Work surprises

October 6, 2013

I'm writing this, post-call, as I sip chai tea and munch on the most delicious doughnuts imaginable, at Pip's Original Doughnuts in Portland. Eliav and I have been doing a partial long-distance thing as he transitions to his new job as the Chief Operations Officer with 3D Product Imaging, based in Seattle. This is sorta how our relationship started off--but reversed (he was working with ZocDoc in Portland while I was based in Seattle). Now, he spends most week days in Seattle and most weekends at home. My work schedule, however, was set prior to this new arrangement, and some of my shifts overlap with our quality time together. 

As part of his efforts to ease the strain (I think we're doing pretty well, to be honest), he will sometimes surprise me at work with goodies! I'm a pretty lucky wifey! 

Look at this beautiful bouquet of flowers he brought me!

Another time, he came with my favorite meal, cooked by my father that very night! Delicious roasted lamb and gratin dauphinois (have I mentioned that I grew up with an amazing French chef as a father?!)

Sometimes the stress of hard work, commuting and long distance gets to Eliav, though. On this particular evening, entertaining me on my call shift was a tad too much for him, and he took a snooze on my call bed. 

Other surprises I don't have pictures of:
-A pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream! I was in a delivery at the time, so I didn't even get to see him. But, the nursing staff was impressed by his effort!

-A batch of home baked chocolate chip cookies for the nursing staff! As we chatted about his efforts, he realized that he may have forgotten to turn the oven off. Luckily, at the time, we had some exchange students living with us. The found the charred remains of the last batch of cookies before any flames started! A for effort though!

On a dark and spooky night....

October of last year, I decided to take Eliav on surprise, seasonally-appropriate date. Neither of us had ever been in a night corn maze (or a maize maze, if you will), so we decided to check out one of the local farms.

It was a clear night, but with very low hanging fog---which certainly added to the experience!

As expected, the maze was dark...and quite spooky! There were zombies, vampires, and other creepy characters jumping out at us, at unsuspecting moments. I was certainly glad to have my hunky, brave man to hold on to! Though, truth be told, he may have let out more screams and whimpers than I did :) 

In the end, we survived without too many bumps and bruises, vampire bites, or zombie-eaten limbs. 

While the maze was funded by Voodoo Doughnuts, we opted for some Caramel Apples with peanuts for the road (protein + fruits = healthy, right?!)

Let's Polka!

This is an oldie...but a fun memory! In hopes of finding something fun to do on a warm October weekend, we scoured the Portland Events website for activity ideas. The annual Polish festival was happening, and not too far away--so we decided to check it out. And my friend Rachel met us there for fun. 

After filling up on kielbasa, pierogi, and other Polish delicacies, Eliav heard an announcement for a Polka competition. Of course he would, as he's a dancing fiend! I, however, had never danced Polka in my life. Within moments, he signed us up. 

Rachel was a wonderful camerawoman--and caught me looking fully electrocuted (see below). 

Despite the fact that only half of "our duo" had any idea of how to Polka, we made a good impression on the judges! We started dancing among 23 other couples. Then made it to the next round with 13 dancing stars. And then to the next level with 6. Man--I can't even begin to describe how exhausted I was getting by this level! Polka dancing is no joke! Especially without a break!

In the end, we came in second place! I was in shock! And, to be honest, the only reason we lost was because the #1 duo incorporated a Robot dance at the end...which I assume is not traditional Polka, but entertaining to watch, nonetheless!

I think this may be my new claim to fame! Winning the Polka competition at the Portland annual Polka festival! What else is there to look up to in life?! 

And we won some pretty sweet "I <3 Pierogies" shirts, to boot! 

(Though I gave mine away to an enthralled fan, before we even made it to the car)

The next festival is coming up, so mark your calendars:

Saturday: Sept 20, 2014 11am - 10pm

Sunday, Sept 21, 2014 noon - 6pm
3900 N. Interstate Ave., Portland, Oregon

Picnic in Cathedral Park!

August 24, 2014

Eliav decided to take me on an impromptu picnic date--an opportunity to break-in the Ferrari of a picnic basket we got as a wedding gift!

 

 He put in a lot of kitchen time, preparing a feast of gourmet panini sandwiches (panini grill was another wedding gift!), a juicy mango & avocado salad on a bed of spring greens, and some sweet (heart shaped) cut watermelon for dessert!

 

As we arrived, we were surprised by how tricky parking was, in our usually quiet St. John's neighborhood! As soon as we began walking to the park, we noticed that an audience dotted the hills. Turns out, there were live performances--both theater and live music! We couldn't have asked for a better surprise!



How handsome is my husband?!

 We're pretty cute together! Though I think I was post-call and feeling very exhausted!

In Cathedral Park, right under the beautiful St. John's Bridge.

And on the way home, I made Eliav pull over for a photo shoot! The sunset was so gorgeous! A really perfect day!

 

Ice, Ice baby!

March 16, 2014

One of our first dates EVER was ice skating. So when our friends Lisa & Sarah brought up the idea of hitting the ice, we were pumped!

The beginning was a tad rocky, but by the end, we were pulling all kinds of (awkward) tricks! Lots of fun!

Fasting and Feeding on Yom Kippur

September 14, 2013

While I am technically Jewish, I never grew up practicing or celebrating the holidays. But, then I married a Jewish man...and we've been incorporating some of those traditions into our lives.  So, on Yom Kippur this year, we attended wonderful services with the Portland Chabad community. Yom Kippur is the "day of atonement," the day that all the sins from your past year disappear (kinda like a super-duper confessional, for all those familiar with the Catholic faith). It's a very insightful holiday, which involves fasting and self-reflection about who you are (and have been) for the past year.

While fasting & attending services, I realized that it had been too long since I last volunteered in the community. In college, I participated in a "Fast-A-thon" during Ramadan. I loved the idea of fasting for a greater cause--not just as a religious practice, but also to experience what so many others live, day-to-day. The sensation of emptiness is a great reminder of how fortunate I really am to have truly unlimited access to food; a reminder that too many live without this luxury.

So, to that end, Eliav and I fasted, but also decided to pass on our good fortune, if only for one day. We made hundreds of sandwiches & bought countless snacks, and we visited some areas around Portland with higher concentrations of homeless individuals.

We made an effort to meet some new people in our community, to listen to their stories. I recently saw this video, which was an important reminder that members of the homeless community are someone else's parent, brother, sister, child. The most significant complaint I heard time and again from this population was the feeling of being "invisible."

This is a tradition that we hope to incorporate into our lives each year for Yom Kippur--but also on a more regular basis.

Collecting supplies

Turkey sandwiches

PB&J...with a kitchen in disarray (excuse the mess)

Semolina Flour + Farm-Fresh Eggs = YUM (aka: homemade pasta)

We started experimenting with pasta making when we had an antique, Italian hand-crank machine (a treasure discovered on one of my thrift shop adventures)! We quickly discovered that this was one of our new favorite dishes.  Once we got a KitchenAid (thanks mom!) and then discovered the millions of attachments that you can buy for it, the pasta accouterments were at the top of our wedding registry list (thanks Abba & Becky!). And my grandmother's wedding china, which was passed down to me, also gets a feature role!

Our homemade pasta is our go-to meal (when we have half a day to dedicate to cooking, of course...). There's nothing like that the texture of a strand of fresh pasta between your teeth. To get to that point, however, it is a truly fun adventure of mixing, kneading, stretching, and cutting.

Usually, it's a joint effort...though on this particular day, I was able to snap a pic of the two boys in my life, catching snoozes on the couch while I got my workout for the day! Aren't they handsome?!

the lights of my life

But, don't worry, they were sure to wake up to partake in the deliciousness :)