them? Wish them luck? She was out of the office so fast, I didn't have time to say good bye and by the way she left and took all of her stuff, it doesn't seem like she'll be back - or wants to come back to say good bye...
Sunday, January 12, 2014
This House is Not [Yet] a Home
On Friday we left our 3 bedroom home in the Israel Valley for a slightly smaller apartment in Haifa. When I booked the movers, I estimated 20-30 boxes and a few large pieces of furniture... Boy, was I wrong! The movers were booked for 9:00 am and I was awake until 5:26 am packing, over 40 boxes and many bags... I managed two hours of sleep before the movers came and still wasn't fully packed! We had to go back on Saturday to load up the rest of our stuff and it's a good thing we took both cars.
Despite hours of unpacking, our new house is not yet a home. It's still filled with boxes that have yet to be opened and unpacked. We have a lot less storage space in this new place and that needs to be taken into consideration. We still have a few trips to IKEA ahead of us.
Hubby hates moving. He claims it's because his family moved around a lot when he was a kid. I like the idea of moving. It's a chance to make some changes, getting rid of old stuff and making room for the new. It's a clean slate and place to make new memories. I've moved around quite a bit these past few years, but this move has definitely been the hardest. Not only because of the amount of stuff we have to pack and unpack, but also because I want it to go by smoothly and quickly because I see how stressed hubby is by the piles of boxes in every room. And if that isn't enough, then there's all those little things that you have to deal with when you move into a new place... We discovered a neighbor's laundry machine leaking into our kitchen and the boiler's timer isn't working properly and we need new light bulbs for most of the rooms and the air conditioner isn't working and our washing machine doesn't fit through the bathroom door... and the list goes on! But we're tackling these issues one by one and hopefully, this house will become a home soon enough.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Loss of a Loved One
On Friday afternoon my dad's wife took her last breath and slipped away. While this wasn't a complete shock, it had only been a few weeks since she was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer that had metastasized to her bones. It started a few months ago when the doctors wrote off her cough as pneumonia and gave her recurring treatments with antibiotics. It wasn't pneumonia and the cancer spread rapidly and within a few weeks she was suffering from intolerable back pain which turned out to have been caused by a broken hip bone, which is how they discovered the cancer. A biopsy and multiple blood tests later showed that it was advanced lung cancer.
Barbara and I had an interesting and special relationship. Our relationship started off terribly, to say the least - hate at first sight. Over time, we've learned to get along and the distance between us has done wonderful things for our relationship. She makes my dad happy and that's what's important to me, and over time I have learned to appreciate and even love her.
My dad lives across the ocean, so we don't get to see much of each other, but I know how much he loved her and how much he'll miss her. We've been talking on the phone daily these past few weeks. He sounds distanced from her death, like he's already begun saying goodbye when she slipped into a coma a few days prior to her death. He's always been a very reasonable man, strong in his beliefs. I wish I could be there to hug him. It's these times when you need to be surrounded by loved ones.
I never really kept in touch with my step-siblings, with there being an ocean between us and all. A few days before Barbara passed away, she and I spoke on the phone. She was sad, realizing how fast everything was slipping away. She asked me to look over Jessica, her daughter. I promised I would. I've been talking to Jessica quite a lot these past few days, making sure she's ok, dealing with her grief and mourning her mom in a way that suits her. I believe in the importance of a promise and I never make a promise I don't plan on keeping, and this promise is no exception. Jessica may have lost a mother, and while nothing can ever replace that, I hope that I can finally be the sister she never had.
Barbara and I had an interesting and special relationship. Our relationship started off terribly, to say the least - hate at first sight. Over time, we've learned to get along and the distance between us has done wonderful things for our relationship. She makes my dad happy and that's what's important to me, and over time I have learned to appreciate and even love her.
My dad lives across the ocean, so we don't get to see much of each other, but I know how much he loved her and how much he'll miss her. We've been talking on the phone daily these past few weeks. He sounds distanced from her death, like he's already begun saying goodbye when she slipped into a coma a few days prior to her death. He's always been a very reasonable man, strong in his beliefs. I wish I could be there to hug him. It's these times when you need to be surrounded by loved ones.
I never really kept in touch with my step-siblings, with there being an ocean between us and all. A few days before Barbara passed away, she and I spoke on the phone. She was sad, realizing how fast everything was slipping away. She asked me to look over Jessica, her daughter. I promised I would. I've been talking to Jessica quite a lot these past few days, making sure she's ok, dealing with her grief and mourning her mom in a way that suits her. I believe in the importance of a promise and I never make a promise I don't plan on keeping, and this promise is no exception. Jessica may have lost a mother, and while nothing can ever replace that, I hope that I can finally be the sister she never had.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
The Boss's Blog
One of the reasons I started to write now is in part because of my new boss, Wolf. He arrived slightly less than two months ago but already his presence has resonated and he's starting to make changes. Hopefully, for the better. He's looking at 40 and after 18 years at his first job straight out of school, he needed a change. He's calling this change his midlife crisis. As a part of this job-change-midlife-crisis, he's started a blog where he writes about the company, the work here and other things that make up his life. His third post was a ballsy, deep critique of the company. And after making such a big splash, I had to start reading his blog.
Wolf writes every Thursday evening, right before leaving the office for the weekend. He's put it in his calendar, so he gets it done. I know the story about time management and putting your big rocks in first, so part of my plan is to put my blog into my weekly schedule. There will be no more ifs ands or butts. My blog will get priority time in my calendar and by hook or by crook, I will write! And not because I have to, but because I enjoy writing and "never found the time" for it earlier. Now I have the time.
Wolf writes about people in the office. So far he's mentioned about a half dozen characters, most of them in a positive light. So far he hasn't even hinted at me and I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed by that. My competitive nature wants to appear as a character in his blog. I want to be important enough to get "air time". I know it's silly of me, but I do want to know that I'm noticed and that I do make a difference. I really like my job, what I do, the product I manage. I put in a lot of effort to give it my all and like a child that wants validation for their parents, I want validation and appreciation from my superiors.
Anyway, it's nearing the end of the day and the end of the week. Despite the fact that my weekend is filled with chores such as cleaning and packing, I'm looking forward to it. The move has my spirits high and I like the idea of the fresh new beginning. And I know I'll miss the house we currently live in, but it's too expensive for us to keep holding it if we want to be able to put money aside into savings. And 2014 is going to be a year of changes. For the better!
Wolf writes every Thursday evening, right before leaving the office for the weekend. He's put it in his calendar, so he gets it done. I know the story about time management and putting your big rocks in first, so part of my plan is to put my blog into my weekly schedule. There will be no more ifs ands or butts. My blog will get priority time in my calendar and by hook or by crook, I will write! And not because I have to, but because I enjoy writing and "never found the time" for it earlier. Now I have the time.
Wolf writes about people in the office. So far he's mentioned about a half dozen characters, most of them in a positive light. So far he hasn't even hinted at me and I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed by that. My competitive nature wants to appear as a character in his blog. I want to be important enough to get "air time". I know it's silly of me, but I do want to know that I'm noticed and that I do make a difference. I really like my job, what I do, the product I manage. I put in a lot of effort to give it my all and like a child that wants validation for their parents, I want validation and appreciation from my superiors.
Anyway, it's nearing the end of the day and the end of the week. Despite the fact that my weekend is filled with chores such as cleaning and packing, I'm looking forward to it. The move has my spirits high and I like the idea of the fresh new beginning. And I know I'll miss the house we currently live in, but it's too expensive for us to keep holding it if we want to be able to put money aside into savings. And 2014 is going to be a year of changes. For the better!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Changes
Procrastination is a terrible mistress, as she has been keeping me from so many things, including writing. Over the past few weeks, there have been so many changes in my life, I feel this is a good time to ditch old habits and start doing the things I've been putting off.
After a half a dozen names, I finally came up with something simple that reflects me - cookie dough and jeans. I enjoy food, cooking, and sewing. I sew most of my own clothes. I'm a board game loving geek that prefers a good game of "7 Wonders" over going out to a pub any night. I eat raw cookie dough and enjoy it immensely. It shows and I have body issues, which is probably normal, being a woman in today's world. I work with computers. Mostly because somewhere during my studies I realized my lack of patience for people, working with them or for them. Don't get me started on that... But straight out of school, despite the hi-tech bubble, I wrangled myself into a job as a product manager working beneath a boss who had faith in me and taught me tons and helped me get to where I am today.
Where am I, today? you ask...
Well, I work for a global company. I've been with them for almost a year and I recently got a new boss above me, who I'm really liking. He's new to being head of product, so he's got lots of fresh ideas and more importantly, is willing to listen to our ideas, as well. I'm packing up the house I've lived in for the last year and a half, moving to an apartment in Haifa, just a short drive from the office. I got married in late August and hubby and I just celebrated 4 years together. The move will be our third place together and hubby promised that I can get a cat. I'm really looking forward to that. With the new year, come the resolutions, so maybe this year will be the year of change. Maybe this year I'll stick to my workouts, eat healthier, read more books, sew more clothes and do all things I'd like to. And while I do (or don't), I'll try to write about it. As much of it as I can. About living, cooking, sewing, work and the restaurant at the end of universe. And just maybe, someone might read this. And maybe, just maybe, enjoy reading what I write even half as much as I enjoy writing it... :)
Happy 2014!
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