Read this on galpod.com. A couple of years ago (feels like forever but it’s mostly the pandemic), when I started writing fiction seriously, I wanted to find out how and so, of course, I looked online. I found a host of online Writers Groups that were very useful for me back then. The forums online gave me a crash course in writers’ lingo in a low-stakes environment where it was ok to ask stupid questions because no one knows your name on the internet*. I’m an introvert and ta

Read this on galpod.com. I’ve been experiencing recently another hit of heightened anxiety. The kiddos went back to school, and today they started walking to school on their own. They are walking together, and it’s a 10-minute walk, and my son has done it through much of last year, and most of the way is packed with other students and their parents. Still, anxiety was high this morning until the awaited text message arrived. But it’s not just that, of course. On top of the pa

Read this on galpod.com. I usually love going back to school. About two weeks before, we try out the old uniform to check if they still fit and order new shoes, skirts, or shirts as needed. About a week before the start of the school year, we wash out the backpacks, go over last year's books, take pictures of things we want to remember, then throw the lot in the recycling bin. On the first day (sometimes the second) of September, we also hang the new calendar and start puttin

Read this on galpod.com. So, last week we had a family trip to the Lake District. Particularly, Ullswater lake, the second largest lake in the UK. If you've been following for a while, you'll know that this is our third annual family summer trip. Two years ago we went to Sweden and Norway, and last summer we travelled to Thailand. This year, because we knew we'd have a puppy in our household, we booked a room in a hotel called "Another Place", right on the shore of Ullswater

Read this on galpod.com. A couple of weeks ago, we received our "Indefinite Leave to Remain" (in the UK) visa. We had a lawyer helping us with the application, and we know we are the kind of immigrants countries want (White, educated, wealthy). Still, when we got the cards delivered, when I saw our appalling, unsmiling pictures on them, I felt a low-level tension dissipate, like when you turn off the fan and you realise it's much quieter now. Being an immigrant means always w

Read this on galpod.com. Look, I know if you identify as a man you're probably uninterested in makeup. It's ok; it's your prerogative. Or, shall we say, it's your privilege. Because women have to think about makeup, regardless of what they do, where they live, and who they are, even if they don't wear it. I've had a long relationship with makeup. I grew up in a rural community, so (obviously) makeup was something that cheap girls wore. My mom also grew up in a rural community

Read this on galpod.com. Racism is a hot topic right now. What's happening over in the US about it gives me hope, but it's been a long journey. I wanted to write a little about the journey I've been through, from being entirely oblivious to the issue, to making #BLM signs to put up in the windows with my kids. If you know nothing about racism in the US and around the world, start with Chenjerai Kumanyika and Salma El-Wardany, they'll show you the way. First, a little backgro

Read this on galpod.com. My Love, How you've grown this last year. Even physically, which is a rarity. It's been an interesting year. The last few months, particularly. It seems that overnight we switched from child to teenager. Talking to your friends online has a lot to do with our feeling that you're a teenager. And the dramas that ensue are real: arguments over every possible little thing (like who causes the most arguments), tears, anger, and regrets. You've given me a l

Read this on galpod.com. I kind of took three weeks off. I didn't plan it. My grandmother passed away, and I went to spend time with my family, and that took all week. Then it was half term, and my fantastic in-laws were here taking care of the kids, but I still was kind of off. I wrote a little, but I wasn't "on it", and I didn't push because I just lost my grandmother. Then, this week I was studying for the "Life in the UK" test (a whole saga which I will update you on hope

Read this on galpod.com. Throughout January, I found a tutor for my son based on recommendations and chats with several candidates, then scheduled a time for him to go, scheduled a cello class for him in addition to his other clubs, paid for all clubs including daughter's dance school, found a vet—again based on recommendations—and made various appointments for the furball currently occupying my lap, got my daughter into her eye hospital appointment and then took her to choos

Read this on galpod.com. Boy, this was a tough month, personally and globally. It's also been a month of reflections, being the new year, the new decade, and my birthday. Upon reflection, I've decided to focus this year on my writing. Therefore, for now, I'm putting the music on the back burner. I'm not stopping completely, but I'm taking a break for a little while until I see how to fit this better. January Goals Finish The Missive (first draft). Nope. Didn't really start. I

Read this on galpod.com. These last few weeks have been difficult. My mind feels like it's racing and at the same time as if it's full of cotton wool. My energy levels are super low. I basically just want to sleep all day, or at least do nothing in bed all day. I'm not particularly tired, just unhappy. And it comes with an immense amount of guilt. My life is pretty much perfect. I'm right where I want to be. I live in an incredible city with a supportive partner who is litera

Read this on galpod.com. It's my birthday today, and I'm feeling so grateful for the family and friends who called or texted or sent currier pigeons to wish me a happy birthday. I'm counting this cuteness in the picture as a birthday gift, as we got him on Saturday. He is completely adorable and quite full-on, except when he drops (which is much of the day). So, lots of happenings this week and also I have another post which I will put up on Friday but was completely inapprop

Read this on galpod.com. Ah, families. They have a way of messing us up, don't they? I feel like, on our latest visit to Israel, we moved from the "kids" tier to the "adults" tier. You know the kids' tier. It's the place where if you just show up you're the best. Nobody expects you to come to the cousin's wedding/grandma's dinner/third-cousin-twice-removed's funeral. And since nobody even expects you to show up, all you have to do is, well, show up. You're not responsible for

Read this on galpod.com. I'm writing this post on the plane on our way back home. That is, we're going back to London. It's odd to say we're going back home when we just visited home. Because no matter how much I hate the government, no matter how much I feel smothered by the density of in-your-face Israelis (and smog), no matter how much I feel weighed down by my growing responsibility to my family, Israel is still—and will always be—my childhood home. The place I grew up in

Read this on galpod.com. Last year, I did a reflections challenge that didn't go quite as well as I hoped it would. This year, I decided to take some of the prompts and use them for a year-end reflection. I selected 11 out of the 31 prompts. 2019 in three words 1. Singing: I've rediscovered how much I love singing, thanks to my incredible partner and his unsurpassable birthday gift early in the year. Besides recording and releasing the album, I'm also taking voice lessons and

Read this on galpod.com. In our last writer's group meeting, we discussed goal setting and resolutions. We talked about setting SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound), as opposed to making resolutions that tend to be more general, vague, and therefore get broken by the end of January. For instance, you're more likely to stick with "I'll write 500 words every day" than with "I will write more". But, we were also talking about how setting goal

Read this on galpod.com. Sometimes you don't realise how much you've changed until you see someone you haven't a long while. My dad's memorial was on Friday, and so many people came. But it didn't feel like it was a time to grieve for him, perhaps because I do that all the time. It felt a little like an occasion to see all these people I last saw... on my dad's last memorial. Many people commented on my hair. That's an Israeli thing, I think, as absolutely none of the British

Read this on galpod.com. Three years ago, I came face to face with death. Again, but this time from close up. I've seen death before. Looked her right in the eye. When my grandfather died of a heart attack while I was in the next room, working on a school readiness summer booklet. When my best friend was killed in a car crash when we were twenty. When my grandmother finally lost the fight with cancer she's been having for over twenty years. Three years ago, I met death at Abu

Read this on galpod.com. My album is out live! It's exciting. A little bit of good news as the world comes crashing down around our ears. You can read about the process of making the album here and here. It's hard for me to nail down exactly how I feel about the album coming out. Proud? Sure. Nervous? Also. Scared? You betcha. Critical? Always. All of these feelings mix to become just weird. It's weird, to see the album cover (which the amazing Oli Mosse helped me create), wi