imarielle626

ooh Go Kart racing is so much fun!  We used to take my brothers baseball team out when they got knocked out of the tournament in Cooperstown.  you'll have a great time.

as for the little ones my dog is old now too.  He'll be 8 or 9 in June.  t'll be sad when his time comes, but id like to have a puppy again

imarielle626

Hey girlies!  Wow I realize I haven't been on lately.  With the short hiatus from the hunt I just carried away with other things.  I'm back for now, but I have a feeling I'll be around a bit less as time goes on because my program is sadly ending and I spend most of my time not in my room, but rather hanging out in my friends' room (they have a back porch...lucky!)

Mel, I hope you get some sleep!  I definately know how that feels!

Well I have to go now.  I have pottery painting in 3 minutes =) I haven't painted pottery in years so i'm excited!  Maybe I'll take a photo and show u guys the final product

imarielle626

I like the new avatar too.  I saw it on facebook yesterday.

Anyway, I've been a bit MIA for a while.  I just been really busy because it is midterms time for me now.  I have my last exam tomorrow then I go on break for 10 days which I will be spending at music festivals in the desert so I won't be around much for a while.

It seems like everyone is doing well.  Congrats on the SM status Gypsie!

Hopefully I'll be able to check back in a couple more times before my break, but if not I'll be back in 2 weeks.  I'm going to have so many shows to watch!  I am already five episodes behind because my realplayer is currently not working!  I can watch the first 30 seconds then it times out and I just don't have the time to fix it now.  Oh well It'll just be more to watch when I actually have the time and less of a distraction during my exams now.

imarielle626

I don't have time right now to go back and read the posts from the past couple of days, but I just wanted to check in and say my midterms went very well and I am now very glad to be on break.  I am leaving early tomorrow morning for the desert so won't be on for at least a week maybe more.  I just found out it is supposed to be in the mid 40s (celcius) this week where I am going.  I'm going to die of heat!  but it'll be fun.  "See" you all when I return =)

imarielle626

Hey girlies!  So I'm back a bit early.  It was just too hot in the desert and we were all starting to dehydrate so we came home.  Plus one of the festivals was a lot further away then we expected so we never made it that far.  But I am proud to be the only person who did not come back sun burnt!  I am actually really surprised because I am usually the first one to fry.  I guess I was just more conscious about re-applying.  The Negev sun is one of strongest in the world so I made sure to lather myself up good!  I hiked for about 4 hours the first day through waterfalls and springs and caves.  It is really a beautiful little oasis in the middle of the desert.  Then we hung out on the beach across the street where we ended up sleeping that night (not the best sleep, but free and available).  The next day we stayed on the beach half the day where we floated in the Dead Sea and covered ourselves head to toe in the mud.  The Dead Sea mud is really good for you skin!  Many beauty stores sell it, but it is expensive.  We just had to dig a little to find the good stuff Then we headed down to another beach where the concert was.  It wasn't the best concert, they had a lot of technical difficulties, but it was for a good cause (raising money to help kids in less than well off neighborhoods.  This particular concert was for Sderot, a town just outside of the Gaza boarder that gets hit by missiles daily).

Well I'm off to dinner soon, then can hopefully get some more sleep in now that the sun is going down.  I don't know why but I just can't seem to sleep unless it is pitch black dark no matter how tired I am.

imarielle626

I actually have a sleep mask, but I haven't been sleeping in my room and I had given my key to a friend because he had been up hiking since 2 am because of the heat wave so I couldn't get it from my room.  I did attempt to wrap the sheet over my eyes so I did manage to get some sleep.  I am also less dehydrated now and that also helped.

imarielle626

Just checking in to say "Hi".  I haven't really been around in a while.  Classes just started back up for me and I already have so much work.  I guess it is because of all the holidays coming up here.  Today is Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Memorial Day so I skipped class to got to Yad VaShem the Holocaust Memorial here in Jerusalem. It was a really nice experience.  Especially after getting back from Poland only two months ago.  I hope everyone is doing well.  Barb, I hope you are feeling better.  Well, I'm off to do some work now before I go away this weekend.

imarielle626

Hi girlies!

I know I've been gone for a while, life just got so crazy!  I'm home now back in the States, adjusting to life here, missing Israel and all the people I met, and getting ready to go up to my university in two weeks...not much of a summer huh?  I've got some catching up to do, but I just wanted to pop by and say Hello.

imarielle626

i hope she is doing better.  you will both be in my thoughts.  It is always hard to have a loved one in the hospital.  I experience that about a month ago so I know how hard it can be.

imarielle626

Barb, that information on sleep deprivation is very interesting!  Probably explains why I start to get hungry if I stay awake past midnight.  I hope you are able to get a few good nights of sleep before your friend comes to stay.

Well, I'm off to college tomorrow (for summer semester).  I actually can't believe it is time already!  I still wake up sometimes thinking I am still and Israel and then have to remind myself I am not.  This past year has just flown by for me.  The saying is right time really does fly when you are having fun!  I just hope it is not raining tomorrow!  I dread driving six in the pouring rain!  But I'm excited and looking forward to school.

imarielle626

Thanks.  I go to University of Florida which is located in Gainesville, FL.  It's pretty much just a college town.  We are a big spirit and sport school too so it has a great college atmosphere.

As far as the adjustment back to living in the States is going...I'm taking Hebrew this fall so it'll help with the adjustment by bringing some of Israel here with me, but I don't think the adjustment will be so hard.

imarielle626

I am still learning how to play the guitar and I haven't changed my meez in a while.  I am acutally working on a new one right now.  I didn't bring my guitar up here for summer session, but i'll resume learning in the fall.  I'm hoping to find someone who can give me proper lessons and with a campus as big as mine i don't think i'll have much trouble with that.  My family does live in Florida, but it is about a six hour drive from my university.  Not too far so I can see them occasionally on a weekend, but too far to just go home for the day.  Still a lot closer than Israel

imarielle626

Even when I was a child I was able to run/bike around.  Until a certain age I was supervised by an adult, but as I got a little older we were allowed to go hang out at the elementary school a block from my house (they had a huge field and jumgle gym that we used to play on).  Kids also just naturally are more active and have faster metabolisms so at that age it isn't hard to stay thin.  It's once you get past that age that it becomes a problem.  That's where I am right now.  I notice myself that I gained some weight while living in the hostel in Israel because it was just so easy having three meals provided for you everyday buffet style and with my classes I became lazy and didn't go to the gym.  But now I live on a pretty big campus, but everything is walking distance so I don't even have to make an effort to get exercise.  I just opt for walking places as opposed to taking the bus.  But I can definitely see how many people gain weight once starting college.  It is easy to be lazy and not eat right, especially if you are used to having a parent cook for you (or even cook for yourself).  And with the addition of alcohol to many college students' diets...people don't realize how bad alcohol is for you health-wise, not just judgement-wise!

imarielle626

I know when my mom was pregnant with me she craved Spaghetti O's with meatballs and for a long time that was my favorite food.  It was something I could make myself without adult supervision and i prefered eating that out of a can than my mom's actual cooking.  I don't know if you can connect that to my mom's craving during pregnancy or not.

imarielle626

I don't know how many of you heard about the attack in Jerusalem last Wednesday, but even since then I've had a lot of anxious energy because the bus that was hit was one I used to take almost daily.  Anyway I went to a kickboxing class yesterday 1. just to try and 2. to release some of this anxious energy.  I worked muscles in that class i didn't even know were possible to work out and am so sore now!  I've spent almost the whole day in bed just watching shows cuz i can barely walk i'm so sore.  i only got out of bed to drive my car back to the lot it has to be parked in before i get ticketed then walked a little to stretch the muscles.  If anyone is interested in a great workout I'd definitely recommend finding a kickboxing class!  It works your whole body and was a lot of fun!  plus it can never hurt to learn a little self defense.

imarielle626

it was scary when i found out, but i'm fine with it now.  I was more worried about my sister because she is in Israel now and I wasn't sure if she was in Jerusalem, but she was down south.  The thing about the attack though was it made me wish I was still there!  I know that is not the typical reaction, but I was watching video clips from the news there and saw ambulances I rode on and had this urge to have been there to help.

imarielle626

I think i'm the only person who actually enjoys when you break out the medical terms

imarielle626

I will never object to to reading your medical comments!  My medical knowledge is much more limited than yours, but I am occasionally able to pull out medical facts or terms into everyday conversation.  I get called a nerd all the time by my friends!  I've learned over the years just to embrace my nerdiness =)  so i like science, math, solving my rubik's cube and watching ER thats just who I am

imarielle626

Barb, I love those cat pictures!  A friend of mine introduced me to LOLCats.com a little while ago.  We could sit on that site for hours cracking up at the photos.  They have their own unique cat language too.  Here's one of my favs:

imarielle626

The weather here has been nasty today!  It's no surprise that it is raining because this is Florida and it rains everyday, but it has been monsooning for the past 2.5 hours now!  You seriously cannot see a thing outside the rain is just falling so hard!  I guess it is a good thing I have a test tomorrow and just planned on staying in and studying all night  (with short study breaks like this one )