Good evening my fellow friends. This is your Moti Girl checking in for my weekly update. What's cracking people? This kooky Bay Area weather is driving me insane. 59 degrees in June? Are you kidding me? Aside from the weather, I am feeling quite cranky because I have absolutely nothing to do. I didn't realize how busy my life was the last five years with school and now that that chapter of my life is finally complete, I feel barren. I should punch myself in the face for sounding so ungrateful but I didn't realize I was going to be feel so lost. Now what? Everyone so kindly keeps reminding me to enjoy myself and to just relax. I don't think I'm wired to relax. Do I even know how? I have a plan, well at least I think I did, but right now everything seems to be moving in slow motion. It's only been a week and I feel so incredibly suffocated by all the time that I have? Does that even make sense? I need to find a hobby and things to do to take up some of my idle/free time. Any suggestions? I downloaded the Instagram App on my phone and have had a lot of fun taking pictures recently. An amateur photographer I am not, but I am definitely enjoying playing with this unique little App. (This one was taken at Half Moon Bay on Memorial Day weekend. I think the picture perfectly encapsulates my stormy temperament right about now). Find me, my screen name is msrehreh.
Happy Birthday Lady
This last week has been good to me. I celebrated my girl Amina's birthday last week (Happy Birthday Woman!) with some lovely ladies and much needed "me" time . It's always so therapeutic to hang with just the girls sometimes. We all need to take our Mommy and Wifey hats off for a few hours and just let our hair down and be enjoy the girlfriend hat for a change. The laughter, the jokes, the sharing of stories the yummy food and dessert made for a memorable night but also reminded me of the importance of sisterhood. That night I realized that it's so easy for all of us to get lost and lose our sense of self as we navigate through the different chapters of our lives. Being with other women and exchanging/sharing stories about our fears, challenges and stressors really allows us to not only engage with each other but highlights the simple fact that we aren't alone and our issues are not unique. It makes it easier to know that there are people out there who share the same crazy talk that swims around in my own head. Okay well I think I have hit the cheesiness quota for the day with this post. I might sound like an after school special, but I stand behind my epiphanies, as corny and cheesetastic as they may sound. :)
Treatbot
So another highlight for this week has been a couple things. I gave the food truck CurryUpNow a second go (the first time I had the burritos and was not a fan) and was pleasantly surprised by their yummy Kathi Rolls and deconstructed samosas and I also got to indulge in some TreatBot goodness. These two trucks park regularly in Sunnyvale near El Camino and Remington on Tuesdays evenings. You should check them out. CurryUpNow is your good old Desi food and Treatbot is ice-cream with a twist. They have a karaoke machine there and if you dare to test out for vocal chords and manage to score higher than 90, then you get yourself a free dessert and a very excited audience that will cheer you on with much vigor. It's definitely something entertaining to experience.
CurryUpNow
I also purchased thanks to an awesome graduation gift card my very own Zumba Wii game. Woo Hoo. Now I can Zumba whenever the hell I want, forget trying to get to a class at 24 Hour an hour before. I excitedly peeled it open and threw it in the game console to discover that I was in dance heaven. It came with a nifty belt that neatly holds the Wii remote. The moves and music are exactly the same as the class, and a good workout was had. Anyone wanna come through and join me at home? Feel free to hit me up.
zumba
I know this post was a bit lack luster but you know I can't have it all. Well here is my weight this week:
I gained 0.2 pounds
Well, I'm not feeling too bad about this week. I know I could have probably done a better job with calorie control, but I was also recovering from being sick last week and 0.2 pounds is really nothing. So my friends... that's all for this week.. until next time. You know you love me XOXO. :)
Howdy party peoples... yes I am finally back. Come on, do the happy dance with me. Four incredibly long weeks since I have last graced my own blog. I know pretty pathetic, but I had a damn good reason. I had to study for finals, write like a book's worth in papers, handle the whole graduation thing and just veg out. If you don't already know, (how could you not with all my shameless self-promoting status updates, tweets and pics?) I have finally procured my BA in English from UC Berkeley aH. Feel free to say it... Hallelujah. I say it all the time. I will post a video as soon as I get my hands on it, but I was the last one to walk on stage the day of the commencement and I got to walk on with my two babies by my side. It really was one of the most incredible and unreal moments of my life and I have to say, my kids have been the best motivation to complete school. I'm a better person because of them.
Finally.. it's happened to me
So much has happened in the last few weeks, that I don't even know where to start. I was going through all my pictures... and I was taken aback by all that has happened in this month! Do I write one long blog post and go verbal/written diarrhea about everything that has happened? Do you want to know how my disciplined calorie counting and gym visits went right out the window? Do I dare to admit that physically annihilated any food in sight? No really I did. I was so busy with papers and studying, shoot even Trader Joes' microwaved macaroni meals were not only gourmet but a damn luxury. Do you know the amount of guilt I've been carrying around about sharing this with you all? What were you all going to think? How could I have just fallen off the boat? However, I continued with the weekly weigh in pics and I nearly died of a heart-attack... Unfortunately I will not be entertaining you all today... No frills, no fun anecdotes, no wannabe witty banter this blog post... Just gonna get right to it. I was at 155 pounds according to my last official weigh in.... read it and weep with me...
As of May 9th I was...
Gained 1.6 pounds
As of May 16th I was...
I lost 0.6 pounds
As of May 23rd I was...
I lost 2.2 pounds
As of May 31st I was...
I lost 2.8 pounds
Um yeah... you can close your mouths now. Are you as shocked as I was? So there was indeed weeping, but lots of happy tears. <insert Nutty Professor's Hercules Hercules (my equivalent for the happy dance)> I wasn't watching my calories, didn't have time to go to the gym, pretty much ate whatever the hell I pleased and miraculously I lost weight. Go figure, my friends, go figure! I have to say though, this last week's weigh in might be off because I did get sick a couple of days ago and kinda loss my appetite. I haven't regained it fully... but seeing these results I question if I even need it back? I kid I kid. :) This has to be a fluke or a gift/nudge from mother nature for finishing school. Whatever it is, I will take it. I'm just grateful and feeling blessed for where I am in my life aH...
To Hawaii and beyond
A special shout out to the hubby for hooking up a one week family vacay to Hawaii this summer as a graduation gift. Thank you! It's the best present ever and our first real family vacation! We have never been to Hawaii and are so excited to finally get to do so! Woo hoo!
So in the spirit of feeling good and not looking like a Motigirl in Hawaii because you know I'm all about the itsy bitsy teenie weenie... yeah right! Haha ok the wannabe witty banter had to escape somewhere. I apologize for making you puke. I just thought it would be fun to add that for shock value. Ahhh, I digress. Anyways, I am planning to get back into the gym, make better food choices and shed the pounds the right way. :) There has been some weight fluctuation, but at least I've been somewhat successful at keeping it off. I feel damn good too! But you can't beat any geek off the street... (I'll stop there, before I become too silly) Thanks for coming back and sticking with my weird sense of humor and my Motigirl adventures. Until next time my friends... good night.
Hey there friends, Moti Girl checking in on this beautiful evening. How are you all doing tonight? I'm chilling, enjoying my Laker game and am desperately trying to suppress the dire need to violently place a muzzle on the Hubby's mouth. He is the biggest Laker hater in existence and I just want to punch him in the face right now. Yes, I have a lot of pent up aggression, but his constant heckling and jabs at Kobe Bryant bring out the worst in me. Great the Lakers lost. Man I need to go sedate myself now. In honor of the Fish and his hating ways, I am adding a small video clip from a few months ago when the Lakers and the Heat played, so you could get a glimpse of the torture I have to endure on a daily basis. Enjoy all you Laker haters out there... it ain't gonna last long. Can anyone say 3peat? :)
Anyways, back to Moti Girl... So this week was filled with dessert temptation galore. So Baskin Robbins had their 31 cents scoop day, food blogger extraordinaire Azmina Aboobaker http://www.lawyerloveslunch.com/ came over with deliciously exquisite mini cheesecakes (also special shout out to Seher who brought over a beautiful flan, but I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it) and my hubby surprisingly brought home a delectable box of Belgian Hazelnut Chocolates to celebrate my last day as a berkeley student. I don't know how I am suppose to watch my caloric intake when every other day I am tempted to turn into a dessert Pac-Man and just gobble everything in sight. I know I sound like a broken record, but as long as I get a little taste of something. Luckily for me, the day Azmina came over, it was obviously free day so I actually ate the whole thing. It was ahhhh-mazing. I urge you to check out her blog. It's fun to read, witty and she has some really great recipes. Check it out now!
Mini Cheesecakes
(Photo courtesy by Azmina Aboobaker http://www.lawyerloveslunch.com/)
I went roller skating this Saturday with my family in San Ramon at the Golden Skate. I haven't been since my 21st birthday. Wow! It was hilariously fun and brought back so many happy memories from my middle school days. I think it's high time to do a GNO there with the ladies... maybe a retro night? I can't believe I just used the word retro. OMG How old am I? 32 is any of you are wondering. Needless to say, it was a very memorable time and the fact that Leila was soooo incredibly happy just made my day. I only fell once and it was only because I got all brave and tried to bust a move while skating and landed flat on my back. Yes, it was ridiculously funny. I woke up the next morning feeling like I got tossed around in the dryer. Note to self: it wasn't skating with the stars... I need to check myself before I wreck myself. Trust me I did. :)
enjoying 31 cent scoop night
I haven't really done anything extraordinary this week. Just trying to eat well, drink lots of water and get some exercise in whenever I can. Besides the fact that I have one final on the 9th, I am feeling quite good. No stress. I feel weird that this journey of completing my undergraduate is finally over, but at the same time I'm happy that all the hard work, the sacrifices have paid off (aH). Anyways, I don't feel like being a sap today, just wanted to share my 2 cents.
Well here it is...
I lost 0.8 pounds
I didn't lose as much as I would liked, but still going in the right direction. Until next week, this is your Moti girl calling it a night!
Good evening peoples, this is your Moti Girl bringing you a play by play of my adventures in fat extraction. I'm feeling good today. I apologize for lagging, but this is my last week of instruction as a Berkeley student and the work load has piled up tremendously. I'm back though! This week has been good to me. I have hit a stride and I'm enjoying the ride. Ooh the lyricist in me is escaping... :)
my faves
my "Lesbian Look"
I had an epiphany this week-- I know imagine that. I was talking to my girl Amina and we thoroughly discussed how feeling good about ourselves has a lot to do with how we dress on a daily basis. You all know that I love wearing my regular boot cut jeans, usually paired with comfy cotton t-shirt, socks and kicks. My hair is pulled back in a ponytail and if I want to be be extra snazzy I will don a funky headband to spice it up. Yup, I'm living on the wild side. It's nothing special, just something I am comfortable with. My friend who shall remain nameless calls this my everyday Lesbian look. Yup you read it right, the Lesbian look. I think what she really means is the Butch look, but deliberately chooses to use the word Lesbian to ruffle my PC feathers. Yes, I'll admit I have many fashion faux pas in terms of styling, but who hasn't? I'm just not that into to clothes or fashion. I think I can play if off (sometimes) or at least get by. It's just not my thing. So I wear what makes me feel comfortable. May this blog be my witness, but I am acutely aware of the abdominal obesity that I see everyday in my reflection, so yes I choose to wear things that are very loose around my waistline. Tshirts make that a reality. I mean why should I subject anyone else to the view of my tires of fat that will immediately cause stomach bile to swim in your mouth? Yuck. Well I am working it on it. Are you enjoying my vivid imagery today? Anyways, getting back to my epiphany I realized that although I love my daily "Lesbian" Look, it might not hurt to actually put a little effort towards making myself a little more presentable, or well put together. I'm not talking about a drastic makeover, just a subtle changes to allow myself to feel good. I don't know about you guys, but there's something about when I put a little more effort in how I dress, I all of sudden feel a small boost of confidence shoot through. So any of my friends out there, want to step up and help a sista out? You know I need it. I'm not ready to retire my daily wear, but maybe add a few more articles of clothing that will broaden my limited wardrobe. :)
Yolatea's Coffee Yogurt
Anyways, I digress as usual. Back to Moti Girl. I'm doing well. I'm feeling good. I went to the gym twice this week, but I also had dance practice twice this week for my daughter's talent show which surprisingly was very grueling. As far as food is concerned, I think I have finally found some balance. I'm not being anal about counting calories as much. I have a firm grasp on how many calories I am approximately consuming and just trying to stay close to 1200 calories, which I found not too hard. I love my free days, but they are slowly losing their appeal. Not because I'm not interested in food, but think I have found some balance and I feel comfortable. I also discovered No Sugar Added, Fat Free Coffee Frozen Yogurt at Yolatea in Saratoga and can I say that I wanted to jump for joy because it did not taste like Sugar free stuff. It was flavorful and didn't feel lacking in anyway. Yolatea not only sells yogurt, but Gelato Classico, Crepes and Paninis. It's a cute little spot and a favorite for after school kids to have a snack in downtown Saratoga.
This week I was doing the happy dance in my bedroom because I discovered my jeans were loose even with a belt on. I started singing the chorus to "The Eye of the Tiger" and dancing around like a chimp on crack... I looked up and there standing in the doorway were my kids. I was so lost in my delirium of happiness, that I didn't notice the lil monsters watching their mother in bewilderment. Leila asked me why I was dancing around without my pants on? I told her it was the cool thing to do and that I was doing the happy dance. She laughed at me and said Mom, you're so funny and turned and walked away. At least she didn't call me weird. I'm sure she was thinking it though. Zaina just snickered and joined me in my happy dance and started singing Slippery Fish. Yes, Zaina definitely falls on the Rehman side.
my guilty pleasure
Well, after I weighed myself yesterday, I couldn't help but eat one delectably yummy mint brownie and a tall glass of milk. Can I just say it was sooooo needed and savored every bite! Now if it was a reward or a guilty binge eating, you will have to stay tuned and see for yourself.
Ok well here it is my friends...
I lost 1.8 pounds!
Phew, I can't believe it! I was worried that I was going to either be at the same weight or definitely gaining a pound or two. I think I need to break out in song now... "It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight, Risin' up to the challenge of our rival, And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night, And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger" Haha... well that's all folk, tune in next time. This is your Moti Girl happy dancing away! :)
Ciao, my Moti-girl readers. Well what to do. I apologize for the break in the regular scheduled programming, but somethings were just far more important than my trials and tribulations in my fat exorcism. :) I'm back to bore you with all the mundane details of my life. You ready?
Go Lakers!
As far as the whole food and exercise goes... well I kinda fell off the wagon this last week. Just had too many things going on and I'll be honest my focus was just not there. Suffice to say, I'm back. The weight gain from last week was a small blow but to be honest it was an expected one. Is this suppose to be the slump? Maybe I am lacking motivation or maybe the results are showing too damn slow? Either way, I really need to learn a lesson in patience. I can't expect the excess weight to just melt off me, can I? One could only hope. In any case, keeping up with good food choices is as hard as keeping up with all the new Kardashian shows that keep popping up every couple of months. Yeah, I'm not a huge Kardashian aficionado as you can see, indeed they are all pretty women but something about the nonstop-in-your-face-attention-whoreing thing just doesn't sit well with me. Anyways, back to the whole food thing, there were a few times where I simply didn't have those better choices available because the pantry was running low. Exercise also took a bit of hit from 4 times a week to 2 times. Well, if I plan to stay to reach my goal by August, I have my work cut out for me.
The new addition to our family, Baby Avah!
In the last two weeks, three pretty cool things took place: my Zaina's 2nd birthday party, my niece Avah came to visit from LA and a few friends and myself threw a a Bake Sale for Japan. The two events were a hit, thank goodness ah. Zaina and her friends had a blast at her park birthday and we raised a little over $1600 for Japan. I wanted to share some pics and without much fanfare I will just simply post my weight. Again, I apologize for the short post, with looming finals and graduation I just need to get through these next three weeks. Enjoy the pics my friends and thank you for all the comments, encouragement and love.
ZuzuBee beating Elmo. Not the best word choice used that day.
Zuzu & Nunu loving the bubble machine!
Lulu & Samo doing their part.
a couple of the Superstar helpers
Bake Sale for Japan raised $1600
Well here you go, homies...
0.3 pounds... woo hoo!
I was completely expecting to be back in the 160s already, but I was pleasantly surprised. Especially since I really wasn't sticking to my weekly regimen. Well that's all for this post my friends, this is your Moti-Girl saying so long! :)
Hello my faithful readers. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I will be taking a break this week. My batteries for my scale are dead but I did measure myself the night before and I was 157.9. I gained a pound. It was bound to happen.
I am writing with a heavy heart. Today, I dedicate this post to all the people who have lost special loved ones in their lives. Innalilahiwainniilayhirajioun. "Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return". May Allah give us all the patience and strength we need. Ameen.
Please take the time to appreciate and be thankful for all that we are blessed with and what is given to us by the grace of Allah. Other than being an emotional support we can help by offering as many prayers as we possibly can for the ones that have passed and take comfort knowing that one day in the future we will be reunited with them. I humbly request that everyone who is reading this right now to please take a moment of silence to make a special prayer for loved ones we have lost.
Photo courtesy by www.islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com
Thank you for your patience and I will be back iA next week. :) With much love and respect, this is your Moti Girl wishing you a good night.
Hi there my faithful readers, this is your Moti-girl checking in. I don't know why I just don't feel very motivated to write this week. I don't know what's wrong with me? Is this the plateau everyone talks about? I'm not feeling as excited and most importantly I am seriously-aggravatingly-annoyed at making the better food choices. I'm a carb girl. I love me some rice, bread and potatoes. The more the better. For someone who has a rich family history of diabetes, I need to avoid these yummies at all costs. Even knowing that and being reminded of it daily, can I please be excused for being annoyed at this and rant about how I miss my good ol' carbs? With my brother's Moti girl song constantly playing on repeat in my head, I feel like there is caldron of irritation brewing inside me ready to unload on any unsuspecting well wisher. Well, now that you get a feel for the nasty mood I'm in today, please continue to read the nonsense that I spew. :)
Bossy Boots
So while Leila was at swim practice, Bossy Boots (aka Zaina) and I were sitting off to the corner just horsing around. Zaina was blissfully playing with her Barbie and picking the red flowers in the picture above to make a bed for her Barbie while I was staring distractedly into space trying to prioritize my workload for the rest of the week. Whenever Zaina's attention was diverted, I kept sweeping away some of the broken flowers back into the planter. Heaven forbid, I might come off as an irresponsible parent who allows her kid to rum amok, make a mess and forget to instill the value of living things by all the onlooking parents in the area by the huge heap of dead flowers at my footstep. Sometimes I have mad OCD. In my lame attempt to be sly, I discovered the kids' forgotten snack bag and immediately indulged the growling rumbles of my tummy. I fervently unzipped the bag to discover, FRITOS! Yes, I had tunnel vision and the only thing on my agenda was to savor every ounce of salty crunchy goodness. I mean come on now, who doesn't like Chili Cheese Fritos? Well I sure as hell do and as I closed my eyes to inhale the chips, I was suddenly rudely interrupted by a squeaky voice telling me, "No, Mama, don't do it!" Emphasis on the "doooo". WTH? Are you kidding me? Now my 2 year-old is keeping me in check too? I woke up from my wannabe drunken food stupor to find Zaina scolding me, not because I was about to devour her snack but because she discovered that I was sweeping her flowers back into the planter. Go figure, yes she is quite the cheeky lil monkey. I laughed, took her picture and chuckled as she continued to scold me for the remaining 14 minutes of Leila's practice. I accepted this as a sign from God and refrained from polishing off the Fritos.
Rib Eye Slider
So on my free day I pigged out. Surprise surprise. On Saturday night, I was suppose to check out a friend's band Resurrection Men (find them on iTunes) in Cupertino with my brother-in-law Ausaff, but he declined to go and insisted that the Hubby and I enjoy a date night on him. Wow! So we ventured out in shock and attended their fabulous show and when the set ended we had no idea what to do next. Thanks to twitter and my unhealthy obsessive following of all things food related, I discovered that after SJ Eats (which we sadly avoided due to the overcrowding) the Mogo BBQ food truck (follow them on twitter @MoGoBBQ to find out their location) was happily residing in downtown San Jose till 2:00 AM. Yup, so I dragged Hubby and we took off on our FoodVenture, thus this hideous picture of me took birth. I will save my formal review of this food truck for a future blog post, but suffice to say the Rib Eye Slider that I am am making out with above was beyond scrumptious! I really wanted to try the Short Rib slider which my friend Amber raves about, but unfortunately they were all out. I probably couldn't tell you the calories I consumed, but really who cares? The delight I had experienced was well worth the 2000 I calories I ate in that 2.5 seconds. As Rachael Ray would say, YUM-O!
Anyhow, this week has been good overall. I'm definitely keenly aware of what I am eating and the exercise thing doesn't seem like such a chore anymore. Yeah, I know I'm quite the Shakespeare. :)
Well here it is my friends...
Woo hoo I lost 2.0 pounds!
Who'd a thunk it? I actually did the Moti-Girl happy dance which is a cross between my horse dance and the cabbage patch. Remind me to share a video, I promise you will literally fall over laughing your ass off. Sorry for my crankiness at the beginning of this post, it just escapes sometimes. I'm out homies, thanks for reading! This is your Moti-Girl saying Adios!
