Random Hiccups

I'm back from California and we've been settling in to a nice winter break. I'm working on a California post and will publish it soon.

For now, look what we got: SNOW!

Hanukkah Party

On Sunday we hosted a small Hanukkah party at our house.

I made two kinds of latkes: regular potato and zucchini/carrot/yam.

100th Blog Post: The 3rd Trimester

This is my 100th blog post! When I was in first grade we learned about 100 and we counted to the 100th day of school. On that day, everyone got balloons and we went for a parade around school. So, consider me paraded.

Today is also the beginning of week 28 of pregnancy (7 months) and the start of my third trimester! Here is my belly shot (please excuse the tired face, it was early in the morning...):

Turkey Day 2012

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays and this year was no exception! Our favorite way to celebrate is just the two (three?) of us, a quiet day at home, and lots and lots of yummy food. And so we did.

A little digital art I made.

Wiggles In My Belly

This week I am 24 weeks pregnant, 6.5 months. Three and a half months until the due date seems at once very close and incredibly far away. I can't wait to meet and hold this little girl!

This isn't a fantastic picture, but at least you can see the bump. It's hard to tell from this photo, but I am showing more, especially at the end of the day.

6 months

Blast Corn Maze

On Saturday evening we took a trip out to Dexter, about 20 minutes from Ann Arbor, to walk through a corn maze.

Death Of A Garden

We put our garden to rest this past Saturday. It was time since the community garden is closing for the winter and the frost had killed most everything anyway.

Dead Corn

Falling Into Fall

The weather has turned cold and we have a thick layer of frost on the roofs and car tops every morning now. We even had some slushy rain/snow the other day! It didn't stick, but Jake was outside when it fell and he said it definitely wasn't rain.

Fall is in full swing and the trees are absolutely beautiful! Last weekend we went for a (cold) walk through Lillie Park to see some of the foliage - it was really lovely!

Fall Holidays

Fall has arrived in Ann Arbor and it is beautiful just like last year!

It's A . . .

We had an ultrasound this morning to check the baby's health and determine the gender.

Happenings

I've been a bit out of touch with the blog world lately... Life kind of got in the way!

I stopped writing while I was down with morning sickness. A pregnant friend of mine describes this period as a three-month hangover, and it's true. All I could do was lay on the couch and sleep. Fortunately, I didn't have too many responsibilities at the time, so I was able to do so.

Just in time, the nausea passed and I started a new job. The work has been going well and I've met a lot of nice people, but the job is definitely taking up my time. Also, Jacob just started school again, so we've spent our non-working hours seeing each other!

However, I do have a few pictures of our recent happenings, so I thought this would be a good time to share.

Surprise!

Coming February 2013!

A Walk In The Park

The other day was finally cool enough to take a walk, so we went for a stroll in Gallup Park by the Huron River.

How Our Garden Grows

We've finally reached the other side of the crazy heatwave that swept through much of the US these past few weeks. The cooler weather is wonderful for humans, but our garden LOVED the hot, humid, pouring rain part!

Blooming Mint

Rachel and Matt Get Married

Last Thursday I traveled to New Hampshire where I was a bridesmaid for my friend, Rachel, in her wedding to Matt.

The lovely couple by the ocean.

Garden Explosion

The past few days have been extremely hot and humid. We also had a pretty good rain storm, and the garden seems to have loved it! Because it rained we didn't need to water, so it had been a few days since I visited our plot. I couldn't believe how huge the plants were, as well as the weeds!

Flower Power

A couple weeks ago, we went to visit the Peony Garden in the Arboretum.

A2 Anniversary and Garden Update

Yesterday was our one year anniversary in Ann Arbor! Last June 7, after completing a 3-day drive across the country, we finally arrived HOME.

All About Bunnies

I promised you an update about the baby bunnies in our garden, so this post is all about bunnies! If you have not yet heard about our garden guests, you can read about them by clicking here.

Eastern Market

On Saturday my friend, Julia, invited me and a couple other friends to go to Detroit's Eastern Market. The Eastern Market is a huge farmer's market where you can find everything from produce to crafts to plants, and all at relatively cheap prices.

California Trip

I flew to California last week to celebrate my sister, Maia's, graduation from UC Berkeley. It is almost a year since we left California and I hadn't been back. It was definitely nice to see everyone!

Left to right: Leor, Maia, Ima, me, Etai, Abba

Garden Guests

I returned from California late Sunday evening and was very excited to go see the garden. Before I left I planned to finish the planting when I returned and the weather in Michigan has warmed nicely, perfect for tomatoes! While I was away, Jake expertly tended the garden and also discovered that we have some garden guests...

Can you take a guess as to who they are? Here is their nest.

Happy Birthday to Jake!

Today we celebrated Jacob's birthday!

The Garden Grows!

We took some time to tend the garden today. I hadn't visited for a couple days and we were in for a nice surprise — baby plants!!

Lag Ba'Omer Celebration

Last night we joined the Chabad community in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'Omer. Literally, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, this holiday commemorates the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Wikipedia says it best: "Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai [was] a Mishnaic sage and leading disciple of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century, and [the day of his death is] the day on which he revealed the deepest secrets of kabbalah in the form of the Zohar, a landmark text of Jewish mysticism."

We celebrate the life of Rabbi Yochai by lighting huge bonfires to symbolize the flame of G-d which took his soul. And, if you're going to have a bonfire you should also have a barbecue!

Home and Garden

We had a full and busy day on Saturday from digging in dirt to enjoying a movie with friends. It was a fantastic day!

Firmly Planted

The weather was so nice on Sunday that we headed back after putting in the fence to do some planting.
Last week I spent some time planning the garden and drew up a quick sketch on the computer. Once we started actually working the soil things shifted a bit, but this is a good approximation of how everything will look.

Fenced In

We took advantage of the sunny weather today and put up a fence at the gardent plot.

Preparations

This past week I was notified that the community garden plots at my location had been plowed and staked. I didn't expect to have the garden ready until the beginning of May, but the nice weather prompted a quicker preparation.

Happy Birthday to Us!

Today the cat and I celebrated our birthdays.

First Pesach in Ann Arbor

Friday evening was the beginning of the Jewish holiday Passover, or Pesach.

Seder Plate

I ♥ Sushi

I promised a post about the sushi party Veronika and I threw on April 1.

Veronika's unagi (eel) rolls.

Foolhardy

In honor of April Fool's Day, Ann Arbor held two events:

Alien Fools

We're Moving Back to California!

Our big announcement: WE'RE MOVING BACK TO CALIFORNIA!

After much discussion, Jacob and I have decided to move back to California by the end of the summer. We've enjoyed our time in Michigan, but we just miss the West Coast too much. We're still working out the details, but we couldn't wait to share the news!

Delightful Desserts — For Passover!

It's nearly that time of year again: Pesach (also known as Passover), when the Jewish people celebrate the Exodus from Egypt and the birth of the nation of Israel. In observance of this most important holiday, we refrain from eating many every-day foods, especially grains. This makes desserts kind of tough, but as I saw last night, definitely not impossible!

More About Spring

We've had record-breaking weather for more than a week now. The temperatures have been in the high-70's to mid-80's and it feels more like summer than spring. We've even broken the record for the hottest day in March ever, in Detroit.

Seeing Green

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day I bring you: GREEN! (and some blue and red and...)

We're Not In Kansas California Anymore

Thursday, March 15 started out as a pretty normal day, though we woke up to the first truly humid day of the season: 85% humidity. Ew. It was also pretty warm, in the high 70's, but that seemed to have become the pattern over the last few days.

Calm before the storm and a robin.

Spring Has Sprung

When we first came to Ann Arbor everyone told us that winter would begin at the end of October and continue through to the end of April. We have not found that to be true this season, though, everyone assured us that this has been an unusually light winter. In any case, the birds have returned and the flowers are blooming, so we're pretty sure Spring has arrived.

Purim From Scratch

On Wednesday night we began the celebration of the Jewish holiday, Purim.

I Voted and Other Stories

Yesterday Michigan held their Republican primary. It was interesting to be part of such a heated competition—made me feel like my vote actually counted.

Weekly Wonders: Chili of the Moms

This week's recipe is a very easy one that goes a long way on a cold day: Chili.

Fun on the Weekend

This past weekend was a lot of fun!

On Friday, Veronika, Anna, and I celebrated Veronika's new car.

Weekly Wonders: GF Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough

I know these haven't been exactly weekly, but... Today I show you how to make gluten free cinnamon raisin sourdough bread.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all had a nice Day O' Love! We enjoyed a quiet night at home together — the best way to celebrate.

Arctic Freeze

We've got snow, yes we do! We've got snow, how 'bout you?

Tid Bits

We haven't had too much excitement lately, mostly just hunkering down and enjoying the winter. But I do have some fun pictures, so I thought I'd make a quick post.

I tried a new recipe for parsley pesto with lemon the other day, and it was very nice and fresh tasting. So good, that our fur baby was ready to eat some too!

"I'm ready for my dinner. Please pass the salt."