I ♥ falafel

I ♥ falafel. I eat it once a week. I ate it for lunch today. I urge anyone who is reading this to try Pita + at Fee Fee and Olive. It is worth a trip every now and then even if you’re never in the area. No, I’m not related to these people nor do I know them except for the friendly greeting I get each week when I walk in. Having been in business for myself I know how valuable positive word of mouth is and wish them well.

The restaurant has been there for at least 12 years that I can remember but the current owners have been on board since 2001. They keep it pretty basic, falafel, gyros, hummus, baba ghanoj, salads, fresh pita bread, and burekas. All drinks are bottled except the Turkish coffee they make fresh. I’ve tried everything and there is nothing bad just things that are better than others.

A lot of people get their orders to go. I guess this is because it’s a pretty small place and it is lunch time but I like to sit there and eat. I can take my time and use as much hot sauce and tahini as I want. When you get it to-go you don’t have that option. I also like to people watch. I think it’s interesting to know what people are ordering and what brings them there because it’s a little out of the mainstream. I snicker to myself every time someone orders and the small man with the very broken Russian accent behind the counter asks them whether they want a white or wheat pita. You’d be shocked how many people get a panicked look on their faces because they don’t know what he’s asking. Every single week I eat the same thing; Falafel with no cucumber on wheat pita with tahini and hot sauce. The falafel is hot, the pita bread fresh, the vegetables in the pita are cold and crisp, and the meal enables me to take in at least 3 of my Superfoods all in one sitting. All in all it’s probably one of my top 5 favorite places to eat. Every single week I have the same thoughts when I get up and walk to my car afterwards; “Wow that was really good,” “I ♥ falafel,” and “That was better than sex” at least the way I remember it because it’s been about a million years.

Random Musings in Early Autumn

Books

Bob Dylan has a memoir coming out next week. I can’t wait to read it. I can only look on in awe and wonder at how someone could write as he does. I find that there’s at least one Bob Dylan song that can express, in a way I cannot, any emotion I can feel at any given time.

Have you heard about this new book called, He's Just Not That Into You : The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys? This guy was on Oprah last week. I can’t say that he’s the next Freud or anything but I must admit there’s a small element of simplistic brilliance here. Few women can say that they have never wanted more from a man than he was willing to give.

Movies

Why are there no movies out right now that I want to see?

TV

I will tell you right now that I do not spend that much time watching TV except for the quality must-see programming on HBO. Though I have always watched The Real World I have not jumped onto the reality bandwagon. I will say though that this new ABC show called Wife Swap is pretty interesting. Two families switch mothers for two weeks. It’s pretty fascinating to watch the way these people interact with a new family in a new environment completely different from what they’re used to. It really is interesting to see what they take away from the experience. Thumbs Up.

I always watched Friends. I didn’t feel as if I was losing my friends or that my life was over last year when it ended. It ran its course and it was time for them to go. That said, the Joey show is a total and complete disaster. I don’t know if there’s any better way I could possibly say it. What a let down.

Any suggestions?

Coz I gotta have Faith.

Faith
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
synonym see BELIEF
- in faith : without doubt or question : VERILY

Today is the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays which for those who don’t know is the holiest time of year. It’s a new year and a time to make resolutions for the coming year and to atone for your sins over the past year. For me it’s a time when I question my faith and the choices that I’ve made in my life. I think we’re all, no matter what race or religion, looking for that fulfillment and security that faith can provide. Faith doesn’t have to mean in G-d or religion. Perhaps it can be faith in oneself, in a friend, in a lover, in a relative, in political or social doctrines, etc. Which leads me to; what do I have faith in? I have a lot of faith in myself. I have the potential and capability to do and learn almost anything I set my mind to. That said, I feel I’ve lost a lot of my faith in the last two years. The faith I speak of now is mostly that which I had the most faith in, my family. I used to feel that the familial support and unity I had meant everything to me. Now I feel as if it’s mostly gone and I greatly miss it. I ache for it. Do I have faith in G-d and my religion? My best answer is some. I believe in a higher power and I do consider myself to be a proud Jewish woman. I would not be considered religious by any stretch. I feel a spiritual presence at times. I’m not convinced this presence is G-d in the traditional Judeo-Christian sense of the word. Organized religion does not figure prominently into my life. The synagogues are crowded during the High Holidays and full of people who don’t go during the rest of the year. I think sometimes and for some people it becomes just another opportunity to see and be seen. It’s a fashion show much like that Bar Mitzvah you went to last year and the wedding you’re going to in a few months. I’m not passing judgment on the entire community and structure. I just feel that this is too often the case. It’s an environment that I don’t get much out of and don’t like to be a part of. For me this is a time for introspection and meditation. L’Shana Tovah if the statement applies to you. Mostly though I urge you to question and challenge your faith just as I will be doing.

Which Peanuts Character are you?

You are Lucy!

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In the Peanuts lies profound wisdom.

Um, Labor Day Weekend

I had high hopes for a weekend jammed with relaxation and exhilarating physical activity and time well spent taking in some of the summers last good UV rays. Is this what I got? Um…..noooooo.

Rewind to about 2 am last Tuesday night/Wednesday morning depending on how you look at it. I wake up on my sofa with the TV still blaring and telling me why I should buy that thing that you hook up to the vacuum and suck the air out of your sweaters with. I stumble up the stairs to bed and think hmmm my throat feels really sore. Wednesday my throat is sore all day. On Thursday I can feel the congestion in my nose and head as well and start coughing and sneezing. By Friday I’m willing to admit that I, the person who never gets sick, have a full blown cold in the summer. If this had been fall or winter I would have been prepared. I would have been downing my herbal cocktail of Echinacea and golden seal and washing it down with the Echinacea green tea. I would have been using Zicam when everyone else in the office was sniffling even though I didn’t need it just to ensure that I not contract the latest strain. I decide to go to the farm anyway. The only way to get rid of it is to not let it prevent me from doing what I would ordinarily do, right?

No. So very wrong….
By Saturday I felt like my head was going to explode. My nose wouldn’t stop running and I couldn’t breathe. I don’t think the fresh air and dander there helped me in any way. I listed some things on eBay for about an hour on Saturday morning then I sat my ass on the couch and watched DirecTV for the rest of the day and all day Sunday as well until about 3 p.m. when I actually took a shower and got dressed. You may ask why I even got up off the couch and got dressed. I did so because we were invited to an annual hog roast on the river. Question: What’s funnier or more ironic than a Jewish family who has a farm in a predominately Baptist town in the middle of nowhere in Missouri going to a hog roast on Labor Day weekend? Answer: Nothing that comes to mind unless it was on one of the High Holidays. The party was a riot. The idea of these parties is that the people giving the party provide the 300 lb hog and the iced tea and everyone who comes brings a side dish or a dessert. As usual there was an abundance of deviled eggs and carb laden potato dishes. They grilled corn and had people there to shuck it for you. This year they had a bluegrass band that started playing when it got dark. People started two-stepping. Needless to say the situation was very amusing. My punishment for getting off the sofa when I shouldn’t have was coming home itching with 12 brand new mosquito bites. The thing that always strikes me as odd about the country is that there’s an absence of the 22-35 year old age group. There’s a few of them around but they’re all married and have children who they had when they were still in high school. It seems that these are the years when people who grew up there choose to get out. I’ve been told most of them find their way back though.

Monday….
I make the drive home and go to my mother’s house. She’s having her boyfriend’s family over for swimming and dinner. It was tedious. This situation is still very awkward for me. I’m 28 and my parents got divorced when I was 27 after 32 years of marriage. I never thought I’d have to watch my mother have her boyfriend’s family over for dinner in a house that my parents lived in together that used to belong to my father’s parents. How’s that for fucked up? Want me to keep going? My mother and father are great friends, work together at the family business still, and chat on the phone. Oh, you’re still not as uncomfortable as I am? Two weeks ago I went out to dinner for my maternal grandparents’ anniversary with my grandparents, father, and his girlfriend who he has been living with for just about a year. They have been officially divorced for about 15 months now. Welcome to my world, the parallel universe. There’s not much wondering why I’m single now is there? I have fucked up notions of what relationships are. So to recap, dinner was weird on Monday night.

Now it’s Wednesday and I’m finally starting to feel better. I’m gearing up for the next round of bridal shower this weekend. I’m pledging to back on my diet. I’m putting off going in for the fitting on the bridesmaid dress but in another 3-4 weeks I’m not going to be able to put it off anymore.

So, how was your weekend?

September 1st!

It’s September already? Where did the summer go? The impending change of season always gets me going for a few weeks. I will be in a mad rush to accomplish everything I put off all summer. Why do I always set myself up to fail and then put extra pressure on myself to produce at the last minute? Hey if you or I could answer that question we’d be wealthier than my therapist. If you can’t make fun of yourself who can you make fun of, right?