Jack Sprat's Wife

If there was any doubt that weight loss needs to be one of my top priorities at this point in my life, this lovely piece of artwork by Sofia sealed the deal.

I honestly had no idea what this was, but suspected it was people. I innocently laughed at the figure on the left, asking if it was Daddy. Then, Sofia pointed out who was on the right. Mommy. On the right. The balloon-like-disproportionally larger than Daddy figure. Mommy.

I laughed fairly hard, but inside, I was crying. Just a little. But no sense wallowing in it too much. This is how she sees me, it is what it is and it's up to me to change that.

7 Quick Takes Friday – 2/27/09

1. Ariel's a Busy Girl. Now that I know where I’ll be living in April, I’m working overtime to arrange for Ariel to attend Sofia’s 4th birthday party. That is extravagant as the party will get. The time (2-5) will dodge the whole lunch issue with snacks and cupcakes being the only food offerings. (Past 2 years have been extravaganzas that did include a meal. This year, we’re scaling back) The boys are having a family-and-close-friends -only birthday celebration in a few weeks. It’s always a challenge to figure out the best way to handle 3 children who’s birthdays are within 5 weeks of each other. So far, no call back from Ariel's peeps.

2. I Didn't Gain! As much as I tried to talk myself out of going, I forced myself to attend Weight Watchers this week, after missing last week’s weigh in. Much to my surprise, I lost a lb. Now granted, I had gained a pound at the previous weigh in, but hey, at least I didn’t gain. That’s my mantra.

3. Job Search. I have spent the better part of the morning dealing with unemployment paperwork and job searches for my husband, at the public library. I feel like I’m working on a middle school project, working there, but I can’t do it at home (the boys are there with Steve) and wasn’t due to come into work until noon, so there you go. I cannot put into words how frustrating it is to have to apply for each job by visiting the company’s website, registering and putting in your profile information and entire work history for every.single.job. I’m sapped. That’s it. I’m spent.

4.Second interview. On that same note, Steve has a second phone interview on Monday for the position I spoke of yesterday. Still cautiously optimistic here.

5.In Over My Head? I have my one on one training session with the mother’s club Web Momma tonight. Have I mentioned I may have gotten in over my head? I downloaded the website manual. It’s 467 pages. I actually printed it out (at work, ssssh) and put it in a binder, just to let her know I was serious. I’m still not sure if this is something I am going to be able to manage, so we’ll see.

6.WIC. I need to research WIC. I had thought that with my job and unemployment for Steve, we would not qualify, but after seeing how much Steve is receiving, I may need to research this further.

7.Light at The End of the Tunnel? Things seem to be picking up at the office. One house that was listed last week for $1,150,000 just sold. Boom, bam, gone! That hasn’t happened for months. Hmmm, is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Way Back Wednesday -- When Mommy was Skinny

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Dateline: December 1998
Place: Office Christmas party at a local restaurant


In light of my apparent complete non interest in Weight Watchers the last few weeks, I thought it was time to bust out with some pics to inspire me, motivate me. Hence, the skinny, twentysomething, single Melissa shot.

I thought I was so bad ass here, with my black tights, black mini, festive cardigan and (out of shot) Kate Spade bag. Good times.

I Really Don't See the Resemblance

Apparently, Miss Piggy was a guest on the view today. A thoroughly modern Millie (or whatever her real name is) she was there to tout The Diva Code, The: Miss Piggy on Life, Love, and the 10,000 Idiotic Things Men Frogs Do (Hardcover).

Yes, I am serious.

I was bombarded with questions from Sofia. "Is there someone under the table?"

"Yes, " Steve said. What a buzzkill.

Sign #347 (as if I needed one) that my being on Weight Watchers is a good thing?

William repeatedly pointing to the screen with Miss Piggy and saying "Ma-ma! Ma-ma!"

Oy vey.

Oh yeah

Oh yeah. I lost another 1.6 lbs at WW today. That's a big deal as I'd thrown journaling to the wind and had a dinner party where I indulged in many high points foods. Of course, being sick for most of the week probably played a huge part in it. It's not much, but I'll take it! Down about 8 lbs. Not earth shattering, but going in the right direction.

Prep & Vinaigrette

So, I'm trying my bestestest to get my act together for my dinner party on Saturday.

I ordered an entree (Chicken marsala and pasta), bread and salad from Macaroni Grill. They even deliver. Sweet.

Am I embaressed that I'm not preparing the meal? Mmmm...sort of, but not really. Honestly, if there was ever a time to play the 3 kids card, this is it.

I just returned from Trader Joe's where I bought some appetizery stuff and dessert, wine and beverages. (Again, a gift card. From Christmas. Came in handy)

I'm making this Flavor Craver shrimp dip that is *to die for* but can't buy the shrimp (fresh) until Friday.

I'm thinking this is coming together, thank goodness. That said, is it wrong that I'm secretly hoping one of the couples' flakes? (don't answer that) The mom is a heavy hitter with Genenetech, regularly travels to Singapore and I haven't heard back from her for a while to confirm that she's coming. She may be in Singapore for all I know. I love her to death, but am seriously wondering how I'm going to handle all these people and manage the kids. Steve tends to lean towards being useless in these situations (prefering to socialize - it's his gift) as much as he promises to be in "charge" of the kids.

Ah, well. There will be 6 kids total (including mine) and 6 adults, so I'm sure chaos will ensue no matter how much planning I put into it.

I'd like to share my current favorite obsession from Trader Joe's. Their fat free soy sesame vinaigrette. It's 1 pt per serving (2TBL) and trust me on this one, DELISH. I am extremely particular about my salad dressing (especially fat free) and you would never now this was fat free unless someone told you. It has that great combo of tangy and sweet that goes so well with most chicken salads. (I've gone out to lunch twice this week and brought a bottle in my purse - You know mommy's on Weight Watchers when she is carrying salad dressing in her purse)

It's also great for marinades. It is always out of stock, so that's usually a good sign. Today, I bought three. :)

Here is a photo. It's currently found in the vegetable area, but used to be next to their tuna (which is also the bomb, by the way) so who knows where they'll move it next.

My New Favorite Things

This should be called Silent Saturday. It is the above item that is going to get me through my first week on Weight Watchers. This awesome zero point soup!! It's actually more like 1 point when you calculate it, but heck, if WW calls it zero, I'll go with that. When one starts out on WW, they typically encourage you to make the zero point soup from their recipe. I have done that in the past and kept a big pot of it nearby so I don't starve. Honestly, the first week is rough. Always. I am not used to being hungry. But you get past it and then you're not hungry anymore. It's pretty much like going through withdrawals.

Anyhoo - they now have this awesome Progresso soup, so you don't have to sit and slave over a pot of soup all day. I don't have time for that, so this is a godsend. Just pop it in the micro and there it is. It's actually not that bad, either. Oh and they sell it by the case at Costco, so even better!

Second favorite thing? The Weight Watchers breakfast sandwiches. I prefer the candian bacon one. It's a great way for me to start the morning, although I don't always want to spend 4 points. Still, it keeps you full much longer than yogurt or cereal, in my opinion.



My 3rd favorite thing? Fiber One Bars. They are awesome and only 2 points!! Much better and larger than Kudos or the WW bars (which are higher in points!)

7 Quick Takes Friday - Volume I

Got this idea from my friend Pam over at EveryDay Snapshots...

1. First Day of Weight Watchers - 2009

Today I started Weight Watchers and was reminded why I don't like to go to Weight Watchers meetings. Annoying people. There is always a good mix of people at the meetings, mostly women, ranging from the retired couples to the harried middle aged moms (that would be me) to those who have health issues to the occasional young women. And then there are the annoying people. The ones who have so much time on their hands to analyze and question every bit of minutiae of the program, share every second of their journey, not letting anyone get in a word edgewise. Of course, I had unknowingly planted myself next to one of those people (empty seat next to her, I wonder why!) The leader had to tell her, on 3 different occasions, that she's talk to her after the meeting.

Overall, I am excited about moving forward with WW. They have a new program "Momentum" - which as far as I can tell after a brief flipping through the materials -is a mix of the flex program, teaching how to make smart choices and a lot of self help hoopla . I probably should take the self help aspect of the program more seriously, but alas, I don't really have time. Just let me count my points, weigh in and be on my way. I managed to get through my first day without cheating, so that's something.

2. King of the Power Ballad, Dead?

At one point this week, I thought Steve Perrry had died. I heard "Don't Stop Believin'" on the radio 3 times in one day. I was very concerned.

3. Long Workweek

I worked 4 days in a row as my counterpart needed to switch days (I usually do 3 days on, 1.5 off, back for half day) and it was hard. I missed the kids and the house was kind of a mess, despite my new Manny. Anyhoo - it did equate to a 4 day weekend for me, so no complaints now.

4. Moving Forward

Steve and I decided that the best thing to do for now is to move forward with a 2 part job search. He will look here and in the area we are thinking of relocating and I will look there as well. We'll see what happens.

5. Bargains!

I went to the thrift store a few days ago and got some Ugg like boots for Sofia for $5, a real Disneyland sweatshirt with the princesses on it (that probably cost $40-50 new) for $3 and a kick ass Dick and Jane book for Sofia for $1. I will definitely be returning.

6. Teacher Nick, How YOU doin'?

I was off today and able to watch Sofia at her pre-school gymnastics class. As part of Project Divide and Conquer, I brought William with me, leaving David with Daddy to share some bonding time. It was indescribably nice to just hang out in the yard and watch Sofia beam with pride at her little brother. The dynamic is so different when it's 2 kids. I like it. It feels much more manageable. I never go out with all 3 as I'm afraid one (or more) will have a meltdown and I'll lose control. Sofia has been saying she does not like gymnastics. Turns out "Teacher Nick" is a big, loud, 40something guy with an Italia tee shirt (I'm Italian - and admittedly obnoxiously proud about it at times - but let's just say I know the Italia tee shirt type). Definitely not what you'd picture teaching 3 and 4 year olds. He had that Ahole-high-school-gym-teacher-quality about him, was forceful, loud and pushy with them and it didn't seem that fun. I can see how Sofia would find this intimidating. I'm not sure I'll continue with the class after this month.

7. I Can Feel Again

I continue to be so thankful that I'm off Zoloft. I heard a song on the radio today and got goosebumps. It's been a long time since I got goosebumps. I'll probably be curled up in the fetal position at some point next week, but for now, I'm enjoying feeling things again.

Strep and Zoloft

So today’s fun news, nephew has strep. This is the son of my sister in law who is my daycare provider. Fingers crossed that David and I have antibiotics coursing through our veins, shielding us from yet another ugly infection. I don't want to be sick...AGAIN. I have friends who are coming over to visit on Monday who have had to cancel 2 times due to illness. I have a friend in San Francisco who has a 3 month old baby I’ve not seen since she was born due to my kids’ constant illness. I've canceled on her at least 5 times, I have lost count. I feel like telling people "We'll see you in May!"

The kids are home with dad for the duration of the week. He just called to tell me they woke up from their 3 hr nap (sweet!) and what should he feed them. Chicken nuggets and a banana was my suggestion.

The husband and I talked about a lot of things last night; moving to Sacramento (something we had considered for the last 2 years, but then he got this job), moving back to the old house, etc. Given the current depressed job market in the Sacramento area, I’m not sure how realistic this option is, but I think it might make more sense for me to look for a job as I am probably more marketable than him and might be able to find something quicker (my college degree/long job history in real estate industry/administrative background vs. his years as an independent contractor in sales blah blah blah), then hope he can find a job in the area so that I can stay home eventually. Obviously, lots of options are on the table and we're looking at all possibilities.

We could have our house on the market in a few weeks. It's super cute now that we fixed it all up, but we'd probably have to do a few more things if selling it. I'm not sure how much we'd get for it, but probably more than enough to buy a decent house in Sacramento. Just need a job there, so if we're going to go that route, I have to actively start looking.

***

I started the day completely gung ho to attend a Weight Watchers meeting and sign up. I have put this off so many times, I did not want to let the latest developments keep from moving forward with my plans for 2009.

Well, then I forgot to go to the meeting this afternoon. So much for focus!! Truth be told, with the cutbacks at work, I am actually busy for the first time in a long time and it completely slipped my mind. I am going to try and go tomorrow…

I’m really starting to feel better physically as I near the end of the weaning process from Zoloft. I’ve gone for walks 2 times this week with plans on more working out Friday and over the weekend. My goal for the week was to workout 3 times and I think I’ll reach it.

There were many contributing factors to my weight gain - lack of exercise & sleep, constant illness, major stress and eating bags of potato chips in one sitting being the primary ones – but Zoloft played a huge part in the perfect storm. I didn’t even realize what was happening while it was happening. It sounds weird, but I think it affected the pleasure center in my brain, turning it into overdrive, making me throw caution to the wind and allowing all my addictions and impulsive behaviors to take over, food being the primary one with shopping a close second.

When I think back, after I had pneumonia and was placed on Zoloft by the pulmonologist, it was then that my will power started to go off the rails. Don’t get me wrong, Zoloft saved my life, emotionally, but I'm so glad to be off of it. I was living in a brain fog, but given that I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the time, that was probably a good thing. I don’t think I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown anymore. At least not today. Tomorrow? We’ll have to see.

Weight Watchers Breakfast Sandwiches

In my quest to lose some of this ridiculous weight I'm dragging around, I'm trying to eat mostly Weight Watchers meals, salads and fruit. I don't have time to think very much about what I'm eating, so convenience is key for me right now.

I'd like to share my favorite item of the moment. The Weight Watchers Breakfast Sandwiches are the bomb. Seriously, they are yummy and only 4 points!! I have the freezer at work stocked with them.