As the holiday season is well upon us, I’ve been reminiscing on Chanukah’s & Christmas’s past.
Growing up as a Jewish girl in Ireland my family have always celebrated both Chanukah and Christmas which is commonly referred to as Chrismukkah.
Chanukah is the “Festival of Lights”; it starts on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev and lasts for eight days.
A long time ago, in the land of Judea, the Syrian king, Antiochus ordered the Jewish people to reject their G-d, traditions and customs and start to worship the Greek gods. Judah Maccabee and his four brothers refused to give up their faith and set up an army later to be known as The Maccabees. After 3 years of fighting the Maccabees drove the Syrians out of Israel and reclaimed the Temple.
The festival is to celebrate the miracle that the small amount of oil left in the Temple that should have lit the candles for only one day but remarkably lasted for eight days.
Chanukiah
There are a number of traditions for Chanukah however the most well known is the lighting of the Chanukiah.
Different Style Chanukiah
As you can see from both images one candle holder is positioned higher than the others, this is called the Shamash. The Shamash candle is placed first. Then that night’s candles are placed in the Menorah from right to left. The Shamash is also the first candle lit and used to light the night’s candles from left to right. A blessing is made over the candles and we sing Maoz Tzur.
Other traditions including receiving gifts, sometimes one for every day of the festival, Chanukah gelt (money), eating greasy foods such as donuts and latkas (potato cakes).
Growing up I always had Santa come to visit but we never had a Christmas tree or decorated the house. We used to get pillow cases full of goodies instead of stockings Christmas Day was a family meal with turkey (no ham!), crackers and the likes.
Now that I am older and have my own home with my boyfriend Brian we are celebrating Chrismukkah. Although Chanukah came up on us very suddenly this year we weren’t prepared, we do not own a Menorah yet but I hope to pick one up for next year when I’m in Israel with my Mum in January (fingers crossed, if BMI /Lufthansa sort out our flights). We did buy a bag of donuts in M&S yesterday, lol
Our Tree
We have our tree up and looking pretty. This year we will spend Christmas Eve with Brian’s family, I will go to my sister’s for Christmas Day lunch and we will have a Kutner Chrismukkah celebration on the 27th.
Hope you enjoyed this little post as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who commented on the last post, and all the lovely people on Twitter who gave me huge support and encouragement last night when I first issued the post. It was so reassuring to know that people have experienced things like this before and that you understood my situation and how upset I am.
Peter Mark Head Office just rang.
I am “allowed” go in for an assessment of the cut, then they will see if they think I should get it fixed or as I requested a refund. So basically, if they think the cuts ok I get nothing, even though it’s not what I wanted! As for the colour, it’s too long ago and sure most of their clients would be getting ready to rebook in for another colour treatment, sure it’s nearly 8 weeks ago!!!
As I will never trust any member of PM’s team near me with a scissors, the only thing I would want from Peter Mark is my money back to go towards fixing my hair colour & cut at an alternative hairdressers of my choice.
To say that there was tension on the line is putting it mildly. I believe that I would never have heard from them again if it wasn’t for my blog. When I asked why my call was never returned, the subject was changed pretty rapidly.
Now, it’s decision time. Do I want to go in for an assessment with a top stylist in their Dundrum branch? Do I want to go through the humiliation of it all & possibly for nothing if they deem my cut ok, even though as the customer I am not happy.
Hmmmmmmmmm, what do you reckon ladies? I would love to hear your feedback and I will then go with the majority decision. Apart from the embarassment I have nothing to loose!!!
For me personally finding a good hairdresser has never been an easy task. To me my hair is a huge part of my appearance and I take huge pride in it.
During the summer, I went from my natural shiny brunette barnett to a golden blonde highlighted look. I <3 ‘d it. However, being so dark meant major roots every few weeks.
Blondey Lee
After maintaining the look for a couple of months I realised I missed my soft, shiny natural colour and made the decision to go au natural again. I decided to wait till after my holidays to do this so that the colour didn’t fade in the sun. First Saturday back I booked in…
After changing my appointment time at the request of the receptionist when I called so that my hairdresser could do my cut & colour, I was fairly annoyed when I was handed over to someone else, how and ever, I said nothing. It was mentioned in passing that I was going to need a “pre-colour”, at no point was a cost discussed. However, I was pretty happy with the end results; and apart from the die leaving stains around my hairline.
Lovely chocolate brown colour, “check”, super shine “check”, ends trimmed, “check”. I went to pay and instead of costing the price quoted when I made my appointment, approx €70, the bill was €98. I was shocked at the jump but didn’t cause a fuss and paid it.
That night I went to my friend’s hens so here is the photo evidence, please excuse the bunny ears & dickie bow, LOL
Glossy Shiny Brown
The colour and shine lasted from 7 to 10 days. I was devastated. My glossy, shiny hair was gone and I was left with a dry, coarse head of straw! Ok slight exaggeration! I rang the hairdressers and spoke with the hairdresser; I even drove to the salon on my lunch break to show her. She told me it hadn’t faded at all and suggested I buy a Kerastase treatment, so I spent another €30 on that.
That night I washed my hair, put the treatment in, slept with it in & washed it out in the morning. My hair felt slightly softer but no major improvement. I immediately regretted the purchase and wished I’d gone for my usual Aveda Damage Remedy.
I was getting more & more upset at the colour & condition of my hair but I didn’t know what to do, I’d already showed my hairdresser, what else was there.
Hair getting lighter
Then the time came for a hair cut. I was secretly hoping the hairdresser would see the lack of colour in my hair & the auburnie colour I am left with and offer to fix it….. However, I was not expecting the comments that came! She was actually shocked herself at the colour, I could tell & when I pushed her a bit about it, looking for her help… She told me I should use a home die!!!!!!! Well, if I’d done that in the first place, I would be at least €120 better off! The cheek, I couldn’t understand it. I wonder are Peter Marks aware of their staff actually recommending this to clients.
So now, on to the cut. Following a chat with some of the girlies on Twitter, I decided to go back to a graduated bob, similar to Alexandra Bourke’s look on her X Factor performance a few weeks ago. This would have also been to have a lot of the split ends and dryness cut out. The result: I currently have a pretty standard bob with absolutely no shape. It’s so hard to control & style that I am currently trying to decide where to go to have both my colour & cut fixed.
Current Hair - No Flash
Current Hair - With Flash
I was away for 5 days after the cut so as soon as I landed back in the country; I nipped into the hairdressers to speak to them. My hairdresser was off sick so I decided to just leave.
After the Bank Holiday wkend last week, I was more & more distraught. I didn’t know what to do so last Tuesday morning, first thing; I picked up the phone and rang the Peter Marks Head Office. I spoke to the receptionist about my experience and she told me someone from customer service would be in touch, I had made it particularly clear I didn’t want to speak to anyone in my branch of the salon. I waited until after 4pm and I called back after not hearing anything. A few minutes later, a lady from my branch called, she was very defensive about my complaints and told me that it was too long after the colour was put in my hair to do anything. When I explained I had called in very soon after the colour was done, she dismissed it. She offered for me to go into the salon to see her for a chat and I refused point blank, I have no intention of ever stepping foot in that salon again. She even had the odessity to ask me what shampoo I use (Herbal Essence & Pantene btw) and blame that!!! She lacked any customer service and just infuriated an already angry customer.
The same lady rang back after a few minutes; she then told me that I had my colour done before my holiday and it was MY fault the colour had faded from the sun. I had to laugh, since when did she know my diary!!!! The absolute cheek of her. I was in shock. She offered me a cut in the Dundrum branch to fix the cut. I refused. I would never ever enter a Peter Mark’s salon. Not even for a blow dry because as far as I’m concerned, they’d probably mess that up too.
At the end of the conversation she told me that she would talk to Head Office again. My blood was boiling, I had no intention of waiting for Head Office to call me, I was calling them. Well, I tried, the lady was conveniently unavailable. I left a message.
The next morning my phone was having some issues and I did miss a call from this lady. I rang back on Wednesday afternoon and left a message and at this point on Sunday evening, I am still waiting for my call to be returned…. I have a feeling it might be a long wait……….
Has anyone else had a similar experience with Peter Marks? Can anyone recommend a good hairdressers in South Dublin? I am considering returning to Fusion in Dun Laoghaire. Watch this space!!!
Sitting on the couch night after night with my laptop has been playing havoc on my posture so when I spotted this on our Ikea visit last week, it was a must buy.
Yom Kippur is the High Holy Day. It occurs on every year on 10th of Tishri, which this year corresponds to Sunday 27th and Monday 28th September.
Yom Kippur is tough work; you are required to fast for 25 hours which includes not even water passing your lips. In fact you are not meant to shower, brush your teeth or wear make up! Fat chance of that happening in my house…
No work of any kind is allowed, a bit like the Shabbath, which means no driving or using electricity. We are not permitted to engage in sexual relations on Yom Kippur, and also wear leather shoes; most orthodox people will wear canvas runners with their suits (Fashion people should head for the direction of Terenure on Monday!!).
Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur people are to seek forgiveness for your sins of the previous year and get ready to change your behaviour for the forthcoming year.
The festival starts on the evening before with a service in the synagogue called Kol Nidre - כל נדרי. Kol Nidre is also known as name for the (erev) night before Yom Kippur as well as the service. Before Kol Nidre no matter how much time you leave to prepare the meal before the fast, there is always a rush to the synagogue. I believe most families fast on a light meal, sometimes an egg on toast but in my family my Dad insists on a big slap up meal! I think I would prefer something lighter personally, if I stuff my face lets say on a lazy Sunday, and then I wake up on the Monday morning STARVING!
Torah in the Ark
The day is officially spent in the synagogue for a full day of prayer. The Ark which is the closet that holds the Torah (five books of Moses) is open for most of the service which means the congregation must stand, its not easy to do at the best of times never mind being so hungry.
Children don’t take part in the fasting until they are of Bar Mitzvah / Bat Mitzvah age, which would be 13 for boys and 12 for girls as they mature faster than boys!
At the end of the long service the Shofar is blown with the note, tekiah gedolah, so everyone knows it’s the end.
My fondest memory of Yom Kippur is when my Great Uncle David from New Jersey would come to Dublin for the festival season and just after the Shofar blowing I would always meet him outside the synagogue, (FYI: men and women sit separate in the synagogue) and we would eat a stash of jellies, fruit pastilles I think, to break our fast together in his car before going to my family home for a big feast that my Mum would have had to prepare whilst fasting. Not easy I’m sure.
And just for a giggle; I remember coming home from school one day and watching MTV Select with Richard Blackwood in Leicester Square, he was saying loads of the “Yo Momma”, jokes and this one made me and Mummy Kutner LOL!
Yo Momma’s so thick, she though TuPac Shakur was a Jewish holiday!!!
On that note, I better get back to workies, lunchtime is over!
To all my readers, I would like to wish everyone Happy New Year and well over the fast.
Ok so I haven’t completely lost the plot or skipped over a few months and Christmas. Tonight is the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah written in Hebrew as ראש השנה literally translates as Head of the Year.
I am not the most religious person by any means however I do celebrate the big festivals: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur Chanukah, and Pesach (Passover). Like all Jewish holidays, they start at night fall the day before the date reason being Jewish days start from nightfall until the following sunset or when three medium sized stars appear in the sky.
Each festival has its own traditions, but as usual, we sit down to a big family meal on Rosh Hashanah.
Round Challah
The table is set and along with the traditional wine, there is two round challahs (round twists of bread) to usher in a year of good judgements and to represent the circle of life and the circle of the year.
The meal begins with apple dipped in honey to symbolise a sweet new year. Prayers are said and the rest of the meal is pretty standard
On the both mornings of the festival you’re meant to go to synagogue however one morning will be enough for me!
Shofar
Another major part of Rosh Hashanah is the Shofar: a horn made out of a ram’s horn, it has three different notes tekiya, shevarim, teruah and these are blown as part of the service in the synagogue unless however the festival falls on Shabbat as it does this year which will mean that the Shofar will only be blown on the second day which is Sunday. It is considered a great mitzvah (good deed) to hear the Shofar being blown.
The other time the Shofar is blown is to symbolise the end of Yom Kippur but (if you’re interested) I’ll cover that in a few weeks when it’s on.
As I was explaining to work colleagues today, the finial digit of the year always corresponds with the upcoming year in the Christian calendar, so we are entering the year 5770.
I have actually taken the day off work today so I can help Mummy K prepare for the meal tonight better get going…
I know this isn’t my usual subject to write about but my religion is a pretty big party of my life and I decided to share it, hope you enjoyed reading it.
I believe everyone will remember where they were when they heard the news that Michael Jackson had passed away.
Image with thanks to thedieline.com
I was tucked up in bed checking my Twitter before I floated away to dreamyland and read on it about MJ’s cardiac arrest. I turned to Brian who was already half asleep and didn’t seem bothered at all. I was immediately inquisitive and needed to investigate for myself….so I got up and went to the living room and turned on Sky News.
I rang my parents even though it was 11pm. I don’t really know why I chose to ring them of all people! And there is kinda an unwritten family rule that you don’t call people after 10pm unless something is wrong, or someone had died, well, they kinda had - just no one related!
The couch is where I stayed until the early hours of the morning. I didn’t feel the time slip by; it was as if time stood still. I couldn’t go to bed and rest for the night without knowing if tmz.com’s report was true.
And unfortunately it was….
I was never the No. 1 Michael Jackson fan but I certainly grew up listening to all his music, from his Jackson 5 days to his more recent albums. I remember “Bad” being one of the first cassette tapes I owned in 1987 which made me all of 4 or 5!
My memories date back to a guy in the year ahead of me in primary school being completely obsessed with him to a guy in my class in secondary school at the age of 12 or 13 who idolised everything he did. (You know who you are!!! )
Michael Jackson’s music touched and influenced people all over the world from every different race. I couldn’t possibly include all my favourites but find my choices below:
First up “Ben”, I can remember singing my little heart out to “Ben”. It was only recently I learned it was written about a rat!
“She’s Out of My Life” was also one I used to like to pretend I could sing. I believe my Dad had been to the Superbowl and seen MJ perform live and brought me back the Off The Wall album
During 4th year in school we put on a Rock Pop show and myself and a small group of others recreated the set of the ” Smooth Criminal” video. Such great memories.
The final one I am going to include is “Beat It”, not my favourite song lyrically but will always bring back great memories of being at National Convention of my youth group in Kidderminster, Birmingham learning the dance moves with the wonderfully talented Matt Fishel.
On my final note, I hope Michael Jackson can be remembered for his music and not the later allegations that followed his successful career.
My new niece Laila Fay Nugent was born on June 18th @ 7.11pm. Since the day I heard my sister, Mia was due in June I had a feeling the baba would arrive on 18th June as it is Brian & my sister-in-law’s Sue’s birthday too. I have to say Laila is the spitting image of Ailbhe when she was born in September ‘07.
Laila
Big Sister Ailbhe when she was a couple of days old
Ailbhe
So far Ailbhe has been the best big sister, offering to share her favourite teddy, Po (of Teletubbies fame!) with Laila, every time Laila squeaks or starts to cry she says, “baba”. Increidibley cute and Mia realises she is one of the lucky ones. Long may it last.
Obviously a new baby means a pressie, I have found a fabulous website that I’d like to share with you; www.mylittlename.com. They offer a unique range of handmade gifts which children or parents can hold on to as keepsakes.
Here is an updated photos of Ailbhe:
Ailbhe 19th June
Ailbhe & Mia
My brother and his family live in London however they were over last weekend for a wedding on my sister-in-laws side and they came to meet Laila too. My nephew’s Nathan & Noah have gotten so big. We had great fun having them over. Wish I could see them more often but with buying the house & money being tight it has not been possible. It’s great that they are now 5 & 3 at least they know us now & don’t forget us after each visit.
Nathan
Noah & David in the background
Some funny snaps of goings on the back garden of my parent’s house!
Watch your head lads, Brian is about to attempt to hit a cricket shot!!!!
Scrum
It was lovely having everyone together even if it was for just 24 hrs.
You’ve all heard the question…. if stranded on a desert island & could bring one item of make up, what would it be?
My one item without a shadow of doubt would be…. Liquid Eyeliner. I NEVER leave my house without it.
Recently however I have decided to stray from my reliable Lancome Artliner and try and find alternatives. Recessionista!
Lancome Artliner
It’s not that I am on the breadline or anything however since buying our lovely house I seem to have less disposable income. Don’t get me wrong our mortgage is less than our rent used to be but the expenses that come with owning your own house mean my monthly “money to play with”, has been reduced. Anyway, back to the chosen subject…
Over the past few weeks I have bought the following eyeliners to give them a shot: Bourjois Glitter Fizz in Sparkling Green, Rimmel Glam Eyes in Noir Black, Suhada Eye Liner (Lidl brand) in Dark Brown & No. 7 Liquid Eyeliner also in Dark Brown.
Here are my reviews:
Bourjois Glitter Fizz
Bourjois Glitter Fizz in Sparkling Green: Fantastic, lasts from morning to evening. Funky colour, sparkle is nice not too much for daytime wear, definitely recommend. I was nervous wearing green but I found it very useful on its own or with eyeshadow. While my eyes are most brown there is a hazel tinge to them and I feel the green liner accentuates this & brings out the green in my eyes.
Rimmel Glam Eyes
Rimmel Glam Eyes in Noir Black: Good price, easy application, lasts well however pet hate…. I spend all day long scooping out what I refer to as “eye snotz”. The gunky bit that clumps together at the corner of your eye! Anyway, would not recommend due to this.
Suhada Eye Liner
Suhada Eye Liner 2
Suhada Eye Liner (Lidl brand): Having read the Beaut.ie review I decided to give it a whirl! Ok so it’s €2.99 what did I expect… Well, I expected it not to be completely dried up, tried to use it once and couldn’t get the product on the applicator so gave up. Maybe I got a dud but I wouldn’t be rushing to buy any of their make up products again in a hurry.
No.7 Liquid Eyeliner
No. 7 Liquid Eyeliner also in Dark Brown: I saved the best till last, I absolutely love this one, this is a repeat purchase item too. For €12 it is still half the price of Artliner and to me the application is easier. It last well and if I’m being lasy and just touching up my day makeup into night make up I alway re apply over the orginal line. I would love to see No.7 introduce new colours.
My First Giveaway!!!
I have a second Bourjois Glitter Fizz in Sparkling Green to give away.
All you have to do is comment below & if you can please post your eyeliner recommendations. Please enter by Monday 15th June at 11am. Winner will be picked using random.org. Can’t say fairer than that!
A friend of mine from school works for www.i102104.ie and on her Facebook yesterday she asked; Anybody meet their significant other at work? Continue Reading
Christmas Day was a family meal with turkey (no ham!), crackers and the likes.
