on blocked road, dry food and nouraghi

I am sitting in here in a nice hotel lobby overlooking mountainous terrain, villages, green scenery and clouds, the sun is making some attempts to warm up, but its early. its Monday morning and all is peaceful in Sardinia.

I left Cleveland on a Saturday noon, the Delta counter had trouble finding my reservation at first , giving me few moments of dread, i gave them my ticket and then they found two invites for me,  i booked via Vayama so  no sure what happened there, but soon i was at the gate where this oversold flight had 5 to many people... they offered 800$ to delay. i was intrigued but would miss my connection so passed on what would pay for most of my stay. 

reached JFK with plenty of time, but you have to switch terminals, go trough security again with long lines. prices here are higher then I recalled and i settled in on a hotdog, 

soon we were off to Rome and i spent my time with Keeping up with Jonses - entertaining, Jack reacher 2 movie- decent - but the books are better, he (Tom Cruise) is to short for the role and played some trivia. slept only an hour. we reached rome 20 minutes a head of time, my connection was decent, but it did take a while to load on the busses and a long transit line for security, a long walk to the other terminal and then passport control.  each by itself was not too bad, but i was pushing it to make my flight and had to run. Breathlessly i reached the gate with a few minutes to spare, joined with my dad and brother as we took the short last leg to Cagliari.

My bag wasn't there! here is there is a separate carrousel for domestic and international, sigh... it was in the other one with a ripped stepped, back pack becomes a shoulder carry.

we got the car and quickly began navigating the cagliary roads. the sun shone, a lovely warm day with clear skies. perfect start.

we stopped at a super marketo for some supplies, water, bread , local cheeses and snacks and headed for the SS125 going north east. the road passes salt lakes and fields of various kinds and then slopes up the mountain range. the granite mountains are striking, there are lops of spurs going up from the top of the mountains creating interesting shapes. the scenery is lovely with assorted trees of oak, pine, olive and others and the sea is visible every now and then for contrast. we took a little detour in the village of bureci and took a road to the top of a mountain. this was a dirt road and we stopped on the sides to examine the newly blooming flowers.

the road was not meant for a regular car and we decided to avoid a flat tire and returned back and continued east and north on the SS125.  we reached the village of Arbatax and stopped at the marina for beautiful rocky shores view.. here we found a little booking mishap. our hotel was an hour south so we waived our booking and booked Dorgali which was an hour to the north- to avoid the need to double back. this village arbatx is a happening place in summer, but now in the off season it is off. no one in sight, this is a sunday and the roads are virtually empty. we decided to keep going to pedra delonga. after driving up the mountain, the roads goes steeply down towards the sea. we spot some goats and our expert zoologist guide declares they are feral goats. i do notice that these feral goats have bells on them. i did manage to get a nice photo of these feral bell goats gazing at me with the sea behind. photo of the day.

we reach the end of the road to the restaurant which is closed!!! at this point i get a 911 call from nature... and i leave my mark on the ground 20 meters from a locked toilet. this is becoming a bad habit.

the short path descends to the shore for views of sea and rock formations, including the long rock or Pedra De longa.   i also take the paphto the other side, each path is perhaps 200 meters both ways, but a bit steep, the beach on this end is completely deserted. 

we continue north. the roads here all pass in the towns, in one of them we reach a funeral procession and must go behind the poor soul and half the town on his way to church. we continue slowly on the never ending winding road but with striking views. i fall a sleep here and there in the back, an hour after the funeral we reach a dead end! the road is blocked. I get out to see road work on the other side and a firm blockade on the road, not a gate. time to go around. these are mountain roads, not many off them, we have to drive 20k back then do a huge detour. i take over on the wheel a bit rested after my power nap. Shay is complaining on the constant turning and i laugh when i see a straight stretch of road of about a 100 meters, it is that twisty. for more than an hour we are on this U-turn of a road passing a few small towns, streams, goats and sheep and finally reach a high way, we go north to Nouro, the area capital, it is a city and it is closed! we drive in the center and all stores are closed, and also restaurants and everything. these people take Sunday seriously. we pass a cop and ask for food directions and he guides to the main pedestrian area where we find a couple of sandwich places, we are told that restaurants will open at 8 pm.. and we have a hungry child to feed so we snack on microwave heated pizza or burgers - not gourmet italian food. on the way out another store finally opened and Shay supplements with french fries. all he wants is Mcdonald...

we leave the city and head toward Dorgali the touristic town, center of all activities and we find the road closed. it is dark now and we are tired. another detour.... its a big valley with hills here, hence a few roads to chose from. 30 minutes later , groggy eyed and slapping my face to remain awake we reached the hotel to find it closed! 

we called the hotel and after a few minutes they opened up, we booked this hotel today and the hotel did not get a message somehow, but they were efficient and gave us another room.

i took a shower and was fast asleep.

Day 1 ended where Sardinia makes country #63

woke up before seven and went out to check the beautiful mountain view, green hills vine yards and other fields. we had a great breakfast, with fresh orange juice, good bread, home made cake and other goodies. we went to the super market to grab lunch sandwiches and headed for our first spot. road S46 is closed... a car passes and a nice sardinian lady tells us to follow her on z daetur.  it was a tiny park that seemed devastated by recent floods, i saw a bench on a rock 10-15 meters up, high flood. we saw a sign for a "short nice 20 minute walk" and we took it, the short hike goes in between interesting vegetation and our biological tour guide digs a root from one of plants and shows us its orange root, suppose to make great tea out of it. 

we drove onward on a mountain road towards the hike of the day. we took the wrong path and tried and failed to make it up the mountain, steep roads, we stopped by a group of italian forest workers. they spoke no english but were very friendly, they were having lunch of bread and cheese and wine. we drank some wine, even I, just to be nice took a little sip. they drew us a map and we made it to the starting point where i left tour guide and hungry child in the car, they had lunch and i went up the mountain. 300 meters elevation change, took me 55 minutes to make it up there. the 1st part is just a path becoming steeper and steeper with occasional sounds of feral bell goats and 1 wild cat. the 2nd part of the path becomes a rocky trail, lots of stair type trail and the more you go up the rockier it becomes, with very jagged rocks, i stepped carefully on this part. at one point you have to go through a tunnel between the rocks and use your hands to climb. short of breath i reach the ancient nouraghi village under a collapsed dome. a guide waiting at the top explained bit about the sheep herding village that was discovered about 100 years ago, there is not much to see and i stayed there for a short while, enjoyed the panoramic view and made my way carefully down the mountain.

sour legged, i enjoyed picoreno cheese and bread. very good, we left the park and drove to orgoloso a town known for anti government political drawing. the streets are full of interesting gravity and quality drawing, but it is in italian  ,and we don't stay here long. the way over here 18 k was once again extra twisty. as we leave the town to return to Dorgali, we go by another road , slightly faster and are told to make a right somewhere, i remark that per the onboard nav system, we are about to cross a river, when we get to the bridge. it is rock made, ancient and half demolished, mush have been broken for over 20 years. we debate if we could jump over the gorge and finally decide not to. another blocked road.. but we do find a nice orchid here before we go back to another detour which is our 4th in under 24 hours. we make it back and head for sea town of cala gonona , a happening place in the summer we reach the shore and walk a bit then hungry boy must have dinner and we begin looking for a place. there are lots of closed restaurant here, they have cruises to amazing nearby beaches but not now, not a boat in sight. we scrounge the town and see and open gelateria, finally :)   we go in, and no ice cream, it will start next week the counter guy say in iris Gelateria. i Order hazel nut hot chocolate, it is very thick and and hot , hit the spot. a near by restaurant has lights, but they will open in an hour, we decide to go back to Dorgali, its a bigger place , there must be food there. we drive around for an hour, it is closed, everything.... low blood sugar shay drives around crazed. we finally find a restaurant sign and head up narrow alleyways and find a 1 star michellen place. but closed. google directs us to the garden pizzeria restaurant which was open!!! too bad.

tour guide ordred zuppa di mar, after desperately wanting soup. apparently a plate of sea food is called zuppa,  he sends it back. i ask for black risotto and octopus. it is nourishing. this is our new code word for something not so good. hungry boy gets ribs, they taste like meat but stringy. the carbonara is also nourishing and the chocolate cake is as soft as dry rock.

shay asks for another fork it share the rock cake and gets another cake... we send it back to rolled eyes glares from our waitress. we hear here debating with the angry cook.

we reached the hotel for a show and fast overnight nap.

woke up around seven,  another vey good breakfast, as we raised our glasses we requested open roads...

we checked out and heading north. we passed the town of orosei. the town shocked us, we saw a few open places, we checked out the beach, pretty and not empty , 2 people were sitting on the sand. 

we are now going not still 

cheers from sardinia

on vomit Quotes and the usual

one evening not long ago, i am sitting in the facilities room, doing what nature demanded, when Mattan walks in. its shower time. no privacy around here any more. while seated, i open the adjacent shower door, let him in and open the water. soon he begins to shower, or more correctly, playing in the shower, he likes to drink from the running shower tap. another minutes passes and Tal comes in. that is strange since i locked the gate to avoid such interruptions and behind him comes Alla. now she should know better! and let a person do their thing. she comes in and declares that she has to go. well, i am in the middle!!, and i ask her some what bewildered. "what do you expect me to do now?. finally she leaves the room with Tal.

the privacy rights in this country are no more.

we try to maintain routine, which is very important to kids, so say all the researchers. but sticking to routine is a bit difficult. of course there is my routine and Alla's routine.

my usual.

Tal Wakes up, i get him, he jumps with joy. we go down, and i give him breakfast, usually cereal, which he must take from the cabinet and he takes a spoon from the drawer, he will not accept my spoon offering. he eats the cereal and half of the milk, another half is on his clothes and another half on the chair. yes, i know it's against the laws of physics, but he manages.

now that he is good and dirty, and infused by milk. he poops and i change his diaper- then go wash his teath and change his clothes.

all this usually happens before Mattan\ Alla wake up

while this is happening i am making breakfast for all the boys, my self included and not for Alla.

Alla's usual (in the less usual case). Tal wakes up, calls Aba Aba Aba.... Mom comes, he jumps with joy but still calls for Aba. First Alla changes his diaper and brushes his teeth, then dresses him nicely. then breakfast, usually cereal with the same level of mess. now she goes to change the poopy diaper and change the outfit to another nice outfit.

 

recent quoates 

"no I am not sick I went to the doctor yesterday" mattan

I dont  want to go to evie's party   since she said once I  am a bad boy - Mattan

"she (Evie) told Lilian once that she is bad"

when asked if he or Lilian did anything bad   mattan says     there are no bad people at our school

this was a harsh winter. not the weather itself which was extremely mild for a cleveland winter, but sickness. since December = Tal had 5 sick episodes, most took a week to run through. a combination of liquids coming from every where possible. Mattan had 2 spells. but most were not in paralel and we had  to scramble often for a sitter, mostly meaning i stayed home. now we have almost 2 weeks of no sickness, just runny noses and finally things seem a bit normal. but we had our concerns. Tal is no on an all lactose free diet and gets fiber while we wait for various allergy tests to arrive. Today, we had a visit with radiology. poor taL work up at 5:30, not knowing that he can't eat till the test. he was grumpy asking for a bottle, cereal , yogurt, cookies, rummaging in drawers trying to obtain food . go explain to a hungry 22 month old that he has to wait...

Alla took Tal to the hospital, while i got ready to take Mattan to school and join her. 10 minutes later alla comes back (forgot her purse) then she rushes out again. i leave and go to drop Mattan off then drive to the hospital. I reached a random parking lot, 4th floor at the far corner. get out of the car and am about to call Alla when she happens to pull in to the slot next to mine. weird coincidence , this is a huge hospital facility with more than 1 lot, and multi floors. she was suppose to arrive before me,  bagel stop. alla is addicted to take out.

Tal is now calm, as we had in, he enjoys the light in the under ground tunnel and the elevators and the many greeters in uniform. we reach the radiology room which impresses me. it is a room geared for kids. lots of finding nemo/dory stickers on the walls. there was a hospital child services person. her job is to ease the worries of parents and kids. impressive. they explain the procedure and we first get a single x ray and tal is the perfect patient. then we wait for the doc and tal plays with the lights. finally the doc arrives, Hungry Hungry tal gets to drink something milk looking with dye. it is some fruit flavored. i was worried it would taste as horrible as the adult version. but it was not. tal takes a sip, then surprised and looks at the bottle, we hold our breaths, but he decides it is consumable and digs in. i see on the X-Ray frequent shots- and you can see the liquid goes to his esophagus, spends some time in the stomach and then goes to the intestine. very cool to see and once more Tal is fully cooperating, with the "milk" and a sucker that they give him to stimulate the stomach.  at the end when we here he has no anatomical blockages , he gets to choose a toy, he gets a little car.

currently Tal could have had just a nasty series of stomach viruses, but not all results are in.

Meanwhile, after my great success last year with biggest loser, i had no so good success in the 2nd part of the year and gained some of it back. i just finished a 2nd biggest loser and sadly i've lost by losing almost nothing... shame, the good part is that the weight gaining has stopped- i am stable for the last 2 months and i am much more active now and hoping resume decent in upcoming active months.

i will rejoin this competition again next year, it keeps me in check.

as you know i Participate in toastmasters and reached a mile stone of finishing all my speeches. i have 2 things left to complete to be a DTM- distinguished toast master and hope to finish this by MAY

 

more  quotes 

he sees a sign of 25 MPH and we explains that we go slow since the speed is 25 miles per hours. he then says in the high way you can drive faster 65 thousand dollars... a little unit confused

Tal begins to talk in 3 word sentences - but i don't recall anything record-able at this point, 

we went to see La La land and i don't get the hype, it was fine, but best movie... i don't think so.

we also went to a Carpenter tribute event , some band anecdotes and lots of hit songs. average age was 70 + ... i loved the event, Alla was suffering bravely..

that is it for now. soon more frequent updates as destination #63 approaches.

 

 

On the lanyard people, drugs and waiting

Wait,  did I came here to wait?. Don't they know I hate waiting!. There are over a 100 people in a very large room, people sitting, reading newspapers and doing nothing. This is Jury duty.

I don't recall the last time I went down town in the morning, fearing traffic, I left at 7 and it wasn't bad. Found cheap parking and headed to justice center. Passed the metal detector, checked in , received my lanyard and now I wait.. 

A bit later , the Wednesday jurors were called to the blue chairs for a movie. Not 12 angry men or the client, but a quite nice orientation movie, took about 20-30 minutes explains the whole process, very details which is good. Then the Judge came and explained things. They seem to focus on wait, the fact that we have a lot of it , but it is needed since the lawyers know we are here ready to go and get eager to convict the longer we wait (last part was not the judges thoughts) – so our presence is intimidation to all sharks and solicitors to close a deal.  The bailiff speaks next, she is humorous. We sign in and back to waiting.   20 min later, they called the first victims to go to trial selection , I wait, oh sorry  Intimidate quietly.

10 minutes later – more lucky people get selected… still waiting, while fox new is on tv.

And then  10:45   my name is called. I am chosen, so proud. I go to the area of the chosen people, our names are verified again and we head to the forbidden elevators. Those that as jurors we can't go un escorted. From the 17^th floor we see winter Cleveland views and then we are escorted to the jury deliberation room, then when our names are called again we told to stand against the wall in a specific location and we are led in to the court room with "all rise for the jury". There are more suits here than my own wedding. No medial, only one or two people in the audience. The judge introduces himself, the court personal. The lawyers introduce themselves then for the next hour , the judge talks about some case background, about jury selection , asks us each some background questions. When I hear the case topic I am a bit intrigued. But I cant share anything about the case it self, that will wait for the trial to end. Alla is disappointed that I cant share,  I am as well. As you know I announced news from the delivery room in the past, I don't really like to hold. But to enjoy this procedure I must.

The whole ride up to the court and the formality is a bit intimidating, you cant talk with anyone on the case makes conversation awkward.

we were sent to lunch, next is the jury filtering……

after a cafeteria lunch, we waited to be summoned back up, our call time has passed and "expert" jurors from the Monday group suggested they are settling. But, a few minutes later were are summoned. Do the roll call again and go up the forbidden elevations and escorted to a standing court room.

Then the probing begins. They try to uncover any biases.   A spoiler… I can talk about the trial now…

From the lawyers suggestions, here is what may have happened. Some construction guy was injured on the job, he started taking pain killers and for years he was an addict. He came to dr X a.k.a the defendant saw him one time and gave him methadone  , the dude went to a pharmacy and had this drug filled. 3 days later he was dead. Now, the family is suing the doctor and the pharmacy.   I don't have facts, but the lawyers suggested the doctor mishandled some procedure and so did the pharmacy

Hence the lawyers probed on issues on addiction, in us or our families, issues of pain management, hatred to big chains and it became personal quickly, but the jurors answers honestly for two and  half hours for the 3 questioners (one for the plaintiff and one for each of the defendants ). I was asked On Alla's work, how much does she share about here work, how much I am respondent to sympathy, since the dude kids will come to testify and I as a parent may feel I need to "give them something". I said no- it didn't matter.     Since I worked with  pharmacies in my previous job and I know what goes on there from Alla, I was very curious about this case/ I was asked specifically if I will be able to not share with Alla, I said yes but I am dying to tell, the court laughed. . Finally, we reached the end of day and began Juror elimination, I was not asked as many questions compared with some and during the interview I would make mental note on who I think will be eliminated, but I neglected to assess one issue. They begin with "we excuse Mr gil, juror number 6".. what .fudge… first to go…. The judge opens the door and lets me out and I leave the building.

I am back there not, back in the jury pool for other trials selection…. Back to……waiting L

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Whiff, boxing day and socks

I ended up doing some car cleaning today , looking for my credit cards and ID.  car cleaning is an unusual task for me, especially on a potential awesome day.

a while ago i realized that today, boxing day was ideal. Kids at school, Alla at work and i have a solo day as we dont work today. i love the planning part, though most plans fail. its part of the fun. so any things could be accomplished, i can sneak one of the kids and continue my buckeye trail journey. i can do two session, one in the morning and take the other in the after noon. even the weather is accommodating. after a week of snow, some heavy and more then a week of just above freezing temps (during the day), it is finally warm today, the snow has completely melted, it is not raining and i am stuck here, completely hike less. i had other plans. complete the route plan for Sardinia, finish a photo album, continue my school project, watch a man u game. so many possibilities.

however..

it started last Monday night when Mattan had a fever, nothing severe, just a 24 hour virus that doesn't know how to count. a normal day at work, Mattan is home with a sitter and no fever. Tuesday night, the fever returns. Ibuprofen. the meds help and in the morning mattan is all better, but cant go to school, sick policy. I stay home to help out. all day fine, then at night fever strikes again. we now address it as a nocturnal virus. i stay home with him on Thursday and i am not very work efficient this week. two many little distractions. but it is nice to have once again fever less Mattan cuddle on me all day.

the fever strikes again that night and now it has brought a friend, Tal vomits in bed. we change the sheets and this vomitirus is nasty, poor tal vomits several times and get a nightly ER visit. XRay is fine, he didn't swallow anything, just a bug they say.

I stay home Friday, i dont even try to work. both kids seems on during the day, they are cuddly, playful, eat well and full of snot in all shapes and colors. Tal gets inhalation to help him clear out his raspy lungs. 

then friday evening comes, Mattan has no fever, yeah all better.. Till Tal vomits again, and a few times more in the next hour. now on the carpet. he seems fine, smiling and then without warning, Mary carpetmess. wipes at first, paper towels, shark vacum, and finally several rounds of napkins moisted with detergent and i almost got the stench out of the carpet,

we were to have company on Friday, we call it off, and have a smaller meal just with family.

on Saturday,  Kids are fine, except the endless parade of holiday green from their noses. I am adapt at yanking the blobs out. we now have a new Instruction for Mattan to call a Nazelet (Snot) break. 

I talk with my mom and she assures me that viruses dont last this long, by Monday my dream day both kids will be fine.but the nocturnal strikes again, carpet cleaning efforts continue. bed sheets were replaced multiple times, laundry machine is aiming to strike. yet the cycle continues. chicken soup is not helping. lots of pedialite and other measures to keep Tal hydrated. on sunday we think things are going well, Tal has an appetite , some what , he eats pomegranate and rests during the day, he looks a bit sleepy , but not worse.

we have a very nice family meal at Dina's , play a game, which is as noisy and argumentative as any other family gathering. part of the fun.

by Now alla is sick too, just a basic cold and very stuffed. Mattan found a way to have more snot, i didnt think it was possible, today he sneezed and had a little trail from nose to chin. no i didn't take a photo, though i did want to.

as we come home, Alla sees that Tal looks funny and rushes him to the sink almost in time. she cleans him while i clean the floor and cabinet doors, then Alla cleans her puke covered hair...  well just a little bit. Tal didnt look good last night, we considered an ER again, but decided not to. we gave him as much liquid as he would have. 

this morning, a.k.a awesome solo day. Alla was planning to come home at noon, asked for sick day , waiting for replacement. and Mattan would return to school.

then around 8 am, Mattan is dressed and ready to go, then he vomits his yogurt.

Alla goes to work and i have a solo morning with both. Mattan eats some rice and reports a tummy ache. he seems ok, kind of , he plays and drinks a bit, then I see that he is funny looking, i rush him to the sink just in time, vomit #2 i thought I had all content in the sink, and soon i find the missing piece, just under my sock.... more laundry.

Tal has an appetite and eats chicken and is now a sleep. Alla came back as well, they all nap. but before that. Alla shut off the "office" my new binge watching show and Mattan took my phone to watch Thomas, so without entertainment i went to clean my car to try to find my credit cards, gone for about 4 days. Im not worried, they will turn out. 4 days ago, Alla cleaned the house a bit for the upcoming guests. i think that is the cause of the latest disappearance. While clearing the car i found 22 single socks, mostly Tal's since he always takes his socks off. 22 of them, plus 2 pairs of underwear, a hat and whiff. 

whiff is a train lost not long ago, found at last.

but still no credit cards.

the 22 socks were only in the back, on further excursions to the front, i remove a few more socks, some in whole pair sets.

meanwhile Tal has a bad new habit where he takes his diaper off. not a useful trait when the diaper is not clean. so today i had a little variety in the types of material i was cleaning off the floor. Tal finally had diarrhea today, that is a good sign , it is meant to signal the end of the noctuVirus for him. I hope Mattan will not repeat this chaos.

so awesome day became, no keys, floor poop, vomit socks kind of a day. but at least man u won.... cheers from the only not sick person in this house, for now....

oh, they are all sleeping.. i think i will watch the office.

on ohhhh and bloopers

when we have an oooohhhhhh moment we want to remember them, but they disappear from memory too soon, here's a couple

on the packing for the trip last weekend, Mattan takes a toy cell phone, when asks why he said, he takes it for Tal ....

when i take the kids from school, i take Tal first, he sees me, and runs to his little cubby to grab his coat and runs out the door, when we stop at Mattan's class, he comes inside and they always hug 

Tal's favorite game remains, whatever Mattan plays with

Tal decided to eat some play-dough - it came out in colors the natural way

Tal likes to do whatever mattan does- that's ok in general but not when he tries to climb after him, lots of scary moments

one aspect of the Washington trip was not reported. the last time we went to DC we were supposed to come to the pentagon, it was a Thursday... long story short or yada yada yada... Osama was shot.  2 weeks ago in DC , yada yada yada. and Castro dies... coincidence??

I picked the boys from school yesterday, Mattan sits in the car and declares, " i Want mummy" i give him a sad awwww  and he looks at me and says " I want you too aba"  wouldn't you just melt?

I help Mattan brush his teeth,  he is trying to brush them himself, then asks us to do it thoroughly, he has difficulties with this word. when done, and i tell him good job, he says "I am growing up.....   but tal isn't"

"my boots are bigger then my shoes" mattan observes.

i think Tal just began Terrible twos. fussy about clothing, wants to do everything on his own.. the coming year will be a challenge

cheers till next time. 

on Frosty, pools and bath bed and beyond

Alla, your mission should you choose to accept it , is to take 2 children and a husband, drive 5.5 hours, pass three state and somehow manage to be on time, in a place with no parking, at one specific hour to complete paper work.

for some months we were debating where to go. in the summer we will be visiting saint petersburg. to avoid the need to obtain a Russian visa, we decided to get the kids israeli passports- no need for a visa this way.  the problem is a lack of consulate around here, so Chicago, Washington new York and Miami were debated heavily.  Thanks giving was the only time we can take the kids away without taking a priceless vacation day. 

we started getting ready, get kids photos, get hospital birth record (its not birth certificates), get birth certificates certified and get clarification on when the consulates are open.

on Wednesday  was working and alla spent all day, packing, at 4 i picked up Mattan and headed to Nathan's birthday- happy 4th... kids were running around on slides and trampoline and i returned home to finish packing and around 7 PM we finally left and headed east. driving is always fun after a long day, at night, with complaining kids..  Tal fell a sleep after a long hour, mattan took another hour, i somehow stayed awake as we pulled into Haggerstown Maryland after 11.

Alla fell in love again, not with me, with the hotel. homewood suites. parking, pool, , 1st floor room, breakfast , fairly large room with kitchen and the crib was already there- the full check list. we loaded up the room and after a few minutes of kids jumping on the bed, way after bed time. the key for the love was Tal's room. we needed a quite room for the crib and this specific room was perfect, had its own internal door and some extra features- like toilet and sink.   the bath room was perfect for a sleeping baby, the crib slid right in. lucky Tal will not remember this. I also crashed soon after.

I woke up and took bathroom baby out for breakfast, few minutes later the table was full with cereal, raisins , milk and other stuff. a Christmas tree with full lights was in the room and soon one of the fruit looking decoration was broken by bathroom baby. soon Mattan wakes, short breakfast and pool and we leave early around 11 am and head for the national zoo.

we reached the zoo an hour and a half later and Tal falls a sleep, i stay in the car with him and leave the lights on while Mattan\Alla team go and enjoy the cheethas. 

a bit later, i get the now awoken kid to the zoo, after the car refuses to start.

we go fast to meet the rest and head directly to the zoo restaurant. strange zoo, i see no animals, its a bit cold but not that cold, all the animals stay hidden, we see sculptures of various mammals. lunch is pretty horrible, avoid the mane restaurant. 

we continue on, the urang utang are hidden, so are the lemurs. we see some snakes and various lizards. the gorillas were interesting- one of them was stretching and doing yoga.

the enjoy the cheetahs and  red wolves and the car finally starts 2 minutes before the AAA person arrives. too much for the kids and we head for the hotel with a stop at trade joe's we are low on Mattan's "special rice that i like"

cookies and very good lemon tea awaited for us at yet another home wood suites, in Bethesda now. the pool was ok and the kids move from the cold pool to the hot tub. mattan was playing with a 6 year old girl hide and seek in the pool without hiding really well. after special rice dinner we all went to bed with tal in his bathroom nightly prison.

in the morning, we found the consulate, we came early and learned there is no parking.. great location. we went to a nearby play ground for a while and returned. the cops on duty let us park in the Pakistani embassy lots - there are several embassies here, passed security. we feared long lines, but found it fairly empty. but a small room with only chairs and a water fountain is not ideal, we kept chasing after them in the automatic doors, away from the water fountain and the one fountain that Tal just had to explore... twice.

after about an hour we finished all paper work and headed out, mission accomplished.

we went to another playground in chevi chase. regular slides but this one had lots of bikes and other kid rides. i wondered how they are not stolen.  the kids enjoyed running around.

originally we were meant to see friends in Baltimore, a single stomach virus change out plans, we had no choice but to go to Uncle Julio's... mmmmm... by far the best Mexican place. after a serious stuffing, we went looking for victor.

we bribed Mattan with Victor (an engine from Thomas the train) if he would sleep a week in his bed, the bribe is working, but now it was time to pay. we left the restaurant area and didn't find a good toy store, on black Friday mind you. and finally searched for Barns and Nobel (also sell trains) and found one, right next to the restaurant, we drove back and i stayed in with a napping Tal while Alla went to find a 10$ toy

and hour and 75$ later Alla returns with ice cream wake up and headed out of downtown Bethesda row, we looked for trader Joe's again only to find out it again a street next to the restaurant,  this time we decided not to go back, that area is busy, especially on black Friday. the rest of the day was spent at the hotel, pool once more and early nap to digest the Tortillas

lucky for hotel breakfast, we don't have to clean up after the serial cereal droppers.

there was a kids shop, right next to uncle Julio's that area has everything but instead we went to the KID museum, which is a big room filled with kids science activities. the kids spent two hours pushing ping pong balls into vacum tubes, building vavum pipes, creating pipe networks.  this place is for a bit older kids but they had fun. the place also had 3D printers and i saw some printed creations. neath.

later it was time for lunch, we didn't think long and headed for Uncle Julio's .... so good.

with the kids half napping in the car we drove for 3 hours to seven springs.

we stopped at a rural Italian place for a bit of pizza and a little dropping water on our table and the one next to ours. 

we reached seven springs after dark and the whole resort is full of lights. trees are lit all over and it looks very pretty. 

we checked in to this ski resort, enjoyed some pool time, and finally Tal had a crib in an actual room.

this is opening weekend here and all the snow is man made. in the mronign we had an excellent  breakfast - chef made omelette, and some other goodies. and a frosty surprise. 

Frosty himself came to breakfast. at first Tal was scared, but then he wouldn't stop hugging the mysterious person in the frosty suit. mattan was hugging him two and Tal wrestled him out of the way to get another hug.

this resort, the hotel part is spread out and  we kept going back and forth. we spent some time at the arcade. i had both kids then and trying to play video games with both is a bit much, since they want different machines.  there is a big slot machine game and someone won 1000 tickets, jack pot twice in a row....  the machine was printing tickets for 30 minutes.   with 2500 you can get a zebra... so big money on the table. they had so much they handed us a handful of tickets and both received some knickknacks.

these winners had so many rewards that they gave us the rest... we were just in the right plane at the right time for a few little things we don't really need.

we passed the little Santa village , rode the indoor train, Tal loved it  Mattan is beginning to be too old for this (yes... already :(  ) and took a horse and wagon ride out side in the big parking lot-  kind of lame, but Frosty was on with us and Tal just loves frosty.

we played a few more games in the arcade, i shared a Jurassic park shooting game with Mattan, he loved it, but wasn't really aiming his laser gun.

it was a bit after noon when got some pizza, ice cream, a cookie and we hit the road, and around 3 hours later we reached home where there is no pool, but tal has a private room

on the way Mattan reached state #6 with Maryland + district of Colombia - so 6.5

Tal is now with 5.5 states.

and poor me, no new destinations.... just a great event less weekend 

on tooth paste, bands and reports

there is a reason why baby butt cream should not be placed next to the tooth paste.

I have not written a yearly summery in quite some time, two + years over due. mostly do to a bad 2015, over worked, burnt out and lack of sleep got me way down and way too big. 2016 however has been much better, working less, sleeping just the same, but definitely more time for other hobbies. i am trying to maximize me time, as much as possible with carry me and hold me.

its time to mark down achievements and everything else major that happens, a little pick me up for myself. 

around august 15- the project i was leading for over 2.5 years was finally released... pressure off.

in about half a day I moved from having meetings half a day, testing another half a day and doing other stuff for another half day at work to having less than 1/2 work load. this abrupt transition was not good for me as i am a guy who likes to keep busy, being idle is my worst enemy, upset, i planned to switch jobs, decision to leave was good for me at the time since it took my mind of work and let me focus on other things.

i need a small project to get me going and i found one close to home, the idea was to take a photo of the trees in my back yard, one photo a day and make a video of the changes.  photography has completed this week, it wasn't every day, but i still have tons of photos and soon this creation will hit a Facebook near you

my large stomach was a problem. January 2016 , i joined weight watchers again and in parallel is signed up for the biggest loser competition at the J, my weeks now had 2 work out sessions more than before and before you know it, i was 25 pounds lighter and i won the competition, hey i am the biggest loser ever in the history of the 2016 J competition.  lucky i didn't stop there and lost 20 more in the next 5 months. i won a bunch of personal work out classes, and i was active again + weight watchers , I was back in control.

last year, i also had another role in Toastmasters, i was no longer club president,  i was secretary that year, but i was an area director , area director supersizes several clubs. this role help keep me busy, arranging competitions, visiting other clubs, meeting people, speaking in new forums. i spoke in front of 100 people at one venue, urging them to join a new club i was forming. and in under 2 months it happens, I formed a special club in the area of career management. 

to be distinguished in toastmaster, the club has to do certain things, members must complete their education works, leadership works , and also recruit members and other tasks.  when i took over this role, the prior person in the role was named, Area director of the year, had big shoes to fill. how can i do better, by making the entire area president distinguished ( the highest level) this goal made mo work hard through the year, forming the new club was one of my goals. my own home club at work was also distinguished for the first time, i give kudos to myself for pushing a lot . and on the last day of the toastmaster year (june 30th) I reached the goal, my entire area was president distinguished. the only area out of 24 areas in north east oh to reach this high level, only a handful made it to the level below . awesome job.

last weekend we had the annual fall conference of toastmasters an i saw myself a candidate for area director toastmaster of the year, but i didn't get it. its all politics ... :)

in july my energy levels dropped. i no longer had a major role to occupy me, and work was definitely not filling my day.

i took on a new role,  for the above mentioned conference i volunteered to lead a committee. do you know what they gave me? a decoration committee,  ha!  me and decoration , was this a joke?  the good thing is that i didn't have to create decoration, just to get 20 clubs out of aprox 100 in north east ohio, to decorate a table at the conference and arrange a competition.

i started to drive the PR for this event. I like toastmasters, I can work on different things and try them out. I published a log of post on our Facebook page, i spoke in competitions, i prompted other people to promote as well, i reached the goal. yeh, and some of these decorations were incredible. very creative work, i will share photos.

my 2nd club (the one i formed) took 3rd place based on my idea, (though not my actual decoration)  i called it flowers of success.  basically people from the career management clu share their success stories. PR for the club for free.

why career management club, well as i have probably shared, i am in the wrong profession. being good at my job is not sufficient  but what is the right job is something i still dont know.

travel writer is an option i am beginning to explore... definitely dream job. this week i saw an article about this girl who is breaking the travel record 196 countries in the least amount of time, i am jealous. she post her travels and get's paid to do so, and paid well. those jobs are like the lottery, but a partial success would be great, will fill my time and increase my excitement levels.   the new club i formed, helps me focus on what i want and need, i see it as a huge success to allow me to get out of the career slump.

since i am no longer a director, i could compete in speech competitions. 

i lost in the area speech competition, but i won the table topics competition (1-2 minutes to answer a random question), its a think on your feet skill event.  i moved on to the division event which represents about 25 clubs and finished second, not bad, now i have 3 toast masters related trophies. counting all the trophies i ever got in my life the total is......4 . i did have 1 rugby award way way way long time ago, now you see why this is a winning year.

according to Tal i am dad of the year. every morning he wakes up, aba aba aba........ his favorite word, i think i must be doing a good job here.

hiking was also a major part of 2016 so far, I decided to complete the Akron section of the buck eye trail. a 55+ miles section , and since i usually hike just with kids, i do most of the way twice. currently i have 1 mile to go,  which i will complete on Saturday!!! . i tried to complete the last section on Monday with Tal, but forgot the back pack, and he decided not to be carried and that sitting is a good activity in the forest at dusk... so one mile to go.  after that i think i will start the Burton section  (there are 26 sections, most are far away).

Orienteering was also a fun part of the year, i had mud just about everywhere and thorns, those are deadly, but i am not smart enough to buy the gear that will keep the thorns  at bay....

regardless, in one of the events, i finally won. after 18 years of orienteering, and this was a bike orienteering event, yehhhhhhhhhh , the season is over now, cant way till march.

i did some running this year, i broke my 5k record at an event, not a score to write home about, it was 33:50  but still a personal best,  i will try again next year. i also had 1 triathlon this year,  very close to prior result on the same event. i think i will enroll next year to a few of these, they are a fun challenge, though i am disturbingly far away from winning, i don't see it happening...ever.

Travel is, was and will be a major part, last two, three years have seen costa rica , Iceland, Galapagos, Ecuador, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore and Cambodia. not a bad crop

I also saw two world cup semi finals and hiked in the alps

upcoming year will have at least.... 2 new exciting destinations, i am strongly trying to make it 3.

a good year for music- i watch the happy together tour, (Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night), Mark Lindsay (former lead singer Paul Revere & The Raiders), Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Cowsills and The Spencer Davis Group and the turtles, paul mccartny, ub40, aerosmith, red hot chilly pepper, styx with guest star pauline, cyndi lauper, herman hermits and a bunch of other bands.  

what else we had lately

lots of diaper changing, hiking, a bit of biking, bird feeding , public speaking, water sliding, static charge zapping, headbutting (Tal has a brick head), swimming with sea lions, swimming with water iguanas, swimming with white spotted eagle ray, smiling with tortoises, playing words with friends, doing 1 puzzle, voting first time for president, voting first time for the losing candidate. watching the cavs lose live (that game was a slaughter..), taking a selfie with a beauty queen.,losing a chilly cook off, finishing 2nd in a pumpkin carving competition. dressing as a crocodile king, a zombie and last at as crocodile zombie. 

lightening to audio books - i almost dont read any more- no time or patience. got re-certified as PMP (still didn't use it really). played volley ball, soccer, ping pong. i can't believe i have not played tennis in over a year, had a baby named after me ( give kisses to little Gili) played some DND, not a lot this year. seen lots of deer.

what else,, well i changed our home internet password and everyone including some neighborhood  hackers were complaining.

knock wood, 2016 is so far injury free. i was sick quite often this summer, colds that would not go away, lots of coughing, tried different meds, partial success, i think the last one is beginning to work. weight since august has been o the rise, but i think the momentum has stopped. reason one, there will soon be a weight loss competition at work, i live for competitions, and soon the J will have the next bigger loser event,  i want to use both to help me get thin, cant do it alone..

I also need to find activities , since the conference just ended and once again i have free time. free time is the enemy...

will see what the future holds,  hope to resume regular yearly reports on march 16 as usual.

hope your year trumps mine

 

p.s Alla  get a tooth brush for mattan,  there is butt cream on it.