Anouchka Talks

Please forgive me for moaning and groaning...yet again. As many of you know, I have recently experienced a few physical health issues over the past couple of years that have really set me back.  Between baffling patellofemoral pain syndrome and severe diastasis recti , I feel that I have had my share of ailments that, two short years ago, I had never even heard of. Last month marked the latest chapter in my PFPS saga:  I finally broke down and went to an orthopedist.  After over a year of bilateral knee pain, I'd had enough: I had been to my family physician (who also happens to specialize in sports medicine), an osteopathic specialist, two physical therapists, and consulted with an athletic trainer (whose services I could not afford out-of-pocket - thousands of dollars, just when I learned that I was knocked up). I religiously performed multiple sets and reps of every exercise they recommended:  inner thigh, outer thigh, quads, hips, glutes...only to be inf...

When my sister B was in third grade, her teacher asked the students in the class to go around the room, naming their favorite dessert items.  From among the common answers of cookies, brownies and ice cream emerged a gem:  upon her turn, B confidently stated that her favorite dessert was... ka'ak. Ka'ak  is a traditional pastry in the Middle East. Now, the word above is a transliteration of a traditional pastry in Middle Eastern cultures.  It is a general term for "cake" and, depending on the dialect, this Arabic word has a slight harshness or subtle division of syllables in the middle (represented by the the " a'a ").  But many anglophones don't hear or pronounce that subtlety. So imagine Mrs. Smith's surprise when her star pupil stated that her favorite dessert was "cock." I always felt a little different than most of my friends, growing up "brown" in a "white" suburb.  I had a big crooked nose (the...

I felt like God was welcoming me to Sevilla by sending TWO rainbows! Sevilla (Seville), Spain