Feb 22 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 12:01 pm
I have so many posts that I want to write. I’m going to write a post about the Super Bowl promo that the cast of The Big Bang Theory did. (I wore a football uniform that did not involve a football skirt since they don’t exist.) I’m going to write a post about where I’m at in this divorce mess. I also am going to write a post about what it’s like having a fancy assistant.
For now, however, I’m not going to write those posts because I continue to have tendinitis and now it’s in both hands. So Fancy Assistant Brandon is typing while I dictate and while he’s a very good typist and pleasant to be around, it’s really a major bummer to not be able to use my hands. Read the rest of this entry →
Feb 19 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 11:29 am
Purim is next Saturday night/Sunday. I’m getting divorced. Let me tell you what I’ve learned this Purim season: kids don’t give a good gosh darn if you’re getting divorced; they want you to show up for Purim in a family-themed costume.
Two years ago, we were all superheroes. I was Wonder Woman (tznius-style, complete with denim skirt past the knee rather than bathing suit), the elder son was Superman, the younger son was Batman, and the almost-ex was Robin. We were adorable.
Last year, we were cowboys. Also adorable. Read the rest of this entry →
Feb 14 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 1:31 pm
Both of my boys were sick this past weekend. Thank God, nothing bad, not the flu, just high fever, runny, lethargic, and fitful all night and most of the day as well. I was alone with the boys, with my tendinitis hand and my low patience, which seems to be the tagline to my life right now: “Mayim Bialik: Actress, Neuroscientist, Low Patience.”
Here are the high points and low points, presented alternately, so as to spread out the bad and sprinkle them with good.
Read the rest of this entry →
Feb 12 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 1:52 pm
I am in the middle of a divorce. We’re in the home stretch and I have chosen to keep pretty much all of the details private for a few reasons.
What I want to share, however, are some of the things I have used as my personal guiding principles and tools, as it were, as I navigate divorce. Let’s call these “Mayim’s Tools for Divorce.”
1. Put the kids first. They didn’t ask for this. They will have a hard enough time coping with the irrevocable loss of their intact home; they don’t need more drama than already exists for them. Even if they’ll be better off in two happy unfighting homes than one unhappy fighting home, divorce sucks for kids. Period. I kept pictures of my boys all over my house and dressing room during this period so I constantly am reminded of them in this whole mess as I negotiate contracts and such. Read the rest of this entry →
Feb 6 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 11:49 am
Look ma, no nummies!
Well, nay-sayers, prepare to be proven wrong. All of you snarky mamas who glared at me nursing my 3 1/2-year-old on the NYC subway, prepare to be amazed. And to all of my family and friends who wanted to chastise me about nursing a walking, talking, thinking, laughing little man named Fred, thanks for holding your tongues.
Because we did it. Fred isn’t going to nurse on his way down the wedding aisle or at his high school graduation. I didn’t need to break him of a “habit” and teach him “who’s in charge.” I didn’t need to set boundaries you thought I should have set when I didn’t want to set them.
Because we did it: Fred weaned.
Fred weaned this past Thanksgiving, exactly a year from his night-weaning Thanksgiving of 2011, which I initiated reluctantly–and as gently as I could, and days before I released the public statement that I was getting divorced. Read the rest of this entry →
Feb 1 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 11:46 am
Leaving the Svedka party.
1. I got tendinitis due to my continuing recovery from my accident and doing “too much” too soon.
2. I was “grounded” by prematurely grey hand therapist from driving my new Audi for now, since it’s a stick shift. I listen to him. I’m a compliant patient.
3. I am back to typing one-handed. Fancy Assistant Brandon may be used for me to dictate posts to for the next few weeks.
4. Back to full compression glove to manage the swelling.
5. Saw “Life of Pi.” Loved it, but highly recommend reading it, as well as Yann Martel’s other amazing novel about animals, Jews, and the profundity of existence, Beatrice and Virgil*.
6. Made my first “celebrity appearance” last night at a “Throwback Thursday” 90s pre-Valentine’s bash at a very popular LA bar, sponsored by SVEDKA Vodka (yum). It was actually pretty fun, and I got to hang out and pose for pictures with Joey Lawrence!
Whoa!
7. We told our sons what “divorce” means and it was actually a very gentle and loving and non-traumatic conversation. Phew.
Shabbat Shalom!
*If you buy anything on Amazon by using these links, a portion of the profits will go to support Mayim’s writing on Kveller.
Jan 28 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 12:21 pm
One of the poses during which my hand is in total pain.
Well, folks: I did it. I survived Awards Month 2013. It started with the People’s Choice Awards, then the Golden Globes, and the SAG Awards were last night.
As you’ve come to expect from me, here’s the honest-to-goodness truth about what it was like from Mayim’s perspective.
1. Preparing. Stylist Ali was certain this dress she chose for me months ago would be amaaaazing; I was skeptical: too bright, too blue, too tight. But I trusted her, mostly because I am so stressed with the divorce and everything relating to that that I can’t really fight anyone on anything fashion-related right now. And she knew that. And she used it to her advantage! My favorite beloved hair/make-up artist was available for last night and that always makes me feel trusting, because she’s so cool and relaxed and super honest and low-stress. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get me ready and I was ready to walk out the door by 3 p.m. Read the rest of this entry →
Jan 24 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 12:06 pm
Allison Josephs, the woman behind Jewinthecity.com.
I’ve written about Jewinthecity.com here before. Allison Josephs, the woman behind Jewinthecity, is a one-woman dynamo machine of kiruv (outreach), making videos and speaking all over the country about her journey to Orthodoxy and how her life has been enriched and blessed from the changes she has made.
I know Allison because when she was working at Partners in Torah after I had my first son, she was “matched” to me as my study partner, and it was from our relationship that I made some significant and really rewarding changes in my life towards a better understanding of traditional Judaism. Allison has been my sort of Jewish go-to for everything from how to handle my grandmother’s funeral to my sons’ bris to the changing expectations on me as I have become more prominent on the red carpet. Read the rest of this entry →
Jan 21 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 11:17 am
My car accident was five months and a week ago. My hand is still swollen, stiff, achy, and angry. I have about 86% strength in my right (dominant) hand. I still go to hand therapy three times a week.
I finally started driving again over Thanksgiving. I have some pretty strong Post Traumatic Stress Disorder stuff going on, which I don’t say lightly. As a neuroscientist and someone who experienced a significantly traumatic event in this accident, I fully believe in the clinical aspects of PTSD and although I don’t intend to share with you the particulars of my symptoms, let’s just say that even sitting in a car was a huge step for me during Thanksgiving. And PTSD is a real and intense disorder. Seek help if you are experiencing PTSD symptoms, which you can read about here. Read the rest of this entry →
Jan 14 2013
By Mayim Bialik at 11:39 am
Oh, Golden Globes. So much potential, so many famous people, so much intensity.
I have never been to the Golden Globes before. After “Beaches” came out, I went for part of it, but this is the first time I attended as an actor nominated with a cast, etc. It was intense… in good ways, and also challenging ways. Let me walk you through it.
1. Getting ready. Getting ready featured yet another set of new hair and make-up people. We gave them a full two hours and they were very sweet and finished in about 90 minutes, leaving time for me to scarf down some vegan mac ‘n’ cheese, call my mom and dad, and let stylist Ali stare me up and down and say “Oh my goodness” many times (her incantation as she prepared me for the Emmys was, adorably, “Holy Bajoley” as you may recall). Read the rest of this entry →
