Wordless (day after) Wednesday: Reward

I figured out how to reward myself for hitting my first weight loss goal. My last pair of casual sneakers (as opposed to gym ones) are in shreds (literally), so I went on a hunt for new ones. I found these at Target on clearance. I paid a whopping $4.98 for them. Go me!

Wordless Wednesday

Gooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!

Today, I hit my first weight loss goal. I'm 148.8 lbs. My first goal was to be under 150 and I did it. Yay!

That meant my points were re-evaluated. I'm down to 25 points a day (I had 26). That's okay. Lately, I'm eating much less meat, so I've had an easier time staying within my points.

I still haven't gotten back on the Wii Fit (I really should, though. The last time I used it, I was pregnant and about 15 lbs heavier. I'd love to hear that little scale congratulate me for being down. Yes, I really do care what that stupid little scale says.). I haven't exercised as much as I'd like, but I've done something and my food choices have gotten better (and easier). So that's good.

My weight loss is slowing a bit, but that's to be expected. So I'm not heartbroken.

My next goal is to lose 10% of my starting body weight. That will be when I hit 136 lbs and that's only a few pounds away from my goal (I'd love to get down to 125, but I'll settle for 130. When I was at my lowest, when my twins were toddlers, I was 107 lbs. I was also in my 20s, though. I'm not as young as I was then, so I don't know if my body will let me get anywhere near there).

I'm happy. We've been able to balance eating out on occasion and still lose weight.

This week, I discovered that friends are a great resource for recipe ideas. Social networking is a huge help with that.

So, now, what on earth should I do as a reward for reaching my first goal? I have no ideas at all. I'm open to ideas, so suggest away.

Fathers Say the Darnest Things.

Dh takes TheBoy to the bathroom every night before we go to bed. For those who don't have boys, I will explain that there's some penis tapping/shaking which occurs after such an event. The other night, I heard dh exclaim, "That's enough. It's not a guitar."

The next sound I heard was my own snorts of laughter.

Biology: Ur Doing It Rong

For your Bio 101 lesson of the day, I want to explain genetics.

The child's adorable little dimple is NOT from you Great Aunt Olga. You cannot attribute the brown hair to the child's mother's brother. Well, you could, but then you'd be wrong.

DNA comes from the parents. Dad's brother had nothing to do with the creation of this child (well, at least we all hope). So no, that little girl did NOT get her straight hair from Uncle Isaac (unless there's something we don't know). She and Uncle Isaac may very well have inherited the gene that determines hair type from the same source, though, but there is no possible way he passed it along to her SINCE HE PLAYED NO PART IN HER CONCEPTION.

Now that I have shared this information with the world, there will be no reason I will have to refrain from smacking someone the next time one of my father-in-law's sisters says something like, "Oh, she gets that dimple from her great aunt." Knowing, after all, is half the battle (the other half is BEATING SENSE INTO PEOPLE).

While we're on the topic of biology, let Professor Reiza tell you that, in the case of twins, the mother is the only one who determines that. Don't go patting dad on the back for doing anything spectacular. It was mom who either released two eggs or provided conditions in which a single egg could split. Also, you can save yourself the trouble of inquiring as to whether or not twins run in the dad's family. See above. Although, a father can pass down that genetic tendency to his daughters if his mother had fraternal twins. However, if his father's mother had twins, then nope, no deal.

My favorite response to, "Do twins run in your family," is, "Now they do."

Professor Reiza would also like to remind you that, when the answer to, "How far apart are they," is "One minute," chances are that they're twins. Please don't stare at the parents with your brow furrowed completely unable to comprehend that any children could possibly be a minute apart. Please don't follow that question up with, "Are they sisters/brothers/cousins/guinea pigs?" And in the case of flustered parents of twins of any age (particularly newborn), please refrain from distracting them to ask questions of any type (particularly stupid ones). Smile at them. Nod. Then GET THE HELL OUT OF THEIR WAY.

Now you know. Go forth and share your knowledge with the world. Class dismissed.

Weight Loss update

Here's the latest update from this member of the GREEN TEAM (you thought I was kidding about always typing it that way, didn't you?)

Before I lose my nerve, I'm going to post my weight right off the bat. I'm 150.8. I'm down 6 lbs total so far. Yay! I'm 1 lb away from my first goal (to be under 150). I can now fit into those pajama pants, but yeah, I totally have that fuzzy stuffed sausage thing going on. Not a good look for me (or anyone for that matter). But, hey, I can get them on now. That's one step in the right direction.

This past week was not a great one for me. We had fast food for the first time since I started this. My activity was limited too. I got more low-impact exercise in (lots and lots of walking), but not nearly as much higher impact stuff. So I need to make a point to combat that.

This week, I need to stop playing Wii Sports Resort and get back into the Wii Fit. I haven't used it since I was pregnant, but I had good results in the past. I think I need to have some more Weight Watchers-friendly crock pot meals ready so that I'm not tempted to go out to eat.

Does anyone out there have any great healthy recipes they've found that they really liked? If so, please share.

SHOES: I could do this.

I've told you all before that I cannot use a sewing machine to save my life (what type of situation, exactly would one find oneself in where a sewing machine would save one's life?). I, however, still love crafts.

I just saw this tutorial at Prudent Baby for baby shoes and I think I could hand sew these. I'm not a big denim fan, so I probably wouldn't follow exactly, but I could absolutely do these with other material.

Stay tuned because if I do manage to pull this off, I'll be sure to post pictures.

In honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Here are some quotations from MLK Jr. that I want to share.

Dr. King, your message lives on.

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better. "

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. "

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. "

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. "

"Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. "

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. "

"The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. "

"The time is always right to do what is right."

I'm going green.

I am now a proud member of the Green Team as part of Blog the Weight Away. Also as part of the Green Team (which yes, I WILL always insist on writing that way) are Stacey and Ilissa (I hope I spelled that right). We've been randomly assigned to (wait for it) the super awesome wonderfully astounding Green Team.

My goal is to lose 25 lbs from where I am now. I would love to lose more, but 25 lbs will get me down to a healthy weight. I want more energy. I want to know I'm eating healthy and in reasonable portions. There are a number of diseases that run in my family and, by being overweight, I'm putting myself at a greater risk. I want to know I'm doing everything I can to keep myself healthy. I want to set a good example for my children.

One of my big goals is to donate these damn maternity pants. I would love to fit back into "real" pants so I could get rid of the last of my maternity stuff. Plus, my mother bought me super soft pajama pants for Chanukah, but she, living far away, not seeing me and not realizing I've gotten fat, bought me a size small. I was going to return them, resigned to the fact I would never be a small again, but then I signed up for Blog the Weight Away and now I'm keeping them with plans of losing enough weight to fit into them (comfortably. I don't want to look like a bright pink striped sausage in them). Of course, this might be easier if my mother would stop sending bags and bags of baked good mixes, but that's another post for another day (Holy mixed messages, Batman!).

I have never, in my life, done this, but I am going to be truly accountable and post my weight. Please keep in mind that I am super tiny. I know many normal-sized people would love to be my weight and would be within a healthy BMI at where I am. For Keebler elf-sized folks like myself, though, this weight is super unhealthy.

My starting weight from 1/3 was 157 lbs. This past Monday 1/11, I was 152.8. I cannot believe I just told you people that. My husband doesn't even know what I weigh. The only person I ever told what I weighed was my midwife (and even then, reluctantly so) and that's only when I was pregnant and expected to gain weight (FTR, I was 161 lbs when I delivered the first two times and I was only 9 lbs higher than my starting weight when my youngest was born. She weighed over 8 lbs).

I'm trying to find a before picture, but, as you know, I like anonymity and don't show my face on here. So I may need to work my magic with that.

ETA: Here you go. Here's my "Before" shot. I didn't even need to slap anything over my face (I was going to use a Kermit face--get it? GREEN) I cannot believe I'm sharing this with you. I detest this photo of me.

Much needed good news

I got some bad news last night. I couldn't sleep and was just generally down. I'm still "in a mood" right now.

So I'm trying to rejoice over the little things to counteract that.

Good news:

I stepped on the scale and I'm down another pound and a half. Wah hoo! I'm SO close to my first weight goal. I felt good enough today to put on my regular jeans--not the maternity ones or the stretchy yoga pants I've been wearing, but real jeans that require me to be able to shove myself in AND zip 'em up (unless, of course, I want to leave the zipper open and have my gut hanging out which is OH SO SEXY). I have to wear a billowy top over them, but they close without a problem. Yippee. This morning, while TheBaby napped, I had time to dye my hair AND clean the bathroom. I even had time to blow dry my hair (which I very rarely d0).

The kids are making their own lunches (I love having bigger kids) and later, we're headed out to the park with some friends. It's a local park too. I live pretty far from most of my friends, so I often have to travel to meet everyone. This time, everyone decided to meet at a park just a mile from my house. Yippee!

WW Comeback World Tour 2010

So, I finished week 1 of my WW Comeback World Tour 2010 (it's more exciting if I give it a cool title. It's even more exciting if I insist on saying it in that deep "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" Monster truck voice).

Not bad. In some ways, it's more difficult with 4 kids (I have to rely on the online version since I just can't fit meetings in sans kids). The most noticeable is that fast food is no longer an option if we're out and about. In some ways, it's easier (not as much time to eat).

The news, however, is very good. There is slightly less of my fat ass. My eligibility window to apply for the role of Super Fat Ass is closing. There are four pounds less of me than there were this time last week. When I added that to my weight tracker, I found I'm just under 3 lbs away from my first goal. Yay!

Here's hoping I continue to rock on with my bad-ass self.

My wish for the New Year

There are many things I hope 2010 brings those I love. I figured I'd take the opportunity to share them with you all.

In 2010, I hope...

• The stupid people stay far away from you.

• That if a few of those stupid people wander into your path (or if they live in your house, so you have no other choice), I hope you have a really big stick, a great aim and a complete lack of remorse.

• Should you be unable to beat the stupid people senseless, I hope you have the perfect comeback for their stupidity and that, after you slap them with that witty retort, they either change their ways and stop being stupid or they read this and FOLLOW THE FREAKING RULES.

• That your children are absolute angels

• And that if that last one doesn't happen and you're in public, I hope there's enough room to distance yourself from them so that no one realizes they're yours.

• If they disregard that angel part and you're not in public, I hope you have a padded sound-proof room to shove them into until they CALM THE FUCK DOWN.

• You have TWO padded sound-proof rooms so that you have the option of locking yourself in one if need be.

• Someone finds the secret for yummy calorie-free (kosher) alcohol and chocolate.

• Someone perfects that whole, "Beam me up, Scotty" machine.

• You laugh at an endless supply of truly funny lolcats.

• That your kids continue to supply you with an array of funny phrases.

• That when your kids say those funny things, they do so quietly and FAR away from church/shul.

• That the vast majority of your days are wonderful and you have one bad (but not awful) day a month so that you can always truly appreciate those great days.

• Those around you always let you know how awesome you are.

• That you continue to rock on with your bad-ass self.

This Little Piggy Went to Weight Watchers.

I sucked it up and joined WW online. *exhales* Well, here we go. Now there's no turning back. And hey, I lost .2 lbs from yesterday. .2 lb loss? Hey, I'll take it!

Bulking up to what? Fat ass? Super fat ass?

Forgive me for the title. It's a South Park reference. It's a line that, for some reason, has stuck with me for years and I find a way to work into many conversations. Yeah, I'm weird. I know. And unless you're new around here, you should know that too. If you are new. Hi. Welcome. Pull up a seat and stare at the fat ass.

I saw pictures of myself from this weekend. I. am. fat. I don't fit into any of my clothes. I hate the way I look. I hate the way I feel. I went from being a gym rat who was in the best shape of her life to this. I am not pleased.

I ate well in my pregnancy and exercised. I didn't exercise as much as I would have liked (we let my gym membership lapse to save money), but I exercised more than I did in any other pregnancy (the yoga positions helped quite a bit with pregnancy pains). Our first real meal after TheBaby was born was pizza (I was so thrilled to have white carbs). It's all been down hill since then.

I don't know how much I'll be able to exercise in the winter with 4 kids, but I'm going to figure something out. I think I'm going to bust out the Wii Fit again and maybe my Pilates DVD's. Great blog reviews leave me wondering about EA Sports. I want to sign my fat ass up for Weight Watchers again. I've had good luck with WW in the past. I've never done it exclusively online which is what I'll have to do. I don't have time (or child care) to go to meetings.

So, there, I've said it and I've done so in a public forum. (stands up, looks around sheepishly) Hi, my name is Reiza and I'm a fat ass.

I need to lose 30 lbs (50 lbs ideally). I would love for my first goal to be to get me out of my damn maternity pants by February. Well, I mean I want to fit into something smaller than my strechy-waist-designed-for-having-another-person-inside-you pants (GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER), not that I want to run around sans pants.