Update Time

I know it's been a few days since I've updated but things have been pretty status quo here.
On Thursday I went with my mother-in-law to a kibbutz about 15 minutes away called Netiv Halamed Hey. Just like every kibbutz has something that they do, the job of this kibbutz is to cook. During the week, aside from feeding the kibbutz, they also feed the army. On Thursday and Friday, they are open to the public. Basically, you walk into a medium sized room that has more food than you could ever imagine, it's really amazing. Literally, any kind of chicken, meat, fish, salad, or side dish that you can imagine is there. You take containers (they have varying sizes) and you fill it up with as much food as you want. I had been there before but this was the first time that I went and I was buying food for my own home. Let me tell you, it was very overwhelming (in an I love to eat but it's impossible for me to take home one of everything kind of way). The prices are great and the food is delicious. If you are ever going to be in the Bet Shemesh area, I highly recommend visiting this great kibbutz.
Shabbat was nice and relaxing and on motzei shabbat Elie's sister and brother-in-law took us out to celebrate Elie's new job. We went to a very nice dairy restaurant here in Bet Shemesh. Truthfully, the food was really good but Israelis sure do like their cheese. I don't think I ever realized before how celebrated cheese was in this country. Elie ordered what we thought would be a baked potato with a nice cheese sauce on top (kinda like that awesome lunch from the Stern caf...), but what came was a mountain of cheese with potatoes hidden inside. I'm starting to think that maybe it was supposed to be like a bobbing for apples game that they have at carnivals. Anyway, the food was actually delicious and we had a really nice time.
Then came Sunday and Elie's first day of work! He really enjoys it and is being given a lot of responsibility which is really great. It's nice to hear that people are respecting the amount of experience that he has and the talents that he has. It's a relatively predictable schedule - he starts at 9 and ends at 6. However, because there are no subways here and the only mode of public transportation is the bus, he is out of the house at 7:30 and comes home around 7. It's a long day but, again, predictable (whereas in the States, it was always a toss-up as to when Abba was going to walk in the door and whether or not he would be doing Tani's bath and bedtime).
Netanel and I have gotten into a nice routine although, I gotta say, I definitely miss having Elie around. I take Netanel to his gan in the morning then come home and either get a ride or take the bus to ulpan. Afterwards, I either get a ride or take the bus home just in time to pick up Netanel at 1. After his nap we try to figure out ways to fill the afternoons until Elie gets home without either of us going crazy....it's only been 2 days but it's been interesting.
I would just like to make a shout-out now to Sari Wittlin who was the best afternoon buddy EVER. I never had to worry about filling my afternoons because we would always do something together - usually that meant hanging out at her apartment, watching the kids play and feeding them snacks - but it was predictable. I miss you, Sari!

A few things I noticed while grocery shopping in the past few weeks that may be of interest to anyone thinking of aliyah (or to anyone else, really):
1. There is no frozen squash in this country. If you want to make squash kugel, muffins, etc. you either have to buy chunks of fresh squash, cook it in the microwave FOREVER until it's soft and then mash it up...or decide to make broccoli kugel instead.
2. There is no pareve condensed mushroom soup. It's not something that I thought I used that much but lately, I have felt it missing from my life...
3. One can learn a lot of hebrew simply by walking through the aisles of the local grocery store. While this can be very informative, it can also be very frustrating when you come home thinking you bought one thing while really you bought the opposite product.