Can People Really Be This Dumb?

I'm not a Jay Leno fan, nor am I familiar with his work, but someone sent me one of this series of his interviews, and they are funny.

Another Healthy Evening

It's healthy to have a good laugh, strengthens the immune system. Therefore I must say that last night when my Shiloh Movie Club watched The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming! we had some very good medicine together.

I have just one question:

Why did we women laugh more loudly and joyfully than the men?

Healthy Nosh, Snack

Here in Shiloh the most popular snacks are the colorful ones, fruits and vegetables. In the winter you'll see more fresh cut vegetables, and now that it's summer, who can resist the fruit?

I've even seen young kids hoarding colorful peppers and berries while ignoring cookies. And there's always water to drink, too.

Michael Jackson, Anorexic?

I was never a fan, never met him etc, but no doubt that his extreme thinness was a contributory factor in his death. And the descriptions in the news of his autopsy make it seem most likely. Emaciated = anorexic, nu?

That Bridge

Yes, that bridge again!








As you can see, walking it is nothing to sneeze at! Jerusalem's String Bridge has made some people rich, but it's also a photographer's dream.

Celebrating Again!

There's that old saying:

"Vote early; vote often."

That may be illegal when it comes to voting, but it's sure legal when it comes to celebrating a birthday, especially a biggee!

Today my friend took me out to lunch. We ate at the Village Green, one of the veteran (though I remember when it was new and trendy) vegetarian restaurants in Jerusalem.

Sorry, no pictures. I had their tomato-basil quiche and lots of salad. No bread. They owner was surprised. I told her that I had cut out bread.

"That's why you look like you lost weight."

Yes, I know her. When I worked for the Beit HaBagel, the Bagel House, we used to deliver to the same offices at the same time.

The Wrong Sky For Late June

Yesterday's sky was very dark and cloudy. The clouds seemed to scream "rain," but late June is not rain time here in Israel. I did my best to ignore the clouds.

I hung out two washes, and I slathered myself with sun screen, and I went to the pool. Actually, the clouds made the pool more comfortable, since there was less difference in temperature between the air and the water.

Finally, just as I was leaving the pool, at about 9:30, the clouds began to leave and allowed the sun to blast its brightness.

A Really Great Day For JBlog Carnivals, Especially KCC

It's really special, because the Real Shaliach is hosting a really great real Kosher Cooking Carnival.

And since it's Sunday, there's also a simply wonderful Havel Havelim at Simply Jews, where else...

And the icing on the cake is the JPIXturesque JPIX Here in HP.

Click on them all and enjoy the jblog riches!

All three JBlog carnivals in one day!

PS If you'd like to host a Kosher Cooking Carnival, please let me know: shilohmuse at yahoo dot com

Better Late Than Never, The Fifth, BALW #5

I proved it! I managed to enjoy restaurant meals in New York and didn't gain weight! The food illustrating this Blogging About Losing Weight #5 are all from restaurants.

I had no problems ordering low carbohydrate meals during my visit to New York. Even when the standard side dish was a carbohydrate, as long as I requested it, I could have a non-carb vegetable or salad instead. The most difficult part of the trip was the plane ride. There isn't a low-carb option among the food choices. Actually, at least I flew a long international trip with two meals. It's better than flying within the continental U.S.A. sans free meals. The free snacks are high fat and high carbohydrates. Yogurts are considered a security risk. For a short trip, fruit and salad are fine to take along; eat your yogurt in the airport before the security check.

No doubt that everyone is different, but for me, Blood Type O, low carb, plain-cooked animal protein, a few fruits, lots of vegetables cooked and raw are my daily diet, and I've been losing weight for over half a year.

Yes, this is the fifth edition of the blog carnival dedicated to losing weight. It's monthly blog carnival. Please send your posts in. Two or three are the limit, and anything off-topic or too blatantly (I'm the boss) commercial won't be included.

Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have to make a conscious effort to eat properly? I have no doubt that by giving children the right foods at the right frequency from the moment they are born, we can prevent weight problems.Nobody seems to be immune to weight problems, even celebrities. Could Michael Jackson's death have been connected to his extreme thinness? He definitely looked anorexic, and if so, he wouldn't be the first celebrity to die of heart failure as a side effect.

J.D. Bell presents Before You Pop That Vitamin In Your Mouth… posted at It Takes Work.
Joel Gray presents 5 Tips To Help You Reach Your Weight Loss Goals posted at Health Tips 101.

Brent Deckman presents Nathane Jackson on Nutrient Timing posted at Nathane Jackson, saying, "WBFF Pro Fitness Model Nathane Jackson presents some tips on Nutrient Timing."
Nancy Miller presents 50 Best Foods for Weight Loss posted at Radiography Schools.
lisa maddox presents Here Comes the Band! My Lapband Journey posted at Banding Together: A Lapband Adventure, saying, "fun post on my dieting history"
Daniel James presents Fad Diets That Work! posted at Weight Loss Dude.
South Beach Steve presents When the Sun is Shining . . . posted at Log My Loss, saying, "We all go through tough times in our weight loss journey, the rainy days if you will. The difference in those who succeed and those who fail is what they do during the good times, when the sun is shining."
Dr Tooth presents Obesity Associated With Periodontal Disease posted at WorlDental.
J.D. Bell presents The Best Workout Lifting Weights posted at The RTP Transformation.
wan presents what-is-atkins-diet posted at green weight loss.
Ross presents How to Alkalize On-The-Go posted at Energise for Life
FitJerk presents Supplement Review: Whey Crisps Protein From BPT posted at FlawlessFitness.
Joel Riley presents The Master Cleanser Recipe For Rapid Weight Loss posted at The Master Cleanse Diet.
J.D. Bell presents They Call It An Eye Opener posted at It Takes Work.
swapnil warang presents How to find out if you are overweight or not posted at switch2life.
Robert Galway presents Ab Workouts posted at robertgalway.com, saying, "Ab workouts are meant to train the abs as a muscle group to make them defined or larger and not target the area for fat burning.
Alisha Harmann presents What Are Superfoods? Top 10 Facts (and Myths) posted at My Health.
The Smarter Wallet presents Should Your Weight Loss Diet Plan Include Diet Foods and Drinks? posted at The Smarter Wallet
pnreddy presents Weight Loss Surgery - Is It The Right Option For Me? posted at Weightloss Diet Watch.
pnreddy presents 7 More Ways To Lose Weight posted at Weightloss Diet Watch.
stephen todd presents Weight Management With Exercise posted at Weight Loss.
Sarah Scrafford presents 100 Nutrition Tips for Before, During, and After Pregnancy posted at Healthcare Administration Degree.
robert galway presents Overcoming Plateaus on the Atkins Diet posted at robertgalway.com, saying, "If you are experiencing a stall or plateau in your Atkins weight loss efforts, you are not alone. This occurs from time to time. However, you first must make sure that you have actually reached a plateau point."
Andy presents 100 Weight Loss Tips & Tricks posted at Personal Hack, saying, "The following 100 weight loss tips are divided into 4 sections: Get Moving, Adjust Your Eating Habits, Adjust Your Thinking, and Additional Tips."
Anmol Mehta presents Natural Liver Detox Technique posted at Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment and Kundalini Yoga

Kasha Deveine presents Ban the Treadmill! The Role of Cardio Exercise in Losing Weight and Burning Fat posted at Ask Kasha.
Rusty Moore presents Why Walking is Necessary for Good Health - Even If You Are Extremely Fit and Lean posted at Fitness Black Book, saying, "I use to think that walking was just for people who weren't fit enough to do any "real" exercise.
Szabolcs Illes presents The TWO Things You Should Do If You Want to Lose Weight! posted at Blog.
Roy Schwartz presents Using The Internet to Lose Weight posted at A Disease A Day.
Lauren presents Dudes & Your Diet: Relationship Weight Gain posted at Holiday Honey, saying, "Feeling a little bloated? May just be a few pesky "boyfriend pounds."
Lana Soko presents The Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Load posted at Lanasoko's Blog, saying, "What you should know about the Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load and the GI Diet"
Kasha Deveine presents You Can’t Out-Exercise a Bad Diet! posted at Ask Kasha, saying, "So you think you can eat whatever you want now that you're working out? Think again! Read on before planning a stop at the Pizza Hut after your workout today."
Chris presents How To Lose Weight Fast posted at Your Health n Mind, saying, "How to lose weight fast by changing your eating habits to increase metabolism."
Elisha Webster Emerson presents You Can't Talk "Women's Issues" Without Talking Weight posted at My Inconvenient Body, saying, "Post-Partum Weight loss and what the diet industry doesn't want you to know." Stacy presents Raw-ness posted at Deliciously Healthy Everyday.
Darryl Kimball presents If You Don't Give Some Thought To The Body Fat Set Point- You Might Be A Dumb Ass! posted at www.weightloss4dumbasses.com
Joshua presents How to Help Your Child Lose Weight posted at Family and Parenting, saying, "Childhood obesity is an epidemic. Here are some tips on how to help your child lose weight."
JWalker presents Why Bother With The Master Cleanse? Healthy Diet Plan posted at natural-life-choices.com.
Cory presents How To Change Your Eating Habits posted at Eating Healthy, saying, "By the time we become aware of the fact that we need to change the way we have been eating, for our entire life, we are kind of attached to it."
Crystal Wells presents Weight Watchers posted at The Best Diets That Work.
Aparna presents Weight reduction diet tips posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming.
Clifford Burrow presents Lemonade Master Cleanse posted at Juice Cleanse.
Lauren presents Switching to Black Coffee posted at Holiday Honey, saying, "Cut it out with the grande & venti fat traps already!"
Lauren presents You Really Are What You Eat: Your Diet Is 80% Responsible For How You Look And Feel - Holiday Honey posted at Holiday Honey.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of blogging about losing weight carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index papge.

Technorati tags: blogging about losing weight carnival, blog carnival.

I'm A Bissel Late In Posting The Losing Weight Carnival, Sorry

I hope to post the next Blogging About Losing Weight, the diet blog carnival today. I was supposed to do it last week, but even though sleep-wise I didn't suffer jet lag from my June visit to New York (7 hour time difference with Israel) I was a bit "down" and couldn't get myself to do much besides go to the pool and babysit.

I, also, went to my friend's 60th bash and to a wedding... Among other things...

It's not that I just played free cell and spider solitaire. Hmmm...

New York! New York!

Following are a sample of the pictures I took in Manhattan a few weeks ago. It's hard to believe that it was just a couple of weeks ago. It's still June, and I was in New York in June. Actually, taking pictures was the most touristy thing I did there.

Some of the pictures were at the giant Apple store on Fifth Avenue, where people check out all sorts of computers and other Apple products.

Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Dead Icons From the 70's and 80's

The music of the 1950's and 1960's is ingrained in my body and soul, but by the time Michael Jackson came on the scene, I was into lullabies and children's tunes... with an Israeli accent and flavor. I never caught the Michael Jackson bug, was never a fan of his. Honestly, I just couldn't understand his popularity.

Farrah Fawcett, of the wild hair and toothy smile, wasn't a favorite of mine, either.

It's strange to think that they died the same time. They both took their celebrity very seriously. Show business is hard work.

That Bridge, Another Perspective

Jerusalem's Calatrava String Bridge soars rather incongruously over the junction between the Central Bus Station and the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. From many vantage points, it looks rather ridiculous, impressively absurd.

There are rumors that there are already signs of structural damage even before its vehicle lanes are permitted traffic.

But the other day when I had to meet people in Kiryat Moshe, it was suggested that the fastest way to get there from Center 1, the shopping mall near the bus station, would be to walk on the bridge. So, that's what I did.

Tel Shiloh, Rosh Chodesh Tammuz

Every month when my friends and I go to Tel Shiloh for our Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers, we take the same route, but it never looks exactly the same.




Israel is dry during the spring and summer months, so the flora gets paler and yellow, eventually brown and brittle as the summer burns on.





And every month, I'm awed by its beauty. Tammuz is the first of the solely summer months on the Jewish Calendar.

It's Hard To Be One's Own Photographer

On Friday, my kids made me a lovely 60th Birthday at Tel Shiloh. I tried to take my own pictures, but it was hard to double-time as guest of honor and chief photographer, so I gave up. Luckily, my cousin's husband took some great photos. No, I haven't posted them, sorry.

But two days after my party, my friend Debbie Klaff Dan, whom I've known since we were seventeen and elected to the National Board of NCSY, had her 60th Birthday Party. Debbie lives in nearby Beit El and is a geriatric social worker. Her late mother had moved to Beit El to be with her and her family, so Debbie established Beit El's Golden Age Club.

That was the location of Debbie's party, and all of the present members were invited along with her other friends. Being "only sixty," we were the younger celebrants.

The club meets a few times a week and has a very full program of music, lectures, exercise etc. It's conducted bilingual in English and Hebrew.

Beit El's Rabbi Shlomo Aviner spoke at the party.

If you'd like to know how to donate to the Moadon Gil HaZahav, contact saftadeb at yahoo dot com

So Slow

My computer is really dragging this morning. I'm debating between wasting time waiting and going to the other one and wasting time on its card games.

I'm also very upset that I haven't found a ride to a wedding tonight. It's an annoyingly difficult problem. We don't have a car, and some places are very hard to get to by public transportation. When there's something neighbors are also invited to, I (and many others) just post a request to our Shiloh email list, on yahoo groups, and eventually, I get an offer or more. Of course, when it's in Jerusalem, I don't bother and just take a bus. This time, few people are invited, and so far I'm stuck. Also, one of the neighbors used my request/s as the springboard for some nasty comments about those of us who need rides.

And this morning is "male" at the pool, so I don't have that option to cool off...

The Perfect 60 Sixty!

WARNING


When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens . . .
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.



written in 1961 by Jenny Joseph

Money Can't Buy You Love!

During my recent visit to the states, I did a lot of supermarket shopping, and it was there that I noticed lots of magazine headlines about a "Jon and Kate." They even beat out Brad and Angelina in cover pictures.

I discovered that their celebrity was due to their clever and unique method they found to financially support their brood of eight kids, twins and sextuplets, in a world where "two" are considered a nice sized family. They have been featured as a reality TV show.

This is no "Father Knows Best" nor "Room For One More." The pressure-cooker of all those kids and their celebrity status made quite a chulent of their marriage. As the fights escalated, so did their ratings, and I'm sure that without the salary they're getting for allowing the cameras to roll all over their lives, they'd be living in poverty.

Money Can't Buy You Love!

Partying!

It has been quite a week. Friday, my kids made me a 60th at Tel Shiloh. Then last night (Sunday), my friend celebrated her 60th birthday in Beit El, and just now we came home from an engagement party here in Shiloh.

And this morning I went down to Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh Prayers.

Busy week for sure!

Cover-up Swimwear, More Modest and Healthier, Too

Old-fashioned looking modest swimwear for women is becoming easier to find in the pools, beaches and stores... at least here in Israel.

They are made of swimsuit fabric, two pieces, a long tunic and "pedal pusher" length slacks.

Modesty isn't the only reason to wear them. They provide better cover-up protection against the sun to prevent or lower the chances of getting skin cancer.

No, I haven't bought one yet. When I go to the outdoor pool, I wear an old thick white cotton turtle-neck shirt over my bathing suit. It covers the lower neck, which the suits don't. I go to women only swimming, so when I'm indoors, I don't wear the shirt.

I don't think that the tunics come with a built-in bra, so unless the woman wears some support, the bathing suit may be "less modest" than she'd like to believe.

American Father's Day

When I was growing up, we celebrated neither Father's Day nor Mother's Day. I'm not sure exactly why. Mother's Day frequently coincided with my mother's birthday and was combined sort of. I have no memories of Father's Day.

Here I am at the milestone of sixty with two living parents, defintely a rarity, not that we celebrated my birthday when I visited them.

There's a disturbing op-ed in the New York Times by a man who didn't grow up with a father, though his father was and still lives. In Israel, that's pretty rare, though no doubt there are cases, although not meeting for 27 years would take a great effort in such a small country.

I do know of a family in which the husband disappeared, deserting wife and children. He was eventually found in a foreign country and forced to send the gett, Jewish divorce papters to free his wife. And later he established a rather limited long-distance relationship with his kids.

It seems that alive or dead or missing or removed, fathers still resound.

Even My Batteries Are Getting Older

Not every woman (or man) is so up front and honest about age. Just scroll to the previous post to discover how old I am.

Just two days after my kids made me a big party at Tel Shiloh, including a tour led by my husband and the most moving PowerPoint presentation by my kids, a good friend had her same-age birthday party.

I planned on giving her a CD of photos from it. After a short time, my camera batteries gave out, so I put in the spares, which I had recharged just three weeks before. I know exactly when, because it was before my trip to NY. Then, just a few pictures later, those batteries also stopped working.

I guess the rechargeable batteries don't recharge forever. I've also noticed that they seem to last for periods of time, not use.

I can't take the pictures off the digital camera until I have charged batteries.

A Real Mazal Tov, HH!

A real MAZAL TOV to the Real Shaliach! HHelp HHim celebrate on HHis Havel Havelim.

Yes,
An Extra Good Reason
to Visit HHis Blog
And Read
Havel Havelim!

Still Sixty!

Turning 60 is a life-changing event. It has special significance in Judaism. Most important, after the age of sixty, one is no longer eligible for the serious Halachik, Jewish Law, punishment of Karet, being banished from the Jewish People.

The age of 60 is half the number in the blessing, עד מאה ועשריםת ad me'ah v'esrim, until a hundred and twenty. So, one of the replies by the celebrant is to say:

"I hear that the second half is shorter."

I've been celebrating a lot. My movie club friends made me a surprise party about a month ago, and I shared a festive neighborhood Shabbat meal with a neighbor who turned sixty a couple of days after me.

On Friday, family and friends made it to Shiloh for big party, which included a tour of Tel Shiloh. Well-known baker, Herbie, prepared me a special cookie. His wife Debbie is one of the friends I've known the longest. We were on the NCSY National Board when we were high school seniors.

As part of the festivities, my husband led a tour of Tel Shiloh.

The Tel has been the location for weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations and other events. I think that my party was the first to celebrate turning 60!

Getting Gussied Up In Lord and Taylor

My sister snapped me getting my face cleaned and creamed. Actually, the cleanser was awful, and I requested that it be removed. My face was burning. The saleswoman was very nice about it. She told me that she, too, is allergic to all sorts of creams and potions.

I thought of returning and buying the cream, but I never put any of that stuff on. It's hard enough for me to put on sun screen, and I can get a good deal on them at our "sick fund" pharmacy.

Sitting Around Grand Central Station

New York's Grand Central Station is one of the great landmarks. It's very impressive and used for all sorts of photo shoots.

One thing it's missing is seats.






I joined those who made do with the steps, when I arrived too early, much too early for my train.

Delicious Kosher Restaurant Diet Meals

I had absolutely no problem sticking to my new eating plan/style while eating out in kosher restaurants during my two weeks in New York. It was possible to have delicious and filling low carbohydrate meals in every restaurant I went to, and I was in at least half a dozen for sure, most probably more. I ate out almost every day.

There's more advice for dieters eating out on the Fresh Start Diet Blog. I'll try to list the various restaurants at the end of this post. I went to a variety of kosher restaurants:

• pizza
• bagel
• meat

In both the pizza and bagel places, it was always possible to get a tuna with salad plate/platter. The menu generally offered a starch/carbohydrate plus salad, but it was always possible to get either more salad or two different types.

In the meat restaurants, deli, Israeli etc, there were many choices of non-breaded meat, poultry or fish. There, too, the standard was a protein, salad and carb, but every single restaurant offered a cooked vegetable (frequently steamed) and a fresh salad.

Portions were large enough, so that I wasn't tempted to even taste the desserts. The friends and relatives I ate with rarely ordered desserts.

Bagel Mentsh, Middleneck Road, Great Neck, NY
Mr. Broadway, Broadway, NYC
Olympic Pita, West 38, NYC
Mendy's, both the East 34th Street branch and the one in the East 50's, NYC
Tel Aviv, Middleneck Road, Great Neck, NY
Shish Kabob, Middleneck Road, Great Neck, NY
? Pizza, Middleneck Road, Great Neck, NY

That's all I can remember.