Liebster Blog Question Challenge

1. What did you want to be when you "grew up"?

 - a princess.  Seriously.  But also a professional reader.  As in, if somebody would just pay me to read good books all day, I'd be delighted.  I quickly realized that wasn't a realistic possibility, and settled on a doctor.  Which is where I am today, and honored and amazed (almost) every day to don the white coat.
2. What was the last book you read, and what did you think of it?

 - currently almost finished with Charles Dickens's Bleak House.  It's lovely, as all his works are.  I love the way he intertwines the different characters' lives and the breadth and depth of his stories.  I also love the wit and the timelessness of his plots.
3. Ditto on the last movie you saw?
 - Les Miserables, the adaptation of the musical.  Generally I liked it very well.  Anne Hathaway was a stunning Fantine, and her demise was done so well.  Young Cosette and Gavroche were also great.  I found Valjean and Javert's singing lacking compared to the musical, but otherwise it was very well done if a bit heavy on the Christian symbolism.  Altogether: worth the investment.
4. Name a place you like to visit, and what you love about it?
 - Israel.  No question.  I love the warmth of its people, I love Hebrew, and I love the way I feel so at home there.  Choosing a specific place within Israel is trickier.  Obviously the kotel (aka the Western Wall) wins out.  After that, though, I really love Machtesh Ramon (מכתש רמון) at night when you can stargaze, and the Galil and the Golan because the green and the mountains are so beautiful and majestic.  There are some breathtaking hiking trails, and a breathtaking (in a more literal sense) ambulance ride from Kiryat Shemona to Tzfat (aka Safed) that I used to do when I volunteered for MDA.
 - Outside of Israel, I absolutely love Tuscany.  Dear Husband and I once rented a villa and it was the most romantic and beautiful place, and there is so much to sightsee as well!  Also the Dolomites are beautiful and the air is so crisp and clean!
5. What are you grateful for?
 - Family.  I have the most amazing, loving, wonderful family ever.  Tfu tfu tfu, kinehora, בלי עין הרע
 - Being a physician.  I get to go to work every day to try to save lives.  It doesn't get better than that.  To me, being a physician is a calling and I am continuously humbled by the trust patients place in me.
 - A really good cup of tea.
 - A good book.
 - Shelter and food and clothing, and the fact that (thank God) I don't go to sleep worrying whether I will have these things the next morning.
6. Describe your ideal Saturday night?
 - Depends on my mood.  Tired or depressed?  A good cup of tea and a good book next to the fireplace.  Happy?  Dancing with my husband :o)  (And then afterward, probably a book).
 - Generally NOT BEING ON CALL
7. What is something you remember loving as a child? (a favourite book, food, place... you get the idea)
 - my nunny (what my family called our security blankets)  It was light pink, and yes, I saved it, and still have it, though I don't sleep with it (day after losing Peanut excluded)
8. Have you made any New Year resolutions? (If so, please share)
 - Be more grateful, and complain less
 - be kinder and more generous
 - no speaking ill of other people!
9. Name 3 blogs that you follow, and why you love them
 - A Thousand Oceans because her story has similarities to mine, and we have the Israel connection, etc
 - Stirrup Queens because Mel is funny and thought-provoking
 - Unaffected by You
 - No Good Eggs
10. Favourite ways to relax?
 - Shabbat dinner with my family
 - Reading
11. Something in life you would like to master but haven't quite got there yet?
 - Other than infertility?  Haha.  That's easy: I want to be a truly excellent physician, and a truly excellent writer.

And there you have it, folks!  Hope your weekend is going well, and שבוע טוב