Oh! And if it's somewhere that you'd generally bring a hostess gift, bring flowers, not food or wine. Figuring out who will and won't eat what on Passover is way too confusing unless you know both the person and the rules really well.

Also good to know. I'm bringing a quilt, so I think I should be safe (it's technically their housewarming present, but I'm gonna let it cover Passover too!).

Windsparrow, that's a really lovely memory of your dad.

Also, for pouring wine -- the way it's traditionally done is that, throughout the course of the seder, you have four cups of wine, each poured and drank at a specific time. The tradition is that the wine gets filled right to the top of the glass, and that you don't pour wine for yourself -- each person pours for the person in the next seat. Not everyone does it that way, so just watch how the family you're with does it for the first glass.

There's one part in the seder where you dip your fingers into the wine and spill out ten drops in memory of the ten plagues. It's considered bad form to lick the wine off your fingers. At our seder, it's usually my mother hissing at me, "Don't lick the plagues!" (Though plenty of people do it -- why waste wine?)

Charoset is good. (It'll be a little dish of a weird brown-looking thing. That's chopped up apples and walnuts mixed with wine or grape juice and cinnamon.) Horseradish is spicy. If you've never had it before, gefilte fish is weird and gooey.

Oh, dear me! Thank you, Hil! Now I'm all nervous! So much to know/remember!

Hee! No one expects non-Jewish guests to know or remember most of this. Basically, if you're unsure about how to do something, just look around to see how everyone else is doing it.

One of the meds the doctor prescribed was phentermine - the appetite suppressant

That's the one I'm on. I forgot to take my 1/2 pill this morning, so I was hungry after I got back from the pool (hummus and pita bread took care of that). Otherwise, it works pretty well to curb the mid-afternoon and late-night munchies.

Charoset is good. (It'll be a little dish of a weird brown-looking thing. That's chopped up apples and walnuts mixed with wine or grape juice and cinnamon.)

Depends, too, if the family is Ashkenazic or Sephardic-- the Charoset might be made with ground dates which is seriously om nom nom nom. Either way, the horseradish is a nice complement to the sweetness.

Don't stress, vw-- it'll all be good. And trust me, by the time you get the matzoh ball soup, it'll be the BEST thing you've ever tasted because you're so hungry. *g*

Steph and Andi, You know, I'd be really surprised in my friend was NOT ADD. She's known for making plans and forgetting them and other manifestations of 'flakiness.' She says she's really able to focus with the drug and, goodness knows, she's done wonderfully in getting into shape. The extra energy and focus have translated into a good workout ethic.

I've got focus issues too, but I can't see myself as ADD.

I wonder if there is a non-prescription option for fixing that. Now that I know I'm not actually sick with anything, I've got about 30 lbs to lose and am, to be honest, jealous of my friend's experience.

Having come from a family of addicts though, I'm not dancing with uppers. I would probably like them way too much. I suppose my own fears are what is fueling my concern for my friend.

Charoset is good. (It'll be a little dish of a weird brown-looking thing. That's chopped up apples and walnuts mixed with wine or grape juice and cinnamon.)

Okay, so I read this when you posted and was remembering how good that stuff is and then a few minutes ago I got hungry so I chopped up an apple and then randomly grabbed a spoonful of this hot buttered rum mix I had in the cabinet which is basically a ton of spices and a little brown sugar, to dip the apple slices in, and I never even connected the two until I came back here and read Barb's post and was all "man, I can just taste that stuff right now."

Um, yeah. Brain not fully functional today.

Charoset is my absolute FAVE. Yum.